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Forum: Pentax K-r
04-15-2013, 01:01 AM
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Just wanted to update everyone following the fitting of my focus screen. Eqpt used:
- The screen (from focussingscreen.com) came with some angled tweezers, a grabber tool and some latex finger caps. It also came with 3 plastic shims.
- In advance I also purchased some latex gloves (rather than using the finger caps), a Giottos rocket blower and some Pec Pad lint free cloths.
- Following advice I saw elsewhere I "blew" the Giottos lots beforehand as someone reported that the first few times you use it it can blow little bits of rubber out.
I actually found the whole process very simple, so people should not be put off doing this. In the end I needed two of the plastic shims. The stock metal one was too thick and I then tried with no shims then a single plastic shim but found 2 plastic shims was best. Therefore 2 plastic shims are slightly thinner than the stock metal one.
I found the plastic shims pretty easy to work with but they are a bit fiddly and you have to be careful not to bend them. Also keeping dust etc off is difficult so even when I had fitted it all I saw some dust and hair and had to take it all out again to give it a blow. Easiest way to check for dust when you have fitted it is to just look through the viewfinder towards some light with no lens on.
My advice is to just make sure you have everything laid out ready and get as dust free as possible. An angled desk lamp above and behind you a bit is also good so it is shining into the camera to see what you are doing. As long as you've got fairly steady hands though and happy working with slightly fiddly bits you shouldn't be put off doing this. It really is worth it.
I can now get really good focus with my A 50mm 1.4. The screen is amazing for this. My slower lenses (18-55 kit for example) are slightly darker but not an issue. I only really use those outside anyway so no big deal. Even inside though I think they would be fine.
If you're using fast manual focus lenses this is probably the best £100 you can spend...
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Forum: Pentax K-r
07-30-2012, 12:21 AM
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Basset, in my view, the problem with splits is twofold:
- you can only focus accurately using the split, not the surrounding area... So, you're stuck with center focus-recompose, which can throw your focus off with fast lenses and slow you down....
- a split is not a great tool for portraits, as there is no useful lines that can be broken (except for the eye, but on such tiny targets I find the split quite difficult to use).
The EE-S screen is really something to try... You really can see the focus plane clearly, and focusing on an eye is ridiculously easy with it.
I was startled lately when I used my Sigma 30/1.4 on my father's Kx : nearly everything seemed in focus in the viewfinder! What a starch difference from my usual experience with my K5 and its ee-S screen!!!
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Forum: Pentax K-r
03-23-2012, 07:27 AM
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My K3 type focusing screen arrived from focusingscreen.com, with package contents the similar to what ablundon received above (with a different screen type).
My experience of installing it was mixed, so I thought I'd let you guys know how I got on.
I am usually fairly good with intricate kind of work, and I'm quite patient. I wanted to try and keep this procedure as smooth and quickly as possible, so as to avoid dust getting into my camera.
What I rather foolishly didn't anticipate though, was just how fiddly the tray that holds in the focusing screen is. More importantly, I didn't realise that when this tray is dropped down to its maximum ie. agains the mirror (protected of course), that the tray itself can easily come away from the camera.
So the initial removal of the factory screen and shim, and then the installation went without a hitch.
A quick test confirmed that at least one shim was going to be required, and that's where the fun started.
The supplied shims are light plastic, and quite flimsy. Trying to get the first one in place was what caused the tray to come out of the camera the first time, and I was lucky not to damage the new screen when this happened. I eventually managed to get the screen + 1 shim into the camera.
Another test confirmed than one shim wasn't enough.
After several failed attempts to get a second shim in place, and after the tray had come out of the camera again, and after the new focus screen had plenty of dust on it, I decided to chance my arm, and try the thicker metal factory shim on it's own.
I tried to blow away as much dust as I could from the new screen, and managed to get it installed with just the factory shim.
Focusing was perfect. The screen is great, apart from some annoying dust that's still there.
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Forum: Pentax K-r
02-15-2012, 07:53 AM
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Yep! That's absolutely correct!
Objects out of focus will be more "fuzzy" therefore the ones that you want in focus will be VERY distinct. Thus, you will NOT need to focus and recompose. Doing that is also absolutely NOT advisable when shooting at
PS: Oh, that "fuzziness" you are saying about? It is actually VERY CLOSE to the "bokeh" you will get when you do shoot at that aperture. Even OOF lights will take the form of the aperture if you do stop down and do an optical preview at the selected aperture. Yes, you will see the ocatagonal shape, depending on the lens used. In short, hey! Almost "live view", but on your VF. ;) Focusing spot on at f/1.4 on subjects within the distance scale? No problem... :D It is REALLY obvious.. No offense, but if you miss, it just means you are getting your diopter adjustment wrong, or shimming wrong, OR you REALLY have a bad eye.. LoL!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-13-2012, 09:05 AM
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Forum: Pentax K-r
01-30-2012, 06:35 AM
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I was just pointed to this web page - it does an excellent job of visibly showing the exposure relationship between shutter, aperture and ISO; and the perspective / depth of field relationship between distance, lens length and aperture.
SLR camera simulator |
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Forum: Pentax K-r
12-12-2011, 11:43 PM
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A little off-topic perhaps, but does anyone know where I can find the precise dimensions of the K-r's focusing screen, including thickness? I have a couple old film SLRs, in crappy condition, but with wonderful split prisms, and I was thinking about trying my hand at cutting one down to size as a winter project. I'm mainly concerned with the thickness of them and how it compares to the K-r's.
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Forum: Pentax K-r
05-30-2011, 10:37 AM
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There is a frequent issue with the e-dial of K-r. When it is being rotated it does not switch corresponding parameter (apperture, exposure time) at all or sometimes shifts a parameter to undesired value. This bug is caused by a lubricant inside the wheel mechanism. Silicon oil is a dielectric. It's intended to make wheel rotating smooth, but it covers contacts of sensor inside the e-dial and prevents it from normal functioning.
Is it a mistake of developers or a hackwork of taiwan assemblers I can't say. But I can tell you how to fix it.
I have attached 3 pictures showing how to disassemble the camera.
1. Remove the battery. Unscrew the screw from the bottom of the battery bay. It is not pictured because there is only one screw and it is too dark in the battery bay.
2. Unscrew all screws from the top of the body. Couple of screws are located under the built in flash.
3. Remove the top cover. Be carefull not to tear wires and flat cables connecting elements on top cover with the rest of the body. You can disconnect a flat cable from the slot at the body side to make the top cover more mobile. On the picture you can see 3 screws holding the e-dial module. Unscrew all those screws.
4. The end of a flat cable connected to the e-dial is glued to the top cover so you will have to use some force to unglue it.
5. Now you are ready to clean the e-dial sensor. Take a pure alcohol (vodka would suit too) and a clean syringe (5-10 ml). Hold the e-dial as far from the body as possible. It would be a good idea to cover the body with something water resistant. Aim a powerful jet of an alcohol under the wheel. Repeat such wash from all four sides of e-dial module.
6. Dry the e-dial module with an air flow. I used a large squirt that I use to remove dust particles from lenses.
7. Assemble everything carefully back.
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