Focusing Screens - do you use alternates?

[farmer_rob]

Thanks for that, but I'm not going to risk a $3k camera to a set of instructions written in INGRISH

I looked at the Katzeye site, and their installation instructions said something like: "These instructions are for the d300, but it is the same on the d700".

I'd be a bit wary too, Mark.

(Although I think the "can't change focus screen" is not really correct - in spite of Thom Hogan being the source. According to the web, it seemed to take a bit of time before aftermarket screens were available, and Katzeye seemed to be unwilling to produce one for a while. Perhaps "can't change" meant "nothing to change to"?)

[Kym]

Katz eye instructions are in real english.
Focusing screens .com are in ingrish

[arthurking83]

Changing a focusing screen is a doddle.
You do need to be careful, unlike myself who rushes the job and scratches his focusing screen with the long pointy nosed pliers!

I've done it regularly(as in on and off) to make sure it was helping or hindering, on the D70s and never had any mishaps.
The scratch I produced on my D300 screen was during removal of the screen whilst attempting to clean out the innards of the focusing prism area form fine hair/dust. makes no difference to the operation of the camera tho.

The only caveat in CHANGING screens is that it may be out of alignment for manually focusing. It may or may not have shims to be aware of, and the alternate screen may or may not need them.
Once fitted testing is required to be sure the manual focus confirmation dot is aligned correctly(Nikon specific).. and that's quite easy too.

Mark(W) I;m sure you'd be more than capable of changing your focus screen.
have a look/feel around for a rectangular shaped wire retaining clip around the perimeter of the screen(within the mirror box of course). There's a small raised section of that retaining wire that is used to hook something thin and sturdy under that section(small electronics type long pointy noised pliers, not the thicker mechanics/electricians type).
On the D300, this simply clips out at the front end, and is levered out of the way, by way of a hinged retainer at the back of the body, and then the camera is turned right way up and the screen falls out.
I use a Pec Pad to capture the screen, blow out the prism box so that there is no dust, make ssure there is a very fine(shiny) shim on the inner perimeter of the prism area.. etc, etc and clip it back in place. should take approx 5-10mins once you've worked out what/where/and how everything is organised.
The screen can only be fitted one way, by means of a small tab along one of the longer edges. That tab on the screen itself is held with a pair of tweezers, so there's no need to touch the screen itself.
The hardest part is clipping the retaining wire back in place. Too much pressure can lead to slip ups, and possibly a scratched screen

One day I'll post a quick'n'dirty how too.. but I need to get myself a can of air to clean the prism out too.

[jibbonpoint]

I confess that I bought the cheapie, instructions are OK at best, no tools but after the anxiety of fitting it works great.

Pentax K10D

[Colourised]

jibbon: does it black out easily? im pretty worried abt that matter tho.

since my only workhorse lens is either the 35 1.8 or 10-20! afraid if i turn to the 10-20 it gets too dark too early!

[jibbonpoint]

jibbon: does it black out easily? im pretty worried abt that matter tho.

since my only workhorse lens is either the 35 1.8 or 10-20! afraid if i turn to the 10-20 it gets too dark too early!

It does black out, but I wouldn't say easily. I haven't noticed it hapening particularly with the 10-20. It's better than the one that came with my Ricoh XR-M. (That was circa 1979!!)

The K10D has focus confirmation which I check & find that it invariably agrees with the split prism.

I have certainly found it an enormous advantage when focusing manually in cases, say, if you are trying to focus on a single particular flower on a bush with a whole bunch.

[Gregg Bell]

I don't understand the pros to changing it, is there any?

[Steadyhands]

I've used both the Katz eye and Canon Super Precision Matte screens in my 40D. I use a Canon Super Precision Matte for my 1D3.

I have a Katz Eye Split Prism with the Opti-Bright treatment and found that while it helped to see the critical focus it was a total pain when it came to Manual Focus Macro when I was targeting the focus out of the centre of the screen. The centre is the Split Prism area and this works well if you are using the centre point, but if you use an off centre point or even somewhere else on the screen then it was very hard to see critical focus. It just seemed like there was too much clutter on the view finder. I didn't see that much change in metering but there was some.

As a result of this I removed the Katz Eye from the 40D and purchased the Canon Super Precision Matte screen and it worked much better. It has no split prism but a finer matte that shows Focus/Out of Focus better. Metering with this one was not changed as the camera had a specific setting to to let it know which Canon screen was installed. I assume this subtly compensates the metering to allow for the light loss you get from the screen.

[kevinj]

I really want one of these so I can use my 2xTC with my 100-400mm,my MF skills are poor due to my eyesight being poor,the installation looks easy,is it?Are the Katseye worth double the price of the cheaper versions?

[abeluka]

I got a katz-eye for my 40D.. I have a set of old m42 Takumars, which are lovely lenses, but the focusing screen on the 40D was so bad that more than 2/3rds of my shots missed perfect focus.

I also have a cheap set of extension tubes for macro work, and the screen does help with those shots too.

I got the Katz-eye with the brightening treatment and the rule of thirds grid... it's costly but to me it was worth it.. It has transformed 4 very cheap (on eBay) Takumar manual lenses into a very easily usable lenses.

Because it has let me take proper advantage of the great glass thats out there for less than $50-$100, it has been like spending $200 to save $1000. I have a great 200m f4 prime Takumar lens which is just great now that I can get perfect focus almost every time.

[jibbonpoint]

I don't understand the pros to changing it, is there any?

There's one enormous pro to using a split prism focusing screen. Ability to focus on an object in a clutter of objects where you want a shallow depth of field i.e a single chilli on a chilli bush & the surround out of focus. The Autofocus doesn't know exactly which chilli or leaf or stick or branch that you really want. The split prism will allow you to tell the camera when to take the shot by manually focusing.

[Colourised]

i just hit the buy button on the cheapie focusing screen! i cant helppp ittt. hopefully its gnna b goooood

[Topgunn]

^ It doesnt really matter if its not. When you buy a cheap one you dont have much to lose apart from just making sure your careful when you install it and do it in a dust free environment. I have never looked back with mine and the pros outweigh the cons 5:1.
Good luck!

[Steve Axford]

I didn't vote because although I use an alternative ficus screen, it is s genuine Canon accessory. I used the Eg-D grid screen.

Ditto

[tomtom1]

ef-d focus screen for 40d. It really doesn't have any disadvantage versus stock and is cheap and easy to install.