k-r Focus Screen

Hi all,
Just bought a Pentax k-r, my first DSLR, and was a bit confused about the plain focus screen, having only used a manual focus film SLR before.

Having looked into it a bit more, I can see I'm going to have to replace the focus screen if I want to focus manually (and I don't want to have to rely on autofocus all the time!).

I just wondered if anyone has tried one from this seller on Amazon:link
(I think that's interchangeable with the k-r)
If so what did you think, quality-wise?

Thanks,
Dave

Hi Dave,

I also have the K-r and an old film slr with a split-ring focussing screen. It took a little while to get used to this one for manual focus but it is certainly possible, and i believe you also get a confirmation hexagon in the bottom right hand corner of the viewfinder to confirm the focus before depressing the shutter all the way to fire.

I would suggest giving yourself some time to get used to it before replacing the focussing screen

Good luck

Dan.

Thanks for your reply. I was reading up about the autofocus settings in the manual this weekend and came across the 'in-focus' hexagon you mention. I can't get it to appear in manual focus though - did you have to activate it? I get it in autofocus, and I'm using the kit lens, so that shouldn't be a problem.

When you think its focussed half press the shutter then keep it pressed while fine adjusting the focus and you'll get it. P.s I only found this out by messing about with manual focus! It'll beep when in focus and you will also see red dots in the viewfinder (as you do with AF) to confirm what you've focussed on,

Regards

Dan.

Got it. Tried a few different settings before I realised that I had to change the AF mode - I had it set so it didn't autofocus when half-pressing the shutter button, only when I pressed the AF/AE-L button.

I'll see how this works for me before I consider changing the focus screen again.

Thanks for your help.

Dave

ah ha. I bought my K-r 2nd hand so the first thing i did was reset everthing back to the defaults.

Dan