Pentax K-1 viewfinder

[caspert79]

I'm considering upgrading my camera system (I come from Olympus Pen system) to full frame.

One thing I never liked about the Oly is the Electronic Viewfinder to focus with MF lenses. I'm not too impressed with the optical viewfinders on most DSLR's either. I read however, that the viewfinder of the Pentax K-1 should be pretty good.

I'm curious how it's viewfinder compares with the EVF of a Sony A7ii. Anybody that tried both with manual focus lenses?
I will use my camera mostly with MF lenses, so it's an important argument for me.

[cooltouch]

I can't answer your questions because I have no experience with that gear. But everything I've read about the K-1 is it is a fantastic camera for the price point. I recommend you go visit the pentax forums:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/

Click on the "Cameras" drop down in the top menu bar, then Pentax Camera Reviews. And there you are. Any other questions you might have about the K-1 (or K-1 II), you can most likely have answered by the helpful and friendly folks over there at the Pentax Forums.

I like PF. It's my next most favorite forum, compared to this one, of course.

[Sjak]

Another suggestion would be to try out the K1 at a store; bring 1-2 lenses with you.

I never tried one myself, but overall it seems a really nice package. If I had to pick 1 current DSLR, probably it would be this one.

The downside of an OVF with manual focus lenses is that there is no magnification. This can make accurate focus at very wide apertures, or with longer focal lengths, a challenge. The K1 has live view though, which can help in those situations.

[james]

The suggestion of bringing along a lens or two is a brilliant idea. I cannot speak for the Pentax DSLRs but Nikon utilized focusing screens that are optimized for about ƒ/2,8 and aren't well-suited for fast MF glass; unlike the OM series or Nikon FM3, focusing is a challenge unless there's some aid. The confirmation dot on Nikon is notoriously inaccurate. The now-defunct Katz Eye made great screens with split circle but from the D800/D4 onwards, Nikon purposely engineered the screen mount as to make interchange difficult.

[Sjak]

O and be sure you do some research upfront on how to set the camera for a manual lens. On a Pentax, you have to take a few initial hurdles, but once setup, it works very nicely. Especially if you have a lot of K-mount or M42-lenses, a Pentax is something to consider.

[kypfer]

I use Pentax DSLR's, albeit APS-C not full-frame, and many manual focus lenses with no problems at all. The viewfinders have a focus confirmation indicator which works well at f/5.6 or better (f/8 on a bright contrasty subject) and even darker images can be focussed reasonably easy on the ground-glass screen. There's even a "catch-in-focus" feature whereby, with certain pre-requisites met, you hold the shutter button down whilst focussing the lens. The camera won't make an exposure until the image is in focus!

All the modern bodies have built-in shake-reduction which works well whichever lens is fitted, though you do have to "tell" the camera the focal length of the lens being used for optimum performance.

I'm sure the K-1 features are equal or superior to my cameras

*** SORRY *** Just realised this thread is several months old , hope my comments may be of use to someone.

[tromboads]

Several months old doesn't matter, we all get to it at different points.

But plus 1 with how cool Pentax's are

[nono]

Hello,

I'm probably late but I can write from experience.

I have found the viewfinder of the K-1 mostly unusable for manual focus; it is just too small for accurate focusing. My eyesight probably doesn't help either. However Pentax sells a magnifying eyepiece (1.2 magnification) which makes it quite decent without adding too much aberration. I know you can get 3rd party ones cheaper, but I don't know if they are as good.

HTH