help k100d changed to split screen, now cannot focus

Hi There,

first post so go easy.

I ordered a split screen from jinfinance and did a terrible job of installing it last night.

It took me a really long time to work out how to get the k100d screen-holder-latch unclasped and by the time i did i had already bent it slightly out of shape, and smeared fingerprints all over my mirror.

I bent the screen-latch back into shape as best i could.

I changed over the screens, but cannot get anything in focus with the kit lens or with my smc-m 50mm (in-camera auto-focus measurement seems to work accurately).

I then changed the screen back to the original and still cant get anything in focus. I also tried removing both shims (metal and plastic-included in package from jinfinance) or combinations of either with no success.

So i'm a little bit worried.

Is it more likely that the inability to focus (fuzzy images) are caused by:

1) the screen not being held tight enough in its housing (it has a fraction of play maybe 1/2 mm due to the screen-latch having been bent out of shape a little)

or

2) fingerprints smudges all over the mirror

I would very much appreciate any help here - as everyone else i've read on this forum appears to have had little trouble installing these screens

the posts i've already scanned are here:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=24262364
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=23394018

Cheers,

Calvin

I hope this help you: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pentaxtech/ (I just see you already check my original pictures, sorry, nothing new on that, be sure the screen is with the bright side down)

That is from when I change my screen. The first thing I noted is if the screen is installed fliped down there is imposible to get right focus. On the Viewfinder the image will look right but the pictures will look out of focus. This happens because the register distance from the lens to the screen image side is different from the lens to the sensor.

Hi Leopoldo

Thanks heaps for that. i wish i'd had those pics before i started!

I'll give it another try tonight and see how it goes....

Hi Calvin, this won't be very encouraging but, here's my experience. Changing my *istDS to a split screen was easy and it worked well. I've tried installing two different split screens in my K100 with little success. The first time, my experience was similar to yours. I still had accurate auto focus but m/f was way off, so no reason to have the split screen in. Put the original screen back in and had good a/f but m/f was still way off. Tried several times to correct it and get things back to normal but was not able to. Ended up sending the camera off to Pentax Service. They got everything straightened out and the camera back to me in a little over three weeks. Later, I installed a different split image screen. It went a little better this time. But when I got the screen installed, I once again had good a/f but m/f was way off again. After reinstalling the stock focusing screen this time, I've got good a/f and also good (accurate) m/f again. So, I guess I'm stuck with using the stock focusing screen. To help with m/f, I've installed a Nikon 1.7x magnifying eye cup. This helps m/f quite a bit, but I'd prefer a split screen but it doesn't seem to be a viable alternative with the K100 for me. Several others on this forum have had much better results with installing a split screen on their K100s, but it hasn't worked well for me. On my *istDS, the split screen was an easy install and has worked well overall. The only problem I've had on the DS is the split screen really throws the metering off when I use spot metering. I don't use spot metering very often, but it's an important tool when I need it. I hope some of this is helpful to you, and good luck with your camera.
Dave

Hi Dave,

thanks heaps for your post. it's sounding a bit more serious than i though. Pleased that you managed to get it working in the end though!

Did Pentax Service mention what the problem was with the screen?

Cheers

Hi Calvin, no they weren't very forthcoming about the problem or the fix, only stating that it was fixed and working correctly. My belief is that the metal frame that holds the screen in place was deformed (by me during the proceedure) and so even when I put the original screen back in, it was out of alignment. I'm sure they removed everything and then reassembled it with a new frame and tested it before sending it back to me.
Dave

The AF unit is on the bottom of the camera. Light travels THROUGH the mirror and is reflected DOWN (by another mirror behind the primary mirror) to the AF unit. Your mirror smuge is probably the cause and if I remember they are silvered (actualyy semi-silvered which is why some light passes through it) on the front side so be careful cleaning. Hopefully you didn't knock anything on the mirror out of alignment.
--
360 minutes from the prime meridian. (-5375min, 3.55sec) 1093' above sea level.

'The exposure meter is calibrated to some clearly defined standards and the user needs to adjust his working method and his subject matter to these values. It does not help to suppose all kinds of assumptions that do not exist.'
Erwin Puts

After re-reading your post it's not the mirror... sorry. You said the camera confirms AF but it's fuzzy in the viewfinder.. so it's not the AF system being buggy. Still you (well maybe not you ) need to clean the mirror...
--
360 minutes from the prime meridian. (-5375min, 3.55sec) 1093' above sea level.

'The exposure meter is calibrated to some clearly defined standards and the user needs to adjust his working method and his subject matter to these values. It does not help to suppose all kinds of assumptions that do not exist.'
Erwin Puts

Hi All,

Thanks heaps for all your replies.

My problem was called the "dioptre adjustment". Cant believe it took me 3-ish hours of troubleshooting to work that out. All working fine now.

Cheers

Cal

calvin_xa said:

Hi All,

Thanks heaps for all your replies.

My problem was called the "dioptre adjustment". Cant believe it took
me 3-ish hours of troubleshooting to work that out. All working fine
now.

Cheers

Cal

Click to expand...

Don't worry Cal - that's the sort of thing I do. I'm always cheered up when someone else does it ...
--
tim

fingerprints on the mirror are not good news, they will damage the front surfaced mirror. Don't try to clean this yourself but get a camera repair technician to have a look at it as soon as possible.

--
Steve

http://www.pbase.com/steephill