[Pentaxor]

Is there an Ec-B version available for $40? I don't see it... it's only available for $73 or so.

I'm a bit confused about the loss of contrast due to optibrite. I imagine it can only be better, not worse for daylight photography. I just shot a few in a dark restaurant today and my Jin Finance screen was not easy to work with. I feel like an upgrade is in order.

No, I made it clear the other designs, which meant not the Ec-B version.

I don't have the Jinfinance but have the K-3 from focusing screen. I shot with it with a 1.2 to f2 and f2.8 lenses at their widest openings during daylight or with strong lighting conditions. the K-3 doesn't have an optibrite, but is surely is very bright under f1.2 to f2. imagine if you add further brightness within a stop or more and you may get yourself into trouble focusing hazy subject. atleast this what owners of the optibrite katzeye says and I think I would agree just basing on how and what I saw using the K-3 under such conditions.

if you are really interested into purchasing the optibrite, you might as well want to read this first to know exactly what you are expecting to get. both pros and cons >>> OptiBrite Brightness Enhancement - KatzEye Optics

[BillM]

Hi Everyone,
I added Katzeye/opti-bright several months ago and would like to offer some
thoughts in that regard.
If most shooting is done in normal conditions, is probably best to consider
all availble products,where split-prism is of most concern.
First and foremost, the fact that I could call and converse with Katzeye
in a matter of seconds was primary in consideration.
Would like to explain what I feel is of greatest benefit of opti-bright treatment
to me,with attached pics. Please dont judge on overall photographic merit.
First pic, difficult situation, split-prism blacked out, of no real use.
micro-prism collar used to confirm focus, when close, there is noticable
shift in contrast(in viewfinder). (from M* & K20D)
Second pic, Dynamic situation, had to change azimuth about 90 degrees
and elevation about 60 degrees, go from -.7EV to (I think +.3EV),
green button, find in view finder, pan, focus, and fire. was able to do
in about 5 seconds. Again, split-prism of virtually no use, focused with
micro-prism collar and matte portion of screen. And Again, there is
noticable shift in contrast when close. (from M400/5.6 & K20D)
If split-prism is of primary concern, by all means, take a look at everything
I will say, this product has been of great benefit to me, and am very happy with it.

[matam]

Yesterday i founded locally a used Nikon F3 focusing screen type "P" for 19€.
The screen is almost the same as type "K", the differences are a diagnoal split instead of the orizzontal one and aiding lines (cross hair type).
Today, inspired by the tutorial posted here , i went to pick it and modified to fit my KX.



The top left picture are the stock and the nikon's screen
then come a close-up of the "P" screen
bottom left is the first step of the mod, removing the frame and divide the screen between glass (in picture) and plastic part.
Last one is the finished modified screen.

The screen is thicker than Pentax and the travor one, but fitted the camera perfectly without the original shim or any other kind of adjustment.
Compared to the "chinese" screen build qualility is better, same as Pentax's one, blackout on the split seem the same but the microprism collar is a lot better than the travor screen i have; nikon's seems also the brighter screen.

I will post a picture of how it look trough the viefinder and some more consideration after some field use.

[matam]

I didn't try in an outdoor sunny enviroment, but i was really impressed today as i was tring the 50 1.4 with this screen.
The dof i see trough the viefidner @f1.4 is the same i have in the final pic, i mean this screen can perfectly show the depth of field of a f1.4 lens! (to further explain this, the dof showned in the VF is the same as the one in live view)
This is something the travor or stock pentax screen can't do and is a bigger aid for me when close focusing than the one i got from the microprism or the split. (i can litteraly put the focus where i want as if i was using LV)

If the katzeye and/or the focusingscreen "K" screen work the same as mine modded P screen, then i strongly advise and recomend to spend a little more money and buy that kind of screen, or buy the original nikon screen and cut it yourself (or find a person who can do it) if you want to save some money.
Even if i didn't use MF lens at all, the fact that now i have a 1:1 dof preview in the viewfinder, for me, worth alone the price and hassle i've done to make fit in my pentax.

Last advice, if you're gonna thake the diy way, try to find a "K" screen as it doesn't have the crosshair type aiding lines, beacuse unless you are a numeric controlled laser cutting machine is very hard to cut perfectly straight...my cross hair is tilted a little toward the right by 1 to 2 degree (this demonstrate i'm still a human being).
Pic of the VF will come when i'm able to take a decent picture of it with my ps camera

[GingerBeer]

I'll throw in my two cents worth. I recently bought a Katzeye (with optibright and the pentax focus point guides). It arrived today, I installed it at lunch but have spent most of the time since then at work (by the way I'm not a professional photographer so being at work means not taking many photos generally).

I also have a tremor in my hands which (in addition to presenting some additional challenges to taking photos) made a little nervous about installing the screen. While it wasn't easy (with my tremor) I did get there without any major problems so I think it is now safe to say that for an average person, actually changing the focussing screen shouldn't present any problems.

As for the usage, (having no background with film SLRs) I am truly impressed with the additional ease of manual focussing with this screen. My manual focus speed (under fairly normal conditions) is significantly faster and a lot more reliable/accurate. I haven't spent enough time with it to truly judge the performance in more challenging focussing situations. Hopefully as time goes on I will come back and add some more comments about it here. For the time being I will just leave it with the general comment that I am very happy with my purchase.

[hangu]

Found this link:
http://www.nikonlinks.com/unklbil/screens.htm


I'm very tempted to buy a Nikon G4 screen and alter it to fit the K-x. I could really use a focusing screen for low light photography.

I didn't try in an outdoor sunny enviroment, but i was really impressed today as i was tring the 50 1.4 with this screen.
The dof i see trough the viefidner @f1.4 is the same i have in the final pic, i mean this screen can perfectly show the depth of field of a f1.4 lens! (to further explain this, the dof showned in the VF is the same as the one in live view)

That sounds amazing, I will have to try that soon. How accurate is the split screen? Does it line up perfectly with the focus confirmation beep?

I'll throw in my two cents worth. I recently bought a Katzeye (with optibright and the pentax focus point guides).

The biggest question for me is, is the metering affected? Also, how many stops does the optibrite give you compared to other focusing screens before it blacks out in darkness? Any haze on brightly lit objects in sunlight?

[matam]

the split part is perfect and it does indeed line up with the focus confirmation aid.
Without optibrite both microprism collar and split (this one with carefully eye placment) are still usable @f8

[GingerBeer]

That sounds amazing, I will have to try that soon. How accurate is the split screen? Does it line up perfectly with the focus confirmation beep?

Since getting the katzeye (still < 24 hours) I have mostly used my A 50 f/1.7. I would say that using the split screen in combination with the prism I have been able to get the focus confirmation 99% of the time, including subjects at close proximity with f/1.7.

The biggest question for me is, is the metering affected? Also, how many stops does the optibrite give you compared to other focusing screens before it blacks out in darkness? Any haze on brightly lit objects in sunlight?

I have seen no signs to suggest that the metering has been affected. I haven't really experienced the blackout problem yet so can't comment too much. As for the brightness of the optibrite, well I can only compare with the stock screen and only give my impression (noting that this can't be proven) but I think in lower light situations the screen does seem brighter than the standard screen. I haven't noticed any haze on brightly lit objects - but will keep an eye out for it.

[hangu]

How did you cut the focusing screen?

[matam]

with a cutter and some scissors.
I went as deep as possible with the cutter on the screen prior to using the scissors.
useless to say a dremel or a similar tool would be of huge help.

[cps_goodbuy]

I have bought a hand made ground glass plain screen for my k10d online.

I have not tested it other than installing it, but the focus transition is amazingly clear and it is fairly bright.

I feel I should write a review and let others know of this option.

[WheresWaldo]

I am glad to see this thread is still alive. I would love to see some more of these screens reviewed as I plan on replacing one of my remaining Chinese screens with something better. matam has inspired me to look at other sources too. Thanks for continuing this threaf and I hope that it will still be useful to future Pentaxians.

[Pentaxor]

btw, how many of you didnt use the shims on your focus screen?

[chrish]

Is one type best for using screwmount lenses? Microprism because they don't black out as much as split prism when stopping down, or is it just preference?

I'm debating between the Ec-B and the K3 for my screwmount lenses.

[NeverSatisfied]

I bought the K-3 screen for my K20D and had to do a LOT of experimentation with shims! I measured the stock shim with a micrometer, and again and again because I couldn't believe it was .012" thickness. What an odd number. The two plastic shims that came with the screen were .055 and .005.
I found out that in MF, I already had FF to begin with, even using the stock screen. AF was right on, but the two didn't correlate. Using the two plastic shims together it still FF, but less so. Using only one plastic shim resulted in BF. So I extrapolated and fabricated my own shim out of plastic, measured at .007" thickness. Focus was perfect! Also, MF correlated perfectly with AF, and Catch-in-Focus worked perfectly too.
I found out that you CAN order shims from Pentax, but nothing like I needed, so I got brave and ground my stock (metal) shim down to .007. (By the way, it took several phone calls to Pentax and they weren't very helpful anyway, which is why I decided to go for it.) That's what I'm sticking with and it works fine.
I did a lot of experimentation too as far as metering; some lenses were affected more than others when using spot-metering. (FA 35/2 was only off about +1/3 stop while the DA*300 was a full +1 stop overexposed.) I now generally use center-weighted metering but there are times when I miss spot metering. I didn't really want to spend the money on the KatzEye but I'm happy with the K-3 screen and I like it much better than the stock screen.