Katz Eye Focusing Screens

Some photographers, myself included, really liked the split prism design of the older line of manual focus SLR cameras. My personal favorite is the Pentax LX although the Pentax MX brings up a close second. This focusing system was extremely simple and extremely efficient. Sure, this system had its flaws, but so does autofocus.

Katz Eye Optics offers a solution to this wishful thinking. They make an extremely nice alternative split prism focusing screen for a surprisingly wide selection of cameras. Within a month of the introduction of the Pentax K10D, Katz Eye Optics had a split prism focusing screen designed specifically for this camera. The same goes for the Pentax K100D, *ist D, *ist DS, and *ist DL.

I have purchased split prism focusing screens for both of my K10D bodies and I just ordered one for my K100D body. The screen does not affect autofocus and basically does not affect the metering either. In some circumstances metering might be affected just the slightest but it is not enough to worry about.

I ordered the basic $95 "Plus" screen without any of the extras. You can have grid lines or even autofocus markers added for the Pentax digital SLRs but I just prefer a basic screen. I already know where my autofocus markers are. I am very happy with my purchases and you might want to consider a screen for yourself. Take a look at the Katz Eye Optics web site.