[kari]

K100D/K200D/Km/Kx are all listed as not having interchangeable focusing screens, but I've changed them all (mostly for friends). Yes, Kx has exactly the same screen as the Km and K100D/K200D too. Just make sure you put the original spacer (a U shape thin metal piece) on top of the screen before you fix it in.

I just removed my focusing screen to get a hair off it and I can't get it back with the spacer on it (the spacer keeps moving around and prevents the bracket from getting back into place). Is it a big deal if I leave it out?

[Rite]

just used the existing shim and a ebay cheap split prism focus screen!

bookmark

[Rite]

I thought this DIY focusing screen tutorial was hilarious.

Was that dude a brain surgeon or a nuclear reactor mechanic? LoL, I bet he hasn't cut his fingernails in nine months!

Another FS tutorial:

You Tube

You Tube

[Eruditass]

I just removed my focusing screen to get a hair off it and I can't get it back with the spacer on it (the spacer keeps moving around and prevents the bracket from getting back into place). Is it a big deal if I leave it out?

Yes, it means your focus screen will be significantly out of sync with what is in focus. If it looks in focus on your focus screen, the actual image will be severely backfocused.

[kari]

Yes, it means your focus screen will be significantly out of sync with what is in focus. If it looks in focus on your focus screen, the actual image will be severely backfocused.

I don't see how it can make a difference as it was on top of the focusing screen, not the bottom... or am I missing something? I tried it out and the focusing still seems right with the kit lens.

[hangu]

I don't see how it can make a difference as it was on top of the focusing screen, not the bottom... or am I missing something? I tried it out and the focusing still seems right with the kit lens.

Define "top", which way are you looking? The shim should be between the camera and the focusing screen. If it's elsewhere, then it is in the wrong place and would not matter. The shims are very important unless the original configuration were wrong. Also, the kit lens is rather slow and may not adequately represent the focal range, it's better to try with a 50/f1.4.

[kari]

Define "top", which way are you looking? The shim should be between the camera and the focusing screen. If it's elsewhere, then it is in the wrong place and would not matter. The shims are very important unless the original configuration were wrong. Also, the kit lens is rather slow and may not adequately represent the focal range, it's better to try with a 50/f1.4.

If you look from the front of the camera it was on the side of the penta-mirror and the viewfinder, not the sensor and the lens mount. So it was basically lying on top of the focusing screen if the camera is the in the normal position. Maybe it's just to keep the focusing screen tightly in place.

[hangu]

If you look from the front of the camera it was on the side of the penta-mirror and the viewfinder, not the sensor and the lens mount. So it was basically lying on top of the focusing screen if the camera is the in the normal position. Maybe it's just to keep the focusing screen tightly in place.

The shim is in the right place then. Its job is to modify the distance between the focusing screen and the penta-mirror/viewfinder, not the distance between the mirror and lens base. If that is still confusing to you, I'll go into a more in-depth explanation.

Are you using the stock screen that came with the K-x? If so, that screen has a very wide depth of field, you really won't notice any difference with or without the shim, especially on a slow lens like the kit lens. If you're using a split screen with a fast lens like a 50/1.4, you'll immediately notice the difference without the shim. The stock shim is usually the thicker version, too. Some people have had to order a thinner shim from Pentax in order to properly calibrate after market split screens.

[kari]

The shim is in the right place then. Its job is to modify the distance between the focusing screen and the penta-mirror/viewfinder, not the distance between the mirror and lens base. If that is still confusing to you, I'll go into a more in-depth explanation.

Are you using the stock screen that came with the K-x? If so, that screen has a very wide depth of field, you really won't notice any difference with or without the shim, especially on a slow lens like the kit lens. If you're using a split screen with a fast lens like a 50/1.4, you'll immediately notice the difference without the shim. The stock shim is usually the thicker version, too. Some people have had to order a thinner shim from Pentax in order to properly calibrate after market split screens.

Thanks for the explanation. I am still using the stock K-x screen so it seems it wouldn't make too much of a difference. I will wait to put it back until I'm somewhere near a camera store again for in case things go wrong. Just a question for interest's sake... can you see anything through the viewfinder when there is no focus screen in the camera?

[hangu]

Thanks for the explanation. I am still using the stock K-x screen so it seems it wouldn't make too much of a difference. I will wait to put it back until I'm somewhere near a camera store again for in case things go wrong. Just a question for interest's sake... can you see anything through the viewfinder when there is no focus screen in the camera?

If it works fine for you, I wouldn't bother with the shim until you replace it with an after market split screen. You can put the shim in while installing the after market screen.

You won't be able to see anything through the lens besides a big blur since without the focusing screen, there is no visual plane for the light to focus on. I had the same question a while back and ended up trying it out.

[Eruditass]

I don't see how it can make a difference as it was on top of the focusing screen, not the bottom... or am I missing something? I tried it out and the focusing still seems right with the kit lens.

When you close the clamp, a shim on the bottom will only effect the position of the clamp, leaving the focus screen in the same position relative to even the mirror. The only way for the shim to affect the focusing screen position is to put it between the focusing screen and what it is being pushed up against by the clamp.

On my K-m, I accidentally put the shim in the wrong position with the stock screen. It was very noticeable, but I do manual focus (both with MF lenses and overriding AF lenses). It was my first week out with my new M-50mm 1.7 and I was so confused as to why all my pictures sucked.

AF mechanism (which includes manual focus beeping/hex) is unaffected, if that is all you use.

[borysr]

I am really tempted to get one from focusingscreens.com, and wonder, If someone who own it can share thoughts?
what accessories included besides the screen itself ? (I mean tweezers, cloth, box , shims ? )
Do I need to get anything extra ?

also, I wonder if it is microprism area goes black with f4+ or both microprism and split image area too?
Don't want to throw money into focusingscreens and then go back and buy katzeyes one.

[GibbyTheMole]

I am really tempted to get one from focusingscreens.com, and wonder, If someone who own it can share thoughts?
what accessories included besides the screen itself ? (I mean tweezers, cloth, box , shims ? )
Do I need to get anything extra ?

also, I wonder if it is microprism area goes black with f4+ or both microprism and split image area too?
Don't want to throw money into focusingscreens and then go back and buy katzeyes one.

Hi.

Make sure the one you buy comes with tweezers that have soft plastic tips so you don't scratch the screen. (Most do.) Also, you'll need a clean sheet of paper to lay the screen on if you need to, and I'd pick up some latex surgical gloves. Where I live, you can get a bag of 20 for a dollar, so they're cheap. I wouldn't use cloth to lay the screen onto, because it might pick up fuzz from the cloth.

Also, if you install the screen and the focus is off, you'll need to pick up a set of shims from Pentax ($6 plus shipping) and calibrate the focus.

Blackout is usually gradual. Even at the point they start to black out, you can adjust the position of your eye when looking thru the viewfinder to compensate. My cheap screen starts to get a little iffy around f5.6, but is still quite useable. At f8, not so much.

I have both a cheap eBay screen and a KatzEye with Optibrite. The KatzEye doesn't black out at all, even with my f8 mirror lens attached, and it's a little brighter. I'd say the cheap screen is about 80% as good as the KatzEyes, and 1/8th the cost. Unless you're going to do a lot of shooting with a lens slower than f5.6, I'd go cheap.

Good luck,
Bobbo :-)