Manual focus screens - anyone change theirs?

NeilA1975

NeilA1975

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I'm pondering whether or not to purchase a manual focus screen for my Nikon D800E which has notoriously poor low light LV for manual focusing.
Just wondering if anyone else has changed theirs and if so were they pleased with the results?

BRW, its the K3 I'm after.
 
I did, on my D700, to the K3 ! Although it was the Katzeye one, and they have gone out of business AFAIK.
Works well, doesn't affect autofocus at all, and is brilliant for manual focussing.
I am thinking of changing out the D750's screen, but now that Katzeye are not available, I haven't looked into it yet.
 
GHP said:
I did, on my D700, to the K3 ! Although it was the Katzeye one, and they have gone out of business AFAIK.
Works well, doesn't affect autofocus at all, and is brilliant for manual focussing.
I am thinking of changing out the D750's screen, but now that Katzeye are not available, I haven't looked into it yet.
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Thanks Gary. I ordered a K3 for my D800E so we'll see how that goes.may have to consider a VF magnifier too given I use short focal lenses quite a bit.
 
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NeilA1975 said:
Thanks Gary. I ordered a K3 for my D800E so we'll see how that goes.may have to consider a VF magnifier too given I use short focal lenses quite a bit.
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Good shout. I also fitted a DK 17 M to mine to help with focussing. If that wasn't enough, I would have got a DG-2, but found the DK 17 was enough.

Also,
There are reports of the screens affecting exposure metering, so worth doing a check when you fit your new screen.
I think it makes a very small difference, (maybe 1/3rd stop) but as I'm in manual, wasn't a biggie.
 
I'd like to have a play with my D750 as well. I find it's great on AF (obviously) but there are plenty of times when I'm shooting shallow DOF for example when I want to manually tweak, perhaps to get eyeball and eyelashes both in focus etc. and I just can't see clearly enough through the VF. It may well be an eyesight problem (I'm not getting any younger) but I have checked the adjustment and it seems sharp, it's just a touch small.

So questions are - will changing the focusing screen help and how easy is that and is the hack to upgrade to the DK17M on the D750 worth it? Thinking @GHP etc. might have some thoughts?

So basically I'm in the same boat as you Neil!
 
pjm1 said:
I'd like to have a play with my D750 as well. I find it's great on AF (obviously) but there are plenty of times when I'm shooting shallow DOF for example when I want to manually tweak, perhaps to get eyeball and eyelashes both in focus etc. and I just can't see clearly enough through the VF. It may well be an eyesight problem (I'm not getting any younger) but I have checked the adjustment and it seems sharp, it's just a touch small.

So questions are - will changing the focusing screen help and how easy is that and is the hack to upgrade to the DK17M on the D750 worth it? Thinking @GHP etc. might have some thoughts?

So basically I'm in the same boat as you Neil!
Click to expand...

There are focusing screens for different purposes. Canon's Precision Matte is for more accurate manual focusing of fast lenses with f/numbers lower than f/2.8, because standard screens don't 'see' wider apertures than that, due to the acceptance angle of the surface. You can check this if you fit say an f/1.4 lens and press the stop-down button - the view will not change in either brightness, or show the vignetting effect, or changes to depth-of-field, until about f/2.5-2.8. All these things are clearly visible in live-view of course.

Because exposure metering reads off the focusing screen, changing screens needs metering to be recalibrated (in custom functions) and spot metering may get confused by central split-image and microprism manual focusing aids. The other downside is the viewfinder may appear darker and grainy when used with slower lenses around f/4-5.6, so on balance manufacturers tend to go with the better all-round performance of the standard screen, given that manual focusing is not a priority for most users.

Canon guide https://www.learn.usa.canon.com/app/pdfs/quickguides/CDLC_FocusingScreens_QuickGuide.pdf
 
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