06-19-2010, 11:46 AM
Hi All,
There was a mini trade show in shop in Berlin yesterday, and one of the representatives there was from Zeiss. We got talking about focus screens for DSLRs and he then let me try out a Canon 5D (with Zeiss 100/2 mounted) fitted with a Brightscreen split prism screen.
Here's a rundown of my experiences with focus screens so far:
BRIGHTSCREEN
Features a split prism in the centre, surrounded by a microprism collar.
I found the Brightscreen view rather 'busy' compared to regular screens, so it does distract from the image somewhat. The image is also a bit darker than regular (Canon) focus screens.
If you're used to plain focus screen you'll need time to get used to the Brightscreen. In terms of focussing, it does a very good job and makes manual focussing much easier and quicker - except in very critical situations it would probably be unnecessary to switch to live view for checking the focus.
On the downside, these little bits of plastic cost around 180 euros (in Germany), so you'll need to be a dedicated manual user to splash out so much money.
CANON STANDARD SCREEN
Nice and bright, but you need eagle eyes to focus at wide apertures with this unit. With wide-angles lenses it's certainly useable, but once you start using 85mm or 100mm lenses at f2, you're probably going to get sharp ears and blurred eyes.
CANON GRID SCREEN
In terms of manual focussing, this is basically the same as the standard screen except that it features guide lines in the view. It's quite useful for very precise work (such as architecture), but Canon rather stupidly put the guide lines in quarters, rather than thirds.
CANON EG-S ('manual' focus screen)
This is Canon's best offer at a manual focus screen, and it's quite pitiful compared to dedicated screens sold by Katz Eye, Haoda or Brightview. On the other hand, it's much cheaper, at around 40 euros.
This screen is slightly darker than the standard screen, though not much, and it certainly is an improvement in terms of manual focussing. However, with long telephoto lenses I would think most people will be struggling to focus accurately.
Having used this screen for some time now, I'd say it's a fairly good compromise in terms of price and function, and it works a treat with lenses up to 50mm. However, for longer lenses and very distant subjects (especially at wide apertures), it doesn't
give the sureness one would like, so it's often necessary to switch to live view to confirm the focus.
Does onyone have any other experiences with focus screens - including Nikon, Pentax etc.?
There was a mini trade show in shop in Berlin yesterday, and one of the representatives there was from Zeiss. We got talking about focus screens for DSLRs and he then let me try out a Canon 5D (with Zeiss 100/2 mounted) fitted with a Brightscreen split prism screen.
Here's a rundown of my experiences with focus screens so far:
BRIGHTSCREEN
Features a split prism in the centre, surrounded by a microprism collar.
I found the Brightscreen view rather 'busy' compared to regular screens, so it does distract from the image somewhat. The image is also a bit darker than regular (Canon) focus screens.
If you're used to plain focus screen you'll need time to get used to the Brightscreen. In terms of focussing, it does a very good job and makes manual focussing much easier and quicker - except in very critical situations it would probably be unnecessary to switch to live view for checking the focus.
On the downside, these little bits of plastic cost around 180 euros (in Germany), so you'll need to be a dedicated manual user to splash out so much money.
CANON STANDARD SCREEN
Nice and bright, but you need eagle eyes to focus at wide apertures with this unit. With wide-angles lenses it's certainly useable, but once you start using 85mm or 100mm lenses at f2, you're probably going to get sharp ears and blurred eyes.
CANON GRID SCREEN
In terms of manual focussing, this is basically the same as the standard screen except that it features guide lines in the view. It's quite useful for very precise work (such as architecture), but Canon rather stupidly put the guide lines in quarters, rather than thirds.
CANON EG-S ('manual' focus screen)
This is Canon's best offer at a manual focus screen, and it's quite pitiful compared to dedicated screens sold by Katz Eye, Haoda or Brightview. On the other hand, it's much cheaper, at around 40 euros.
This screen is slightly darker than the standard screen, though not much, and it certainly is an improvement in terms of manual focussing. However, with long telephoto lenses I would think most people will be struggling to focus accurately.
Having used this screen for some time now, I'd say it's a fairly good compromise in terms of price and function, and it works a treat with lenses up to 50mm. However, for longer lenses and very distant subjects (especially at wide apertures), it doesn't
give the sureness one would like, so it's often necessary to switch to live view to confirm the focus.
Does onyone have any other experiences with focus screens - including Nikon, Pentax etc.?