I changed my focus screen on a DS about
3 years ago (same time I bought camera).
I put a split image rangefinder in there
and it works great to about F4, if you
line your eye up to the finder just right,
even F5.6 can work. The finders are easy
swap out, you just need a pair of large
tweezers or a small pair of needle nose
pliers to grab the little tab of the screen.
I bought my third party screen from a seller in china
on ebay.


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-----Original Message-----
From: pdml-boun...@pdml.net [mailto:pdml-boun...@pdml.net] On Behalf Of
Jeffery Smith
Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2010 3:38 PM
To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
Subject: Re: OT: new camera


Hey Larry,

I have to admit that I really avoid manual focusing of late because of the
lack of a split prism/split image focusing screen. For me, matte focusing
screens were only useful when using a tele that was so slow that half of the
split images blacked out. On Nikon SLRs in the 70's, it was called a
K-screen.  To give you some idea of how ignorant I am of modern dSLRs, I
didn't realize that the user could change screens until I went to the
Katzeye site and downloaded the instructions (!). User-changeable screens
was such a perk back in the 70's, if the screen was changeable, the customer
knew it as it was highly touted in the specifications and user manual.

I haven't fooled around much with histograms in the theater productions
because the lighting changes from minute to minute. This is one of those
rare occasions when automation seems to work far better than my futzing with
the controls. I get a spot reading on the subject's chest or face, and keep
the shutter button partially depressed. I do have to experiment a bit more
with the green button feature, and will pull out my Magic Lantern book this
evening to get a better grip on some of the program features.

Is the Katzeye relatively easy to install on the Pentax? I've never had an
issue with screen swapping on Rolleiflexes, but they are big and easy to
fool with.

Jeffery


On Oct 23, 2010, at 2:12 PM, Larry Colen wrote:

> 
> On Oct 23, 2010, at 7:39 AM, Jeffery Smith wrote:
> 
>> I do a significant amount of shooting theater productions, and the 
>> shutter lag is a major issue for me, as is sensitivity/dynamic range. 
>> The E-5 is significantly improved here, or is it simply not a problem 
>> with the E-5?
>> 
>> The K-x has not been an issue with dynamic range/sensitivity for me, 
>> and the 77/1.8 is a great focal length for most productions. However, 
>> I do get a lot of lost shots because what I pulled the trigger on had 
>> changed by the time the shutter actually fired.
> 
> My K-x is set up so that the AE-lock button is also the autofocus lock 
> button. If I feel that I can trust the autofocus to pick the right 
> thing to focus on (especially tough without the indicator lights) I'll 
> use autofocus to prefocus, then hit the lock button so the camera 
> fires when I'm ready.  Alternatively, I have a katzeye focusing 
> screen, so manual focus is easy for me in cases like that, and I'll 
> just manually focus.
> 
> If you think that the debates about sensor size, or vi vs. emacs, or 
> any of the other religious wars are bad, try to avoid the matte glass 
> vs. split prism debate. For me, when I first bought a katzeye screen, 
> it was like growing back a lost appendage. I have had a weird problem 
> with my K-x in that the focusing screen has a nasty habit of falling 
> out. I may have tweaked the metal bracket just a bit, and I *think* I 
> tried to bend it back the last time that it happened.
> 
> I haven't done a lot of theater work, but I do a lot of band 
> photography, and I think that they are probably fairly similar in what 
> challenges you face. By the way, do you check your histograms and 
> expose for the brightest channel when manually setting your exposure?
> 
> --
> Larry Colen l...@red4est.com sent from i4est
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
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follow the directions.

Jeffery L. Smith
New Orleans, LA



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