Eye piece blanking

Does anyone use the Pentax Eyepiece cover when using a tripod?

Does extra light enter the camera and change the metering,or was this on 35mm cameras only

I don't use the Penjtax eyepiece as it doesn't fit the K-5. I've made one out of cardboard covered with black electrical tape and it works perfectly.

Light will enter the eyepiece if you're doing long exposure shots so it is important that you keep it covered.

Regards
DAvid

Likewise I don't use the Pentax gubbins - its too much of a pain to fit, then refit, then reset the dioptre setting which has invariably moved.

I use a bit of black plastic cut from an old tape box which just slides under the rubber surround

You can check out how much light gets in by taking two shots, one with one without blanking.

Incidentally if I'm taking a low level shot (not looking through the eyepiece) by estimating the shot I usually put my thumb over the eyepiece.


regards
Bernard

Are you sure? The same "Finder Cap" fits both my K-5 and K10D. And also my ME-Super and Super-A (and K-30, before I sold it).

You have to remove the rubber eye piece, then slide in the cap in its place

Part number 31011. (Supplied as standard with the K-5 & K10D, but an optional extra on the K-30).

Blu tack for me.

Just cover the eyepiece with the hand, as the exposure is locked as soon as the shutter button is pressed.

Yes it does.




.

I would be worried that Blu Tac might damage the Anti Reflection coating on the eye peice

I never bother covering the eye piece TBH... With long exposures I metre, take the shot and if it needs adjustment I change the shutter to compensate and take the shot again...

It's important to cover the eyepiece, the longer the exposure, the more important this gets. The issue is not so much whether the exposure will be out, it's more that you can end up with streaks on the image where light leakage over-exposes parts of it compared to other parts. There is nothing you can do to rectify this in PP.

Regards
David

I chuck my black woolly hat over the camera

how much light can actually get past the raised mirror anyway?

Small amounts, but when you're doing a long exposure this can make a big impact on the final image. A small amount of light falling on the sensor for 2 to 3 minutes for example can be clearly seen as streaks in the image.

Regards
David

Exactly as David says. It's critical.

I chuck an old black t-shirt over. It's always in my camera bag.

I presume if you use live view it will not make any difference