how bright is K10D viewfinder?

[jtk]

Is the K10D viewfinder as bright as Pentax film viewfinders?

[Jochen_S]

Even my K100D has a brighter finder than a MX, but the image appears much smaller. Pricier DSLR's finders are a bit bigger.

[andrewg_ny]

I would say that depends on which 35mm body viewfinder you're referring to. I'd say it's comparable to some of the AF body viewfinders but probably not quite as bright as a large-viewfinder manual focus body. The way I understand it, the AF bodies' mirrors allow a little light to pass through them to be diverted to the AF sensors so they tend to be a little darker. Size/magnification-wise, seems very close to a slightly smaller 35mm viewfinder such as the one on the ZX-L.

[alan_chan4]

That's a very board question. Brighter or dimmer depends on which film body you are comparing with. Basically all manual focus cameras have very bright and large viewfinders compared to Pentax AF bodies. However, focus screens have improved a lot and what you are seeing as dim viewfinders on old manual focus cameras are actually the dim focus screens. If you managed to fit a modern focus screen in an old Pentax body, you would be amazed how much better those good old viewfinders really are. For instance, you can fit a MZ-M split screen in a MX and manual focus will be a joy. The viewfinder is bright & sharp. Trying to manual focus constantly with K10D will make your eye bleeds. :)

[jtk]

"Trying to manual focus constantly with K10D will make your eye bleeds. :)"

 

That's the answer to my question. :-(

 

Thanks.

[alan_chan4]

LOL. Hi John! I hope I didn't stop you from buying K10D because of that. The truth is all APS-C viewfinders suck in comparsion. That's just how moderm cameras are made and we have to live with. If you check the Nikon F-5/6 spec, their VF are tiny too. :)

[bryan_wolf]

I like mine. I almost exclusively use manual focus lenses... Still no bleeding here and my eyes are rubbish to begin with. ;-)

[jtk]

OK. So when you're composing carefully, does it make sense to rely on the viewfinder? Does it frame nearly 100%?

 

I can manage a Leica IIIC so I'm used to squinting. But I'm into to focusing.

 

My real cameras are Canon F1s :-)

 

John

[hagar]

I have a Pentax K2.. and the K10D with several lenses. I find the viewfinder just as bright, and the manual focus a snap.

[godfrey]

It's bright and has excellent focusing tooth on the standard focusing screen. It isn't a 35mm

camera, so the focusing screen is smaller ... just like the distinction between a Pentax 645

and a Pentax MX focusing screen.

 

Godfrey

[amund_aaeng]

Godfrey wrote: " just like the distinction between a Pentax 645 and a Pentax MX focusing screen." The screen itself is of course larger, but when you look through the viewfinder:

 

The MX has a wonderful huge VF, and if you put the 645 to one eye, and the MX on the other, you`ll find the MX`s VF actually appears just as large, if not even larger... Try it :-)

[godfrey]

The difference between them is that the 645's viewfinder is magnified less, and is both

brighter and has an easier to focus on surface even with a 35mm f/3.5 ultrawide lens.

 

Don't get me wrong: I liked the MX quite a lot, but I ended up selling it because I had it a

year and never found a moment when I'd put a roll of film through it rather than taking out

the DSLR instead. 35mm film is no longer a medium for me. I've put only a tiny amount of

film through the 645 (5 rolls in 9 months) but that's better than nothing at all.

 

Godfrey