[cqfast]

Hello, I'm Curtis. My first SLR was the Pentax MX. I was quite proud of the fact that I could operate the completely mechanical camera, and not be dependent on any battery-powered automation (well, okay, there was the light meter....)

But then the digital age arrived, and my MX + lenses sat unused for some years. Quite by chance, I fell into conversation with a camera salesperson, where I learned that the digital Pentax SLR bodies still worked with the older film-era manual lenses. The hunt was officially on for me to find an inexpensive (used) Pentax digital body!

I eventually found a good deal on a K10D -- and as a bonus it also came with an auto zoom lens. I was afraid that owning an auto lens would hinder me from becoming proficient again with my old manual lenses, and I was right. But that was only part of the reason; I had also discovered with my manual lenses that the viewfinder focus did not perfectly match the sensor focus on my K10D. I even tried a friend's K10D and another manual lens, but the mismatch was evident there too. Last week, another Pentax sales specialist pointed me to this forum for possible answers. My goal is to attempt to correct the viewfinder focus on my K10D, and get more use out of my manual lenses again.

[Pentax Syntax]

Does the autofocus lens focus well on the K-10? When you focus the K-10 manually with autofocus function on do you get a focus confirmation light and sound? The old lenses work well with autofocus confirmation although one focuses manually. Have you tried the diopter adjustment? You can also get eyepiece magnifiers that clip on to the viewfinder if that is a help.

[Pentax Syntax]

By the way, Welcome Curtis!

[Unregistered User 8]

Hi from Australia Curtis, and welcome to the Pentax forums. Good to have you aboard.

[dbs]

Welcome Curtis
You have noticed your FOV has changed with the new ( to you ) camera! To get the same as your MX you need a K 1, then it is a seemless transition to digital.
Hope that helps Dave

[builttospill]

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/support/man-pdf/k10d.pdf

Welcome to the Forums, Curtis. The K10D is an outstanding camera. I bought mine new 10 years ago and it has never let me down.

Do you wear eyeglasses? From your description it sounds like your camera auto focuses fine, but your eyes aren't able to properly manual focus a lens. If that's correct, you need to calibrate the diopter in your viewfinder. This adjusts the focus so both the viewfinder and lens focus match. There is a slider switch just above the viewfinder to do this. Read page 60 in the K10D owner's manual. If you didn't get a manual with the camera, you can download it from the link above.

I take the lens off the camera, then hold the camera toward a bright, white wall. I adjust the slider until the guide lines in the viewfinder are perfectly sharp. Then I put the lens back on and I'm good to go.

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome to the forum, enjoy all it has to offer.

[goatsNdonkey]

Welcome, and be sure to visit and participate in the K10D Club thread of the forum:
The K10D Club! - PentaxForums.com

[cqfast]

Does the autofocus lens focus well on the K-10? When you focus the K-10 manually with autofocus function on do you get a focus confirmation light and sound? The old lenses work well with autofocus confirmation although one focuses manually. Have you tried the diopter adjustment? You can also get eyepiece magnifiers that clip on to the viewfinder if that is a help.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I don't wear glasses (unless you count my recent acquisition of +1.25 reading cheaters). Yes, my diopter seems to be well-adjusted, and I can get a sharp focus in the viewfinder. But I've observed that a sharp focus in the viewfinder does not correspond to the same sharp focus point in the resulting image. E.g. the image consistently has its sharp focus point 1cm from the spot I had chosen in my viewfinder focus along a 30cm ruler. I've also experimented with relying on the hexagon focus indicator to try to get a better image focus, but notice that it stays lit over a (small) range of focus, so I'm trying to discern where precisely the best spot is in that range.

Yesterday, I ordered a split-image focus screen for my K10D. When I install that, then hopefully I will be able to more accurately evaluate the focus issues via the viewfinder. I read with great interest the thread on focus screen shims: Focusingscreen shim - Page 3 - PentaxForums.com

[Pentax Syntax]

From what you describe, it may be that your camera needs to have the autofocus adjusted. In cameras after the K-10 this became routine since Pentax implemented it as a feature adaptable for each lens. It can be done on the K-10 using the "Debug" mode. This sets the adjustment and can be convenient if you predominantly use one lens like your zoom. The method you will use is highly dependent upon your firmware version. The forum discussion is here:

K10D focus adjustment with debug mode - PentaxForums.com

It is important to note what firmware you are using and follow the instructions for that method of getting into DEBUG mode. I used to adjust my K-10 all of the time and it was helpful. It's reassuring that Pentax implemented a full version of this in later cameras.

Don't hesitate to post if I have made any of this unclear. If you are seeing things sharply in the viewfinder, it is just a matter of setting the AF adjustment and experimenting to see what setting corrects your problem. As I remember there are about 10 + settings and 10 - settings.

Hope this is a help.

[cqfast]

From what you describe, it may be that your camera needs to have the autofocus adjusted. In cameras after the K-10 this became routine since Pentax implemented it as a feature adaptable for each lens. It can be done on the K-10 using the "Debug" mode. This sets the adjustment and can be convenient if you predominantly use one lens like your zoom. The method you will use is highly dependent upon your firmware version. The forum discussion is here:

K10D focus adjustment with debug mode - PentaxForums.com

It is important to note what firmware you are using and follow the instructions for that method of getting into DEBUG mode. I used to adjust my K-10 all of the time and it was helpful. It's reassuring that Pentax implemented a full version of this in later cameras.

Don't hesitate to post if I have made any of this unclear. If you are seeing things sharply in the viewfinder, it is just a matter of setting the AF adjustment and experimenting to see what setting corrects your problem. As I remember there are about 10 + settings and 10 - settings.

Hope this is a help.

Yes, I spent some time in the special K10D "debug mode" adjusting the auto focus. I think I have now found a good setting, but still need to confirm across all lenses. I had ordered a split image focus screen which had arrived at the end of last week. But the surprise twist for me was that I had also purchased a K20D from another PentaxForums member. So now I will be doubling all of my focus experiments (K10D + K20D) to decide which camera stays and which camera gets to be enjoyed by someone else!