Thanks Pete,

Found them now. I previously put in 'focusing screen' and K20 and not much came up (not convinced by the search facility). The consensus seems to be Katz Eye is the one to go for, in spite of the price; I don't like the sound of darker screens or blacking out at f5.6.

Stan

Hi,

I have a K20D which I mainly use on manual focus. I notice the focusing screen is interchangeable and I'd like to have a more traditional one with the split prism and blurry ring. I've seen Katz Eye do one ($160 with brightness treatment, + post & tax) and wondered if anyone had any experience with it, or know of a cheaper alternative that doesn't black out when used with a zoom lens.

Thanks for quick replies. Stefan, I hadn't thought about Crumpler so will check them out. Matt, thanks for tip re. Amazon - now £87 for the Stealth 650 which is nearly £40 less than Jessops online.

Cheers,
Stan

I'm looking for a camera/computer bag that will be used for a variety of purposes (e.g. computer/documents/overnight bag, airline hand luggage for my K20, couple of lenses and computer). I'm a Lowepro fan as I have several of their smaller products so I'm favouring the Classified 250 and Stealth Reporter 650.

I can't find either in stock locally so I wondered if anyone has one of them or has had a good look at them. Apart from general impressions the main thing I want to know is whether you can take some of the padding out and compress the bag for hand luggage? (some airlines have a maximum depth of 20cm or 25cm, while the bags are given as 28cm).

I've only played with a K7 in the shop since buying my K20D earlier in the year but tend to think that with the K7 you are paying for 'extras' like the video capability that don't add anything to its basic function as an SLR. Particularly so now that there are some good deals on K20s. It all depends what you want - having grown up on a manual film SLR, most of the time I set the in-camera options to neutral and use manual settings and focus. I did notice that on 'green' or 'P' setting the K20 can underexpose slightly (I'm told that's been corrected in the K7), but strangely it's not a problem I've ever had on manual or aperture priority.

Incidentally I bought a good used Pentax FA 24-90 that's now my preferred general walkabout lens, though the extra width on the 18-55 comes in handy now and then.

Many thanks for the advice. It looks as if the best option if I'm going to swap lenses between the cameras is an MZ6/MZ60 or similar (I had an MZ50 until the wind-on mechanism played up). The vignetting problem shouldn't be too much of an issue as I only have one DA lens (18-55) and my 'standard' FA zoom (24-90) should go wide enough for what I want with a 35mm.

Stan

A question from a new member:

I have a K20D bought last year (excellent camera IMO), which I mainly use on manual setting and focus. I very occasionally do some film photography (slide or B&W) with an old 1970s Olympus RC35 (fixed-lens compact), & I'm thinking of picking up a Pentax body that can use the same FA & DA lenses as the K20. I'm happy to go fully manual (I grew up with a Praktica MTL3) and in some respects the ME Super appeals - but my guess is that the older cameras won't cope with lenses that lack an aperture ring (or at best will be stuck fully open). Can anyone advise which series started to have aperture controls in the body - and maybe suggest something suitable? My instinct is to go for simplicity and strength if any of the later models fit that description - it won't get used that often and I'd like it to last as long as my RC35.