New split screen distr.

[robar]

just found this

HERE

[Dal1970]

Cool - looks like a bargain for those who don't yet have one.

Darren

[TDN]

wow! that's a nice price indeed. I might order one...

nice find roy! thanks!

Tom

[penolta]

There are a number of sellers offering these from Asia. Those that give someinformation indicate that these screens are not made forPentax but for another brand of camera.Someclearlyclearly state that they are thinner than the Pentax screens. They do not state how the thickness difference might affect the fit - they offer them for more models than the K10D which I think(?) is the only one with provision for user screen interchange. I don'tknow how well they might or might not work, but some caution might be advised, pending more information. I don't want to be a wet blanket here, but they might not be everybody's cup of tea. I wish Pentax would offer more than the 2 they now do for the K10D - they had a nice selection for the MX and LX (too bad those won't fit!).

[robar]

the one i have was made out of a minolta screen by somebody in hong kong.. it works fine.

roy

[George in Georgia]

Here's a source for replacement screens for various DSLRs, including Pentax:

http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/

They also offer what they call the "Plus" screen, which is supposed to avoid the common problem of one half of the split image darkening with small aperature lenses; this makes focusing my f8 mirror lens miserable.

They aren't cheap, though.

[Monza76]

I also have the Minolta X-700 sourced Chinese screen in my DS, no real problems except a very minor flaw, the split screen is slightly off-centre. I find it great and have not noticed any issues with focus or exposure.

[SteveB]

Are there any drawbacks to using a split screen? Does the AF confirmation still work the same? Do the AF point red dots still show up?

[snostorm]

Hi Steve,

The possible downsides are:

Metering problems -- mostly with spot metering -- as the split screen area might intersect the area of the metering sensor -- you pretty much have to rely on testamonials about this, or try it yourself.

One side of the split screen can "black out" with slower lenses at lower light levels. This usually starts to happen at @ f 5.6, depending on the screen, and is somewhat dependent on the angle of your eye in relation to the viewfinder, so you might be able to overcome it by adjusting your eye position slightly, but it can be a problem when trying to compose a shot quickly.

The split screen/microprism collar area is larger in relation to the whole frame than it was on a 35mm SLR, so it obscures more of the viewfinder.

Usually, it seems that most people who want the focusing aid find the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. YMMV, of course.

Personally, I have a Katzeye screen for my DS. It's brighter than the OEM screen and also has a finer ground glass appearance. I find that I rarely use the focusing aids, and haven't gotten one for the K10, since it already has a brighter, finer screen. If I had it to do over, I would probably just get an OEM K10 screen, maybe with the "rule of thirds" markings, to get a brighter, more finely grained screen for the DS. Realize that I shoot mostly teles with TCs, so I'm more prone to the problems that a split screen might pose -- I do find it helps considerably when shooting with wider, faster lenses, so my experience is not necessarily the norm in this respect.

Just my $.02. . .

Scott

The AF confirmation and AF point overlays still work with any screen with the Pentax system.

[bluwing]

Hi Roy,

There was another one from China that used the focusing screen from the K1000 that was closer to the thickness of the ist line and the K line. Now if I can find that Ad.

Here it is: http://cgi.ebay.com/Split-Image-Focu...QQcmdZViewItem

It is recommended by them that you get the one 45 degree version. Why, I don't know.

Rudy