where to get split focus screen for Pentax k-x in Singapore and how much

[sunnycamera]

where to get split focus screen for Pentax k-x in Singapore and how much;

also, if in the dark area, does that help much, as I found in the evening, taking photo of cats in dark is hard to focus, even with live view zoom.

---------------------updates-----------------

hi, thanks for all the information,

I found what I want from a Chinese seller in Guangzhou, china,


if you can read Chinese, and have a chance to fly to Guangzhou in China, you will be able to get it around 20 SGD the cheapest, or the K3 split type. (for my case, it is no problem for me, I think I will give the 20 SGD version a try later)

but after I read some more about split screen,

This split screen makers says,
even the best split screen won't work at aperture smaller than f4.5, f5.6 because of dim lighting;

thus, that means as long as light is dim, lack of contrast,
split screen won't work well, as the split difference of dim image is hard to tell.

So, split screen won;t help much for Photograph a Dark Cat under a Dark Tree shadow at a Dark night

while the K3 type split screen will still work a little better at small aperture, as it says "combination of all 3 types of light splitting optical design, good for heavy manual users",

-----------about live view based manual focus-----------------------
as the focal length smaller than 200mm, it is easy to hand-hold the manual lens,
thus the live view won't be Crazying Shaking, it is still reliable for live view to slowly manually aid the focusing with another hand

also live view works well as view finder magnification adder, (10x live view zoom)

but once the focus length larger than 400mm, (I tried) live screen is Shaking Crazy and Responds Very Slow for manual focus.

------------My Final Decision--------------------------------------

for focal length smaller than 135mm,
easy to hand hold, easy to use Live View for slow manual adjustment focusing;

for focal length larger than 400mm,
live view is shaking like no use,
split screen won't help much, as normal telephone lens is with aperture smaller than f5.6, some case work with f8

for macro lens at 90mm or so,
live view is also shaking like Crazy,
split screen will help quite a bit if you hand hold it.
but if your subject is not moving much, and you normally have much time to focus it right with tripod,
since it is still, then a right angle view finder with 3x mag will help even more for precision


I guess split screen is good for Fast manual focus at Bright sun day with Faster lens like f2.8

 

[felixcat8888]

Not in SG, but you can try www.focusingscreen.com. Most of us get our screens from them. My K7 has the K3 with grids.

 

[CorneliusK]

It really depends on your eyesight but if its too dark for live view then its probably too dark to see even with a split focusing screen as well.

 

[sunnycamera]

seems for the split focus screen price,

I can get Seagull Right Angle Viewfinder 1-3.3x at 85 SGD;

will the 3.3x viewfinder do a better job, than a split thin glass.

 

[felixcat8888]

seems for the split focus screen price,

I can get Seagull Right Angle Viewfinder 1-3.3x at 85 SGD;

will the 3.3x viewfinder do a better job, than a split thin glass.

Never tried the right angle VF as don't see the need to. The screen works great in low light but if the light is too low, the camera cannot find the target. What is there to view in the VF?

 

[Moonlightsg]

pls note that VF will get a bit darker after you install split focusing screen..
but i still love it! haha

 

[Bridgerock]

Is it complicated process to install the focus screen? I see that the focusing screen is very near to the sensor. Kinda high risk though. Does the split screen help alot on focusing on a subject?

 

[felixcat8888]

Only if you MF a lot then it helps. For me I have the K3 with grid lines and it helps a lot. For AF it depends on your subject as well. Installation process not that complicated but you do need to be careful not to scratch the original screen.

 

[detritus]

Is it complicated process to install the focus screen? I see that the focusing screen is very near to the sensor. Kinda high risk though. Does the split screen help alot on focusing on a subject?

the ones from focusingscreen.com comes with detailed instructions and tools to help u do it properly.

its not rocket science to replace but there are always risks whenever u poke around the innards of a DSLR.

1st is that the screen is very fragile and gets scratched easily.

2nd is that u introduce dust onto the sensor.

i never bothered for the following reasons. imo, its not critical. i can live with original stock focusing screen with the OME-53 magnifying eyecup.

 

[Bridgerock]

I think I am getting 'lao hua' seems like the focusing on the K5 is not very clear to me. Think I better get the magnifying eyecup to help me out. Thanks for the recommendation Detritus. =) Any idea where to get the OME-53? Is it easily available in singapore?

 

[detritus]

I think I am getting 'lao hua' seems like the focusing on the K5 is not very clear to me. Think I better get the magnifying eyecup to help me out. Thanks for the recommendation Detritus. =) Any idea where to get the OME-53? Is it easily available in singapore?

scorpioh selling in buy-sell right? i think he has spares?

did u adjust the diopter on your viewfinder? that may help.

 

[detritus]

just to add - the K-5 VF has 100% coverage. the OME-53 will crop the view from the VF. hence, some users don't like to use it on the K5.

i only use it for macro work myself, when a little more magnification trumps the need for a full perspective for composition.

 

[Bridgerock]

scorpioh selling in buy-sell right? i think he has spares?

did u adjust the diopter on your viewfinder? that may help.

Will check the BS section. I adjusted the diopter but still not very clear. Think my eye sight not very good . Sometimes I do want to manually focus but my agar-ration is not very good nowadays.

 

[evolutioner]

just to add - the K-5 VF has 100% coverage. the OME-53 will crop the view from the VF. hence, some users don't like to use it on the K5.

i only use it for macro work myself, when a little more magnification trumps the need for a full perspective for composition.

crop the view? is that true?

 

[detritus]

slightly off the sides... gets a little bit harder to see the settings at the bottom of the VF as well. depends how particular you are i guess its still on my camera most of the time.

 

[evolutioner]

slightly off the sides... gets a little bit harder to see the settings at the bottom of the VF as well. depends how particular you are i guess its still on my camera most of the time.

or do u mean vignetting? kinda have to shift the eye around a little bit to see the whole frame

 

[bigturbo]

Anyone can share where can get the o-me53 here in sg? Called orient as I knew they used to have but was told no more stocks and not bringing in.

 

[detritus]

or do u mean vignetting? kinda have to shift the eye around a little bit to see the whole frame

no, i don't mean vignetting.

i mean that the ome-53 will slightly reduce the field of view of your vf.

for example, at x cm, u are able to see the scale of a ruler from 0cm to 20cm through your vf.

after attaching the OME53, your FOV will be 0.2cm to 19.8cm.

these are not measurements derived from actual experimentation. its just a hypothetical example. your mileage may vary.

from my experience, its very slight and negligible. but it will bug pple in some situations - like landscape for example, where wysiwyg in their composition is more important than magnification.

 

[Moonlightsg]

Is it complicated process to install the focus screen? I see that the focusing screen is very near to the sensor. Kinda high risk though. Does the split screen help alot on focusing on a subject?

not complicated... exchange focus screen of 2 k-x with my hands... no tool used... within 20 mins...