I find I need to look through a viewfinder for balanced composition. Also a tiny rear screen is too coarse to see any detail, you just see the broad strokes. The only way I would use the LCD for composing is with a magnifying viewer like the Swivi.
I actually have one of these. It would be a good way to shoot landscapes, nice big view and a preview of the final result.
Dot Line Swivi Foldable LCD Viewfinder CS-SWIVI/VF3 B&H Photo
If you're using the rear screen to compose, then I disagree with muting colour and contrast and pumping up the screen brightness. The advantage of a screen is the preview, which IMO should be set to give results as close to the final image as possible.
I agree with the suggested aperture settings for a K-5. Of course they would be different for FF or m4/3. Even pixel count matters. A K-3 is sharper at f7 than at f8.
PS If you were using your finger to release the shutter while shooting with a tripod, that would degrade your images.
---------- Post added 2015-11-17 at 07:55 ----------
Originally posted by Gimbal If you are shooting at low iso the AA filter isn't a problem, it's just a matter of a little extra sharpening. At high iso the extra sharpening needed may be a problem as the noise is also affected. But in this case, at iso 80, no problem.
You can sharpen K-3 images too. Then of course more pixels = higher resolution.