dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

I am considering a replacement screen/view finder for my camera to get the split prism focus ring. Any ideas what to take into consideration? Pros or cons? Recommendations? Good or bad experiences?

Thanks

kubie548 Loc: Northwood, Ohio (Wood Co)

Good old "split image" screens are somewhat limited, or limiting in use. A split image that works fine with wide to normal lenses will "black out" on top or bottom with a telephoto: this is not good with modern wide range zoom lenses! If one side blacks out, you may not be able to focus accurately. What camera are you using?

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

What camera do you have and what lenses do you plan to use with it? I have a Katz-Eye Split prism focus screen for my Canon 60D. Its terrific, but there are caveats when using it with anything but fast lenses.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Right now I have a Canon t3i and want to add a 70D keeping the t3i as a second body.

My favorite lens right now is the Sigma 18-35 1.8. I also have an older Canon 70-300 as well as a 50 1.4 and another older Sigma 17-70.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I got my Katz-Eye to use specifically with the Sigma 18-35mm on my 60D. I've included 3 links below. You need to read EVERYTHING carefully before you buy since as I indicated there are caveats you need to be aware of. For instance,, while changing the focus screen on my 60D is simple, changing it on a 70D is quite different and you might want Katz-eye to do it. Second, while you can also replace the screen on the T3i, that too is a bit more difficult then on the 60D. Additionally on any of the Rebels, like the T3i, the focus point lights will no longer work, I believe. Use of their screens with slow lenses will affect metering and there is a lot of info on their site to correct for that. I also got the additional Opti-brite treatment since the focus screen would be dark with slow lenses otherwise.

What I got for my 60D cost more than $140 if I recall, but to me, it was worth it. Keep in mind I can swap screens out in a heartbeat if I chose to, but on the 70D its more problematic. You can call them. They are very friendly and helpful.

Home page:
http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/page--Custom-Focusing-Screens--store.html

70D
http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Canon-70D-Focusing-Screen--prod_70D.html

T3i
http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Canon-550D-600D-650D-700D-T2i-T3i-T4i-T5i-Focusing-Screen--prod_550D.html

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Thanks

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

The main reason for getting a split image finder is for manual focusing... not much need for or reason to get it for AF lenses. Your Sigma, 70-300 and 17-70, I presume are all AF. 50/1.4 might be an older manual focus lens, but I'd just replace it with one of the modern AF versions, instead of changing out the screen.

Most manual focus SLRs in the 1970s and 1980s had several focusing assist features on the focus screen. Split image rangefinder dot in the center was the primary one, but as noted it doesn't work as well with longer focal lengths. Some focus screens also had a "donut" of micro-diaprisms around the central split image dot, that served better for long focal lengths. Further, most of them had ground glass throughout the rest of the image area, which also was useful with longer focal lengths.

Have you ever used manual focus lenses and cameras? I did for 20 years and was pretty good with them... But have to say that modern AF used right, even in the most simplistic forms on today's SLRs, is both faster and more accurate than I ever was focusing manually.

One thing to check, does the split image screen you're considering mess with the camera's Spot Metering? Many of those screens skew Spot Metering to the point it's unusable.

In fact, the alternative screens generally skew the other metering modes (Partial, Center Weighted and Evaluative on a Canon) to some degree or another. The Canon cameras designed with interchangeable screens have settings in the menu to correct for the metering errors, for the Canon OEM screens. But neither T3i nor 70D are interchangeable screen models. In fact the 70D has an active matrix/transmissive LCD screen same as 7D, 5DIII and 1DX.... so might behave differently than the other cameras (I don't know, I haven't tried and don't plan to).

My advice would be to only consider the special screens if you have a real purpose for them... such as some special manual focus lenses. If it's only occasional use, in some cases Live View or even scale focusing techniques might serve better than a screen. With very wide lenses, for example, it's often fast and easy to simply use the focus scale on the lens, along with hyperfocal techniques. Of course, there aren't many old manual focus lenses that are particularly wide on modern crop sensor cameras like yours.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

You can always PM me if you have specific questions.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

I used to use split prism in the 70's. Life took me away from photography for a long time. I do like AF, but there was something visceral about manual focus that affected composition in a good way. I miss that part of the process when composing a shot, esp. an indoor candid shot.

So some of this is nostalgia and some is just curiosity about how good these replacements are. Since I had not seen it discussed much, I thought I would seek input.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Generally agree, but I find that with my two fast Sigma lenses, the 30mm f/1.4 and the 18-35 f/1.8, I am often able to get sharper focus in low light and with low contrast targets if I manually focus with a split prism. Even when the AF gives me results that at first glance look very sharp I often can fine tune it manually to get even sharper results. I agree that getting a split screen really depends on why you want it. As I pointed out in my previous post there are several downsides to retrofitting one to a dSLR. Its not something you should do on a whim.

On a more private note, it's nice to see someone here I know from Photography-on-the.net. I find very few handles here I recognize from there.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Low light indoor shots is where I have the most trouble with AF. And I have adjusted my 18-35 1.8. I get great AF in all other situations.

riversidepainter

I placed one in my Mark II12DS and love it. It was very easy to do.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

If you are shooting small or low contrast subjects in low light try to focus on an edge of something or directly on an area where there is a change in color or texture. Sometimes focusing on a higher contrast area close by and then recomposing does the trick. And of course in difficult situations you can always use Live View. I've learned to work around the occasional inconsistencies of AF on this lens. What it does well makes the effort worthwhile for me.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Do you mean 5D mark II? If so, it's easy to replace the focus screen on that camera. Much more difficult to do it on the Canon 70D.

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

Any focusing screen, matte, micro prism; or split image will not perform well with flatly lit subjects or under low light situations. this is just optical reality.The screens may help some but won't work miracles. Supplemental lighting like a led flashlight may do wonders if possible, or pre focus on known objects and wait for your subject to pas near them.