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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
05-26-2010, 05:17 AM
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I am glad to see this thread is still alive. I would love to see some more of these screens reviewed as I plan on replacing one of my remaining Chinese screens with something better. matam has inspired me to look at other sources too. Thanks for continuing this threaf and I hope that it will still be useful to future Pentaxians.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
03-21-2010, 08:00 AM
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Yes it works, I am currently using it with energyON LSD NiMh C cells and it works fine. Refresh rates are good all the way until the batteries die, which I am still waiting for. My first outing I took interval pictures one every minute for about 5 hours, nearly 300 without the flash ever missing a single sync. Most of them at full power since I was in a large community room at the time.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
03-21-2010, 07:55 AM
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That's because the double was not available 2 years ago.
@All double owners.
It would sure be nice is someone could review the double and add it to this thread. To get the viewfinder picture I just used a cheap Casio point & shoot held up to the viewfinder.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
03-10-2010, 02:21 PM
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I would recommend either the K-3 or Ec-B depending on whether or not you want the microprism along with the split image.
As a side note, in my testing center-weighted metering is not effected as much as spot metering is and on my K20D (which most agree slightly underexposes) the additional over-exposure is not a "real world" issue. Of course the K200D exposes differently so YMMV.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
03-10-2010, 11:35 AM
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I will try to answer what I know.
The Split image and microprism are both focusing aids and are not necessary to focus correctly. There are fans of both types of aids. Where you have straight edges that are at an angle to the split image it may be easier to see precise focus. For most other subjects the microprism enhances the contrast and will allow easier focus.
With respect to the K3 vs FSB. I believe I have read here that the FSB is a much lower quality generic screen according to the people at focusingscreens.com. The K3 is a genuine Nikon screen cut down to the dimensions of the screen it is replacing, in your case a K200D.
Hexagon vs. Traditional matte, is most likely marketing hype. It is how the outer area that is not microprism or split screen is frosted.
The big black circle is not really that big or that black and is a compositional aid. on a full-frame Nikon it also happens to correspond to the area covered by the center weighted exposure sensors. On an APS-C camera is just about covers the middle third of the screen and can be sort of used to set rule-of-thirds composition.
All focusing aids have one drawback, with small apertures and in very low light a part of the aid will remain dark. It is what it is and you get used to it. That is just one of the reasons that most new cameras only use matte screens.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
03-01-2010, 10:13 AM
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Mike, I use mine all the time, prefer it to my 17-70 Sigma which I used at 70 most of the time.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
01-13-2010, 03:35 PM
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Repeated over and over, as Blue mentioned Katz-Eye specifically mentions that their screen is not a cut down K3. Now perhaps they get their screen from the same place Nikon gets the K3 (You don't really believe Nikon makes every part of their camera), made to size according to Katz-Eye's request, I don't know, just speculating.
Agree if they BS on the source perhaps all their claims are bogus.
I am very happy with the FocusingScreens K3 and Ec-B that I already have and will not be paying a premium for any screen from Katz-Eye.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
01-13-2010, 03:28 PM
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I own a few different screens and can say definitively that the JinFinance screens, although perfectly adequate with standard and fast lenses are just darker than the Nikon K3 and Canon Ec-B based screens.
The other thing I have observed is that the JinFinance is not quite as well made as the screens from FocusingScreens.com. I have no experience with KatzEye.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
12-28-2009, 02:17 PM
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I have used these screens with my 600mm f8 (which is really closer to f11) Sigma Mirror and no matter how you move your eye around you will get darking in one half or the other. Just no way around it. I used to use a matte only screen with grid marks on my MX back in the day and it helped, but long slow lenses really need a tripod and careful slow focusing.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
11-26-2009, 09:44 AM
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In most of these cases there are very easy resolutions.
1. Most of the cheap Chinese made screens are not very good about quality control, they may also not be as cleanly cut as some of the more expensive focus screens.
2. Almost all front/back focus issues can be solved with the use of shims, unless you have an issue with you camera hardware. Please note that it is not just the exact location of the focus screen it is also the thickness that affects view.
3. Changing focus screens does not affect auto focus, it uses a different mechanism.
4. Every focusing screen that is not plain matte will effect metering, usually only spot metering, and in different ways. It is up to each of us individually to learn how to exploit these differences.
5. Sometimes focusing with a screen that has an aid, whether micro prism, split image or both, is infinitely faster/easier than the standard OEM matte screen.
6. There are documented problems with manual lenses and the standard matte screens, so saying that it is better is not 100% accurate.
Back to the OP's question, you need to determine which way the screen is off. Here is a thread that shows a easy way to test by using common household items, a tripod and your fastest lens. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/field-accessories/74641-lens-align.html, starts as a discussion of LensAlign but shows how you can 'make' your own. Focusingscreens.com does have a page outlining the use of shims to fix front/back focus here; Focusing Screen--How to adjust focusing screen--.
I have used the information presented here to correctly assess and correct manual focus errors introduced by third party focusing screens. In all cases even the OEM screen was off of precise focus, now every camera I have is less than 1 centimeter off (that's less than .4 inches for the metric impaired). I have three Pentax cameras each with a different screen, in one K20D the OEM shim had to be removed and replaced by a thinner shim as well as a shim added underneath. My second K20D just needed a shim added underneath the screen. My GX-1S only needed the screen and no shims to be focus accurate.
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Forum: General Talk
11-24-2009, 09:39 PM
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This usually means that they have at least one item at 10%, and usually just one, most of the rest is at 2%.
When there is a range stated expect the lowest amount not the highest.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-21-2009, 07:08 AM
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I also have the 85mm in Opteka trim. It has become one of my most used lenses. So far there seems to be no issues with the aperture blades, but I have not taken as many images as some here. I do like the Samyang 85mm so much I just recently purchased the 8mm in Rokinon trim when Overstock.com recently had them on sale and I had a coupon, I couldn't pass it up based on my previous experience for only $203.
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Forum: Sold Items
11-19-2009, 03:06 PM
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Item Sold and Shipped
Thank you all for your interest.
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Forum: Sold Items
11-19-2009, 07:13 AM
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All PM's replied to.
Payment pending.
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Forum: Sold Items
11-18-2009, 05:07 PM
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Forum: Sold Items
11-18-2009, 04:16 PM
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PentaxForums.com Marketplace Listing
Item for Sale
MC Zenitar-K f2.8/16mm
Asking Price
$ 135.00 USD
Shipping Destinations
United States
Item Description
There are no marks on the barrel, aperture blades are clean, and the glass has absolutely no marks or dust on it. Included in the sale is a set of 3 filters and a filter case as well as the soft case and nylon strap.
Purchased about one year ago from Rufit on eBay. It is a wonderfully sharp lens that does focus to infinity properly. I no longer need this lens as I have purchased a Sigma FE 16mm Filtermatic from another forum member.
Are you the original owner of the item being sold?
Yes
Are you selling or trading this item?
Selling
Item Condition (Key)
Used
Excellent
Item Location
North Carolina, US
Shipping Charge
included for CONUS
Shipping Services
USPS Priority Mail
Accepted Payment Types
PayPal
Return Policy & Additional Details
Please send me a private message if interested in the item!
Please send me a private message if interested in the item!
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Forum: Lens Clubs
11-16-2009, 02:47 PM
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So I got my Helios 44M-6 over a week ago and a few days later an M42 adapter. I bought a cheap adapter that does focus to infinity. Not much chance to take pictures with it but I did get out today while walking the dog.
These were shot as JPEG. They are straight from the camera without any post processing. I usually never shoot JPEG but I was testing for sensor dust and forgot to change it back.
All images resized by Picasa 3.
Camera: SAMSUNG TECHWIN
Model: GX-1S
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/350 sec
Aperture: n/a
Focal Length: 58mm
Flash Used: No
Camera: SAMSUNG TECHWIN
Model: GX-1S
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/30 sec
Aperture: n/a
Focal Length: 58mm
Now with this third image there is considerable blooming and over saturation of the red flower, plus it was handheld. I think my JPG settings must be BRIGHT, or even BRIGHT plus a bump in the saturation level.
Camera: SAMSUNG TECHWIN
Model: GX-1S
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/60 sec
Aperture: n/a
Focal Length: 58mm
Flash Used: No
There were a few other images but the flare was almost unacceptable on some and the subject rather boring on others. I will try this with RAW a bit later.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
11-16-2009, 02:11 PM
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This is not the easiest thing to do as you have to have a known light source and be fast enough to change the screens without damage or changes in the light. I have two K20D's and one is a K-3 and the other an Ec-B, I also have a Samsung GS-1S with the Pentax LL-80 screen, my daughter has a K200 with the OEM screen. It is too hard to compare the K200 with the K20 as the K200 is a Pentamirror and the K20 a Pentaprism.
As a subjective test, I did compare my K-3 to my Ec-B and I would say that the Nikon K-3 is brighter than the Canon screen.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
11-15-2009, 01:32 PM
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Today's ride:
K20D trying out a new lens that I got here, Sigma Fisheye f2.8/16mm Filtermatic
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
11-15-2009, 06:12 AM
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Let me relate my experience with hot shoe covers. I usually lose 1 cover every year and I had 4 cameras that had missing covers. Fortuneately I saved one of the original Pentax covers in the box.
I bought a dozen of these:
DealExtreme: $1.65 Universal Protective Case for Digital SLR Camera Hot Shoes
One dozen made them $1.00 a piece almost as cheap as buying 1 from Pentax as DE is shipped free. Now note that they fit as is but not exactly like the Pentax ones, a couple of minutes with an X-Acto knife and they matched the Pentax ones exactly, now I have a spare plastic bag with extras just in case I lose them all. Now if I could only find the screw on PC port covers cheap!
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
11-14-2009, 05:47 AM
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John,
Just get one, you will not regret it. You do not have to change anything in the way you focus and manual focus lenses become much easier to use. Precise focus is easier to see with a focus screen that has a split image and/or a micro prism.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
11-13-2009, 07:23 PM
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Auto focus does not have anything to do with whatever focusing screen you choose, so the answer is put any focusing screen you want in your camera. Auto focus will work just like it did before.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
11-12-2009, 12:49 PM
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joele, KatzEye has mentioned in the past that their screen is not a cut down K-3 although you cannot prove that by the images of customer screens from the internet. They charge an obscene amount for grid lines. But if you want more that a rule of thirds they are the only option.
Canon advertises their matte section as some sort of prism rather than what appears to be just a frosting on the cheapest screens. Maybe it is to solve the same issues Nikon does with its hexagonal precision matte.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-11-2009, 07:20 AM
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Now I understand where we are different. I did not mean to imply that the thin line was the issue, and I don't think I used those exact words. What I said was the target is too small. The target becomes even smaller the more oblique your angle is and also becomes smaller the further away you are. The smaller the target area the less likely that you will know where you are focused. It was a word interpretation difference and my inability to find the precise ones to explain my point.
There is one point in favor of the printed charts; Pentax uses a printed chart when calibrating cameras! The problem lies in all the other variables that we humans introduce when doing the same test. If you read the Pentax K series service manuals, I have, Pentax uses a precise set up. They only test with one lens and at one distance and with a precise method of exposure and they use a jig. Every camera that they test for service uses the same set up. We introduce variable distances, different lenses, different maximum apertures as well as different lighting.
One more note I read somewhere but don't have a direct link (might have been the same service manuals) that focusing from infinity and focusing from minimum focusing distances could produce different results. I have confirmed that my 2 K20Ds act this way. I believe I read that this is due to the cross sensor used in the center. From infinity it one axis is dominant and from close the other predominates, that would indicate to me that after you assure that the test scenario is accurate you need to verify focusing from both directions and compare the results.
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