Use Found For Tilting Screen

I was a bit disinterested in the tilting screen on the back of the MX-1 but I did find a use for it today. I was at a garden centre that used to be thriving, but now looks very sad by comparison to its hey-day. Some parts were cut off by high fences, but I wanted to see how bad the old glasshouses had become. Tilting the screen down and using the camera at arm's length I was able to find out:


I can see it will have its moments!

Well you caught a nice mess there John.

Try shooting with the camera wedged against your belly, looking down at the screen like a TLR John. Makes for great stability and of course it's good for street photography.

Hi, besides the K5, I also have a X-5.
I find the tilting screen on the X-5 great for photographing objects like flowers or insects which are very close to the ground. This way, I only have to kneel on the ground and don't need to lay flat.
Before I bought the X-5 I used the right angle finder with the K5, but this is very tedious.

I wish all new cameras have the tilde function.

Regards, Horst

I was using the MX-1 today at Arley Hall and the tilting screen did save me from lying on the wet ground to get some shots:


There are some more images from today on my EPZ blog.

Number one looks like some of the allotments in this area that have been abandoned. Like number two too.

When I was deciding which camera to buy the tilting screen models almost had me veering away from Pentax. I think the deciding factor was I had a couple of Pentax lenses already, but there have been quite a few times when I would have been very grateful for a tilting screen.

It's not a deal breaker for me and it does unfortunately add a bit of bulk to a camera, but it has its advantages too.

For me it is useful, the extra depth (1-2mm?) is not an issue in practical terms. It makes the camera _look_ a bit deeper than necessary but I don't think it makes it significantly larger.

On a DSLR you use the OVF 95% of the time anyway so it's no biggie. On a compact it's really handy as you use the screen a lot more (obviously).

I agree, 95% use the OVR, but the other 5% are quite often worth while.
The advantage is that you can take some pictures without needing to be a contortionist, or have your Sunday-Bests full of mud having to lay flat on the ground.
Regards, Horst

I wouldn't mind a tilting screen on a DSLR at all. Preferably one that can be flipped completely round to keep the screen safe and scratch free.