split screen 2.0

Back in April, I ordered a split screen on e-bay and I was having problems with the focus. My pictures were out of focus when the split prism lined up in the view finder. It turns out I had to turn the focus ring away from infinity in order to get the focus confirmation on the K10D.

Well I finally took the time to open it up again. I removed the shim and the focus got worse, having to turn further away from infinity. So I cut one of those sticky pads to size and stuck it on the back of the shim. This improved my focus alot, the prism now line up but is still off a little bit. This whole process took less than five minutes and its cheaper than ordering shims from Pentax.

sakura

Sakura

Blooming Sakura trees is a true sign of spring.  I went to High Park on Wednesday to catch a glimpse.  The Sakura’s has been blooming for the pass week and they’ll probably be gone by next week. Alot of petals are on the ground already.

I used the Albinar 2X Macro TC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7 and kit lens.  I was attempting to get some macro shots but it was difficult with the constant breeze and shallow depth of field.

Sakura

Bird in flight!

lens surgery

S-M-C Takumar 200mm f/4

I took apart the S-M-C Takumar 200mm f/4 today because I noticed the “Auto and Manual” switch wasn’t opening the aperture blades when set to “Auto” mode.  The procedure is pretty easy considering I never took a part a lens before and had no instructions.

This is how I disassembled the S-M-C Takumar 200mm f/4. You’ll need those mini screw drivers, both – and +.

1) I set the lens to minimum focus, this will fully extend the lens.  If you don’t do this first, you can’t access the screws.

2) Remove the screws on the focus ring and depth of field scale.

S-M-C Takumar 200mm f/4

3) You should now see a “big screw” that was under the depth of field scale. Unscrew it then remove the screws on the aperture ring.  Be careful not to lose the ball bearing when you slide the aperture ring out. The ball bearing is what makes the aperture ring “click.”

4) Now you should be able to see three larger screws that hold the glass elements piece and the mount piece of the lens together.  I didn’t need to disassemble the glass elements so I left it aside.  From this point on it should be pretty self-explanatory how to take the mount piece apart, if you need to.

5) Putting it back together is exactly the opposite. Just remember to put the ball bearing back and to line up f/4 on the aperture ring to the “big screw” mentioned in step three.

There are more pictures on Flickr.