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Very Last Chance for KatzEye Focusing Screens ("Final Production Run")
Posted By: fwcetus, 05-11-2016, 07:43 AM

See KatzEye Optics - Custom Focusing Screens
QuoteQuote:
Going Out of Business
Final Production Run!
[...] As of May 9, 2016, we have a very limited amount of remaining material and are preparing to produce our final batch of screens, before closure of the business. What this means is that we will take orders until the final batch is sold out, and then begin to produce the screens to fill those orders. Until the batch is sold out, your order will be held in queue, to be processed in sequence, once production begins. [...]
It would be nice to have most of the last ones going to Pentaxers, and not to all the "riff-raff".

Last edited by fwcetus; 05-11-2016 at 08:11 AM.
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06-07-2016, 10:13 AM   #76
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I had put off installing mine until today as I was a little nervous about it after my local camera shop guy told me that's one of the few things he won't do, replace a focusing screen. Far too fragile according to him. Well surprised me, it was easy peasy other than momentarily confusing the retainer with the focusing screen. Whew, glad those don't come out easy.

Big big difference with manual focusing. Much happier with it than I could have expected, and probably needed for that 85mm 1.4 I have coming. No regrets whatsoever.

06-07-2016, 10:33 AM   #77
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
I am shooting the K-3 with an 8mm fisheye and frankly I can't even tell if a line is bisected and broken even with a split prism the thing has so much depth of field.
The Samyang 8mm is simply hard to focus. Everything is soooo teeny. It does not help that the distance scale on the lens barrel (along with the infinity stop) is way off from the factory either. I had to adjust the lens barrel calibration (magnified live view helps) and while I can use the split image for close objects, in general shooting the rule is f/8 at 6 meters (hyperfocal is at 16" ).


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06-07-2016, 01:02 PM   #78
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Maybe they'll do another run if you'all keep buying them.
06-07-2016, 01:49 PM   #79
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QuoteOriginally posted by D1N0 Quote
Maybe they'll do another run if you'all keep buying them.
They say they're out of material to make any more so this was it.

---------- Post added 06-07-16 at 05:37 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
Well my bargain Katzeye is dirty. It's got a tiny smudge mark also maybe two but these are on the outside edge and not distracting. But the dirt is. I may try the cleaning process listed here:
Focus Screen and Lens Cleaning Tips, Any Comments - Photo.net Pentax Forum

What I see is trash not scratches and not oil. Just specs of dust collected in the split prism area along the lines etc. Sigh.

But not for a while. I am shooting the K-3 with an 8mm fisheye and frankly I can't even tell if a line is bisected and broken even with a split prism the thing has so much depth of field.

I tried it with the FA77 and I'm totally unclear if I need to reshim or not - it's just so hard for me to see critical focus. I am not sure this screen is for me. The screen is fine, but my own vision is pretty lousy so AF may be my best bet.
Uncle Vanya, after installing my Katzeye earlier today I have almost no issue with quick focus. I just tried my Pentax 10-17 at 10mm and while not as easy it was still reliable. It occurred to me tho that I also have an O ME53 magnifying eyepiece so maybe the combination of the two is the difference?

06-07-2016, 02:49 PM   #80
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QuoteOriginally posted by gatorguy Quote
They say they're out of material to make any more so this was it.

---------- Post added 06-07-16 at 05:37 PM ----------


Uncle Vanya, after installing my Katzeye earlier today I have almost no issue with quick focus. I just tried my Pentax 10-17 at 10mm and while not as easy it was still reliable. It occurred to me tho that I also have an O ME53 magnifying eyepiece so maybe the combination of the two is the difference?
I am also using the OME53... but my vision is terrible. I have thousands of floaters, hundreds of which I see all the time. I have double vision in each eye (independent of the other). I have astigmatism, very very bad near sightedness etc. It isn't bad in day to day life - but when I tried to use the split screen it was very hard to see clearly. Also the copy I have is not Optibrite and at f/3.5 I was already seeing it darken a little. I have some f/4.5 and even f/5.6 lens options that I would be concerned about.

I may wait a bit and try again next month.
06-07-2016, 03:51 PM   #81
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
I am also using the OME53... but my vision is terrible. I have thousands of floaters, hundreds of which I see all the time. I have double vision in each eye (independent of the other). I have astigmatism, very very bad near sightedness etc. It isn't bad in day to day life - but when I tried to use the split screen it was very hard to see clearly. Also the copy I have is not Optibrite and at f/3.5 I was already seeing it darken a little. I have some f/4.5 and even f/5.6 lens options that I would be concerned about.

I may wait a bit and try again next month.
I'm using mostly faster lenses like the DA*200 and D FA100 (and ordered mine with Optibrite) so maybe that's the difference? FWIW I have a lot of floaters too but your eyesight sounds much worse than mine, and sorry to hear that too. In spite of that you've posted darn nice photos here. Now I'm even more impressed!
06-07-2016, 06:09 PM   #82
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QuoteOriginally posted by gatorguy Quote
I'm using mostly faster lenses like the DA*200 and D FA100 (and ordered mine with Optibrite) so maybe that's the difference? FWIW I have a lot of floaters too but your eyesight sounds much worse than mine, and sorry to hear that too. In spite of that you've posted darn nice photos here. Now I'm even more impressed!
Thanks. Truth is I don't notice how bad my vision is. It creeps up and only on occasion when trying something very precise do I notice.

The double vision is very subtle. Its more of a superimposed ghost image. Older green screen monitors were much more difficult.

06-15-2016, 03:07 PM   #83
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Finally today I installed the new screen and it works well. FYI, I got the basic model with no additional features. As gatorguy said the installation was easy peasy. The split prism top section was a little dark on a M28/3.5 but still very easy to line up. I changed lenses to a Rokinon 16/2 and it took me a while to find the split prism it was so bright, even with the aperture halfway closed. Focusing was a little tougher than on the 28/3.5 but still not difficult. Glad I jumped on one before they were gone.


Edit: I failed to mention that as a final test I plugged in a 100 Macro (AF) and the split aligned perfectly when using AF.

Last edited by TomTom; 06-15-2016 at 05:17 PM. Reason: typo fixing
06-15-2016, 04:58 PM   #84
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I finally installed my new one in the K-3 just a couple of days ago, did some testing for focus plane accuracy (it seemed spot on), and proceeded to test it out on the RMC 100-300/5.6 I'd been playing with recently, and it made focusing a lot simpler (f/5.6 with OptiBrite was do-able, although it sometimes it took a bit of centering of the eye to see both slit image halves at the same time). I am glad to be able to get one of these for my K-3 before dey bin gawn away.

And it was indeed "nice to have most of the last ones going to Pentaxers, and not to all the 'riff-raf' ".
06-15-2016, 05:51 PM   #85
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QuoteOriginally posted by TomTom Quote
Edit: I failed to mention that as a final test I plugged in a 100 Macro (AF) and the split aligned perfectly when using AF.
Cool! My advice is to compare against magnified live view (no focus peaking) as well.


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06-16-2016, 06:27 AM   #86
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QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
Cool! My advice is to compare against magnified live view (no focus peaking) as well.


Steve
Thank you for the suggestion, Steve. It looked right on again.
06-16-2016, 09:42 AM   #87
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QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
My advice is to compare against magnified live view (no focus peaking) as well.
As Steve has said, that's the best way to judge MF focusing, although I tend to leave focus peaking on.

BTW, one observation:

While the split-image KatzEye does help me get sharp MF, using live view with focus peaking seems to be slightly more precise. That is, with live view I can hit exact focus quite readily, while with the KatzEye I can sometimes be very very slightly too close or very very slightly too far -- however, my eyes (now older than dirt) may be a factor in getting exact focus with a split-image finder.

[Another way to say this is that both tools seem to be very high in accuracy, but that the live view with focus peaking seems to have higher precision than the split-image screen.]

I ~LOVE~ nailing the focus with my MF lenses !!!
06-16-2016, 09:58 AM   #88
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QuoteOriginally posted by fwcetus Quote
While the split-image KatzEye does help me get sharp MF
I find that I am more accurate using the microprism ring than the split-image
06-16-2016, 10:41 AM   #89
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QuoteOriginally posted by D1N0 Quote
I find that I am more accurate using the microprism ring than the split-image
It would depend on the subject. If the subject has any detail at all, the microprism is generally usable, even when other systems fail. In absolute terms, the split-image precision should be much higher than the microprism*, but as fwcetus mentioned, aligning the split requires good eyes and a suitable subject.


Steve

* Prism angle determines the precision of both systems and those in the microprism are cut at a steeper angle.
06-16-2016, 10:53 AM   #90
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Since my intended use for the K-3 is now long lenses on tripod I imagine the split-image will outperform magnified live view ITO ease of use outdoors.
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