I'm ordering a Bill Maxwell focus screen for my 5D MK I. He has both the (modified) Ee-s and Eg-s in stock, and I'm not sure which to order.

I have read a few reports that the Eg-s DOES fit in the original 5D, although it's tighter. If so, it would seem the obvious choice as I may get a 5D II in the near future.

Can anyone confirm or deny this? If the EG-s fits, is there any possible reason to get the Ee-s instead?

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ALSO: I was prepared to order washers (shims) from Canon, and asked Bill if he supplies them with his screens. Amazingly, he never heard about having to shim a screen. In his opinion, all Canon screens should be exactly the same thickness. Hmmm So a question:

Is all the talk of shimming based on NON Canon screens, such as Katz, Brightscreen, etc, or should I order some washers from Canon right away?

I have a set of the 5D shims, and when I got my 5D back from Canon servicing, I installed a Ee-s screen all set to calibrate the viewfinder with the shims. I couldn't get it more accurate than it already was.

Hey, Jim.

Well, I imagine that the Canon tech did the shimming for you, but who knows?

Anyway, I REALLY need to know about the Eg-s. I can't seem to find the info in my database. maybe I got it backwards, and you can put an Ee-s into a 5D II, but not the other way around?

Must find out asap.

I'm not sure, but I was thinking it was the reverse, that the EeS was slightly bigger, and the reason I say this is that I had the Maxwell EeS screen and it didn't just fall into the 5DII space without sanding or filing the edge (little nubbins) a little bit as I recall (it could be pushed in place, but wouldn't just drop in place as the EgS does). It fit, but just barely (meaning EeS in the 5DII). So that might mean the EgS would fit in the 5D slot with ease (logically, didn't have two cameras at the same time). Bill should know the dimensions as he works with both.

Aside from this issue, what I will say is, this was the best focusing screen I tried and solves all issues basically, but it took him quite a while to finish it, communication is pretty sparse (call him if you get frustrated, as I believe he is more of a phone guy than an email sort,) and it is a fairly expensive indulgence. It's a commitment to the alternative lenses basically.

I myself would be tempted to get the EgS in your situation. The 5DII really is arguably twice as good as the 5D in my opinion, and you will ultimately want to upgrade. However, I'm not sure if everyone will agree whether there's much of a difference between the EeS and EgS in terms of functionality. They may be the same apart from the subtle nubbins on the sides.

I guess your main question will be, is it too small for the 5D, if what I say above is correct. Probably not, but maybe. I would think being supported by at least the front and back supports and at least one of the sides would be enough to function properly.

BTW, I have a couple EgA focusing screens if anyone wants to buy one. I no longer use them, and one is basically new.

I have a 5D with an Ee-s focusing screen. I recently got a 5DMk2 and tried putting the Ee-s in it. It fit totally fine, but the image through the viewfinder was always out of focus.

My Ee-s is perfect in my 5D-II, functions identically to how it did in my 5D-I. I would assume the Eg-s is the same screen. Jess I think something went wrong with the installation of your screen.

Jess Edward wrote:
I recently got a 5DMk2 and tried putting the Ee-s in it. It fit totally fine, but the image through the viewfinder was always out of focus.

That's clearly a shimming issue. Do a little research here for the info & procedure. You need to order washers from Canon.
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Still hoping for an answer to my initial question:

Eg-s in the original 5D?

It sounds more like it wasn't seated properly. I think he is saying it was blurry in the viewfinder, rather than meaning front or back focus, which could be cured via shimming. Could be mistaken though.

Bump.

I'm SURE I read a report here about the Eg-s working, but can't find my notes. If no confirmation by tomorrow, I'll have to order the Maxwell Ee-s.

Hoping someone will see this in time...

Cableaddict wrote:
Hey, Jim.

Well, I imagine that the Canon tech did the shimming for you, but who knows?

Anyway, I REALLY need to know about the Eg-s. I can't seem to find the info in my database. maybe I got it backwards, and you can put an Ee-s into a 5D II, but not the other way around?

Must find out asap.
I never shimmed my 5D screen when I installed my Ee-S screen and I had no problem getting great focus no matter how thin the DoF was.

Allan, I found this:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/705296/0#6783819

Thanks, Jim, but I already have that info. (It could help someone else, though, so good to repost it)

What I need is the thread about Eg-s on the original 5D. I just KNOW I read about it on Fm.

Old topic but related to my question; does the eg-s work ok with f4 lenses (like 35-70 and 100f3.5) or do you need to switch back to the stock screen?

@you2: Not really the same thing, but I found with the Ef-S screen on a 40D that slow wideangles like my Nikkor 20/4 look darker than a 200/4 tele. You don't necessarily have to switch back to the Eg-A, but you'll just have a pretty dim VF with slower lenses.

I'm thinking about getting the Ee-S now for my 5D, but I'm not sure if I'd be better served with just a VF magnifier, since I really didn't like the darkening that the Ef-S caused on my 40D (especially with macro since you lose a lot of light due to extension)...

Hum. Not sure if that is an issue; my biggest concern is f4 lenses and indoors. Also I read some article that suggested the eg-s did the wrong thing with f4 lenses but I'm not sure if it was accurate. I would hate to have to switch back and forth between screens since I jump a lot between f1.4 and f4 lenses.

[btw the question pertains to a 5d mark 2; I realized after the fact that this thread was about mk 1]

The wrong thing? It will not show less DoF in the viewfinder than the lens really has.

AhamB wrote:
The wrong thing? It will not show less DoF in the viewfinder than the lens really has.

I wish I could find the article again he said something like the DoF is not clear with f4 lenses and eg-s and you need to switch back.

you2,

The DoF will be rendered accurately, it'll just be darker. In good light, I have easily focused f5.6 and f8 mirror tele lenses with the Ee-S. I can even focus my manual focus macro lens stopped down to f11 in good light.

f4 in "low light" will be a challenge, but not impossible. This is a non-issue for me since I use fast lenses in low light, hence no need to swap the screens. YMMV.

Ok. Thanks all. I think my question has been answered.

Cableaddict;
I can't tell you for sure that the Eg-s focus screen will fit the 5D original, but I can tell you that the Ee-S screen will fit the 5D MK2. The washers (or shims) for the 5D will also fit the MK2. I personally had to re-shim both my 5D and my 5D MK2 in order to accurately focus the camera manually. Also, after shimming my Mk2 with the Ee-s screen as far as I can tell the view finder calibration is still accurate for manual focusing if I put the original focus screen back in.

Here is a link to a thread from a while ago that has the part numbers for the shims for both camera bodies.

Mark