Originally posted by Lovephotography Katzeye says that they make the prisms so they don't black out until well after f11 (in the info of the item), so does this mean I don't need the brightness enhancement?
Mine work like they say, and they are both the basic KatzEye. The only time I focus at f11 or darker is when I use a long telephoto with a 2X teleconverter. The teleconverter makes my 500mm f8 lens a 1000mm f16 lens. Really any focusing screen is not great at f16, and most people won't have that combination.
Quote: Katzeye does warn about spot metering, but my understanding is that it can be compensated or I can use other metering methods. Is spot metering important enough for it to be a real concern?
That's another personal thing. I felt like I was missing something so I bought a dedicated spot meter, got a book on using it from the library, and used it for a while. I learned from it, but never wanted to use the spot meter to shoot with. Some people use it all the time. I read the information on compensating for the split-prism and spot metering, and decided that a meter that was sometimes accurate was not really useful. So I forgot that.
The other metering modes look at the whole scene and suggests an exposure to include everything. Spot metering looks at one point and suggests an exposure for that point, as a mid-tone. To take a shot, you need to think about that reading and the scene, maybe look at several points, then decide what your scene exposure is. It may appeal to your completely manual style, and it is awesome to get it to work. The S-type screen doesn't interfere with spot metering.
Quote: Should I buy shims before or after I buy the viewfinder? How do I know what size to get? If I buy them after the viewfinder, where do I put the two viewfinders until I recieve the shims (the original and the Katzeye)? The Katzeye will come with a case, but will it be large enough for both viewfinders?
This post has a diagram showing the shims, and a parts listing for them. My camera had the G shim installed and I replaced it with the A shim. You would get them from Pentax parts in Australia. The whole set is ~$30 in the US.
Quote: Thanks for the link, but when I convert the EUR to USD I'd be paying almost the same price I would if I bought it brand new. Combine that with altopiet's advise and I've decided to pass on that one. It did make the question of "what does AF Markings do?" stronger.
Can anyone tell me what AF Markings do? The only SLR I've had experience with was totally manual, so I've no idea what the markings are for.
The camera has 11 AF sensors in a grid, and it can use each one to focus. The markings show where the grid is located. That only works with an autofocus lens. When you put a manual focus lens on the camera, the center point is still active and can aid in focusing, but all the other points shut off.
Some people use the brackets because they want to select a point for the camera to autofocus on. They are
crazy really patient.