Prism screens on DLSR

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Nebular89

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Has anyone put a prism screen on an old DLSR? I used to use film nearly exclusively. I have tried to get back into it over the last year or so but I find the developing and scanning process a bit tiresome now, scanning especially.
The main appeal for me is using the old cameras. A digital Leica is far beyond my reach sadly so I thought buying a cheap old DSLR and putting a prism screen in might scratch the itch. I have an XT2 which does decent job with the permanent punched in small screen but looking through a digital screen doesn’t quite do it for me
 
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Do you mean a pentaprism or do you mean a focussing screen with a central split prism focussing area?
 
I am not clear as to how using a 'split prism' focusing screen will scratch the itch, of when you used to use film, when using a dSLR body?

Having said that here is the Canon page as to which bodies have interchangeable screens and the compatible versions.

Support

support.usa.canon.com support.usa.canon.com
 
If the camera is a true digital single lens reflex then it would be possible.

A few of the true DSLRs came with replaceable focussing screens as standard, the screen being replaced through the lens mounting. Canon and Nikon are the two brands that come to mind. The cheapest I know of is the original Canon 5D and its successors. This page lists the Nikon dSLRs with this facility...


Otherwise, you'd need to know how to remove the top plate, take the prism out, remove the existing focussing screen and then you'd have to fit the split prism focussing screen in exactly the correct plane of focus, before replacing the prism and rebuilding the top.

If the camera is a pseudo SLR then you're into finding a prism of the correct size to fit in the top housing but you wouldn't have a mirror to reflect the image onto the screen.
 
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AndrewFlannigan said:
If the camera is a true digital single lens reflex then it would be possible.

A few of the true DSLRs came with replaceable focussing screens as standard, the screen being replaced through the lens mounting. Canon and Nikon are the two brands that come to mind. The cheapest I know of is the original Canon 5D and its successors. This page lists the Nikon dSLRs with this facility...


Othewise, you'd need to know how to remove the top plate, take the prism out, remove the existing focussing screen and then you'd have to fit the split prism focussing screen in exactly the correct plane of focus, before replacing the prism and rebuilding the top.

If the camera is a pseudo SLR then you're into finding a prism of the correct size to fit in the top housing but you wouldn't have a mirror to reflect the image onto the screen.
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Nice one, cheers
 
Nebular89 said:
Nice one, cheers
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I’d like to mention though.
An AF SLR (digital or film) steals some light from the mirror to use for the AF mechanism. So any manual focussing you do, whether using a different screen, or focus peaking or whatever is compromised compared to using a manual focussing SLR.

Your choice, but for me, the more the camera automates, the easier it is for me to concentrate on picture making.

The more effort I have to put into focus and exposure settings the less fun I’m having.
 
Phil V said:
The more effort I have to put into focus and exposure settings the less fun I’m having.
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In a way, that sounds like the point - all the stuff we were so glad to jettison like muddy ground glass and a prism are a part of the film camera experience.
 
LeeRatters said:
Strange isn't it :) I'm only a couple of rolls in, but using the TLR Yashica Mat is much more 'fun' than using the Sony A7Riii :)
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You're enjoying the process, which is good. That doesn't always work though.
 
ancient_mariner said:
You're enjoying the process, which is good. That doesn't always work though.
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Absolutely
It really doesn’t work for me.

My enduring memory of learning to shoot manually is the carrier bags full of badly exposed or misfocussed prints.

I did manage to get through it, but I definitely don’t miss that process
 
Some people have trouble learning to focus with a ground glass screen and others have no trouble at all.

This dichotomy may be age related, in that eyesite deteriorates as we get older. I was lucky, in that I started photography in my early teens so I fell into the second group. My first camera being a Pentacon FM, fitted with an effective split prism focussing aid, almost certainly was another advantage.

Split prism - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

camera-wiki.org camera-wiki.org
 
I must admit I never liked the split screen focusing. There was always that element of doubt that you had the two images perfectly aligned. I much prefer a plain microprism. Mind you I was also a right eye shooter back then. But coming back to film I found that almost impossible, and use my left eye exclusively now.
 
A mirrorless camera with either a new or film era manual lens via an adapter when necessary might not be the answer for everyone (as in the op and his Fuji) but it's given me a lot of enjoyment and thousands of pictures. I'd take this route over a DSLR every single time.

As Phil points out above, replacing a focus screen isn't a consequence free answer.
 
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