i need to get a different focusing screen for my 5d to make manual focusing easier on my alternative lenses without AF, which screen should i get the ee-s precision matte or the split image focusing screen. ive used my friends film milnolta with the split screen and sometimes i felt like it would take too long to acquire something in focus(maybe its just me, and i didn't have enough practice with it?) is the ee-s easier to use? what do you guys prefer, any thoughts opinions? should i get both and see which ones works better for me?
edit:
not sure how much darker the ee-s screen is but i don't own any zooms and all my primes are faster then f2
i tried it and it did not work.
in korea is somebody who shims a nikon FM3a (?) split screen into a 5D.
i asked him to if he could send me one, but he told me that it has to be adjusted
to every cam separately, and i did not wanted to post my cam. maybe i should.
Maximilian wrote:
I would love a split-screen for my 5DmII, but I don't know where to get one, and if, how I could shim it. Any suggestion?
+1. The ee-s, or the equivalent on my 5D is just not good enough, especially with wider lenses. It better than stock, for sure. But I would prefer a split image.microprism combo for a focus screen. Call me old-fashioned.
I've used split image/microprism Haoda screens for my 10, 20 and 40D's, and it would be very hard to go back. It makes manual focusing actually doable.
Most folks, including me, prefer the matte screen (Ee-s) as it doesn't limit how you compose the shot. YMMV. If all I did was portraits, I'd get a split-screen.
Anyway, I use & highly recommend the Bill Maxwell brightened Ee-s. I don't usually bother with stop-down focusing (I like to see what I'm getting) so this really helps.
It can throw off your metering slightly (very slightly, and only at certain apertures) but that doesn't bother me since I pretty much always chimp my shots anyway.
Costs just shy of $200. Worth every cent.
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Whatever you use, you may have to shim the new screen, so be prepared for that. Do a little research on how, and pre-order some washers (shims) from Canon.
With lenses faster than 2.8 the ee-s helps a lot with focusing accuracy. With lenses f4 and slower it probably makes it more difficult because it's a lot darker with slow lenses.
Split image is nice and precise if you have time to recompose the shot.
And if you have lots of time to compose, then magnified live view is the most accurate of all, in my experience.
Most WA lenses, and notably the Zeiss, have complex field curvature characteristics. Using the center split image to focus and then recompose will inevitably place your subject outside of the focus plane. This may or may not be a problem depending on what you shoot. In my experience, with such lenses, it is much better to compose before and focus on the matte screen after. Not only the subject elements are placed exactly where they should be in relation to the field curvature, but also if you have a keen eye, it helps to understand how the curvature works for each lens and how to use it creatively.
I would love splitscreen focusing on my 5d mk II, but my understanding is that it screws with spot metering, which is a deal breaker for me. Some people report that it varies with each lens and they can achieve consistent results as long as they compensate for that lens, but I'm leery of this.
I wish you could change where it takes the spot metering from. Doesn't the k10 have this ability?
I got an elcheapo split + prism screen for my 5D2 and have mixed feelings about it.
The splitscreen does allow you to focus very nicely - in the center indeed. recomposing with WA lenses most often destroys your accurate focussing (however that sometimes is offset by the fact that WA lenses focus only out to ~3 meters so it may be highly subject/composition dependant on the actual effect).
My main gripe is that It throws the metering *way* off - especially with my f/4 L lenses. Not just a bit off, almost unusably off. The compensation is target f-stop dependant and not linear (~ 2 to the power of [difference between target f-stop and f/2.8 in stops]).
With the fast alt glass the only somewhat reliable method of metering is: set the exposure correctly with a f-value of less than f/2.8 and from there do deadreckoning - ie close down to desired f-stop and for each stop double the exposure time.
I am just about to fed up that I've been thinking of getting the Ee-s, just to see how well that one fares.
The katzeye looks really good but is a tad expensive (or a modified Ee-s, that sounds really good). Oh well, maybe one day ...
You can get the Ee-s for GBP23/~28 euros on ebay, so that hardly breaks the bank (even if you end up not liking it).
I actually just decided to buy one.
I've got a used ee-s going spare if anyone wants to try it out.
It's got a couple of small (2mm) scratches on it, so I replaced it with a new one.
First one to ask here on this thread will get it (free) and I'll post world wide (free also, well it's ony a couple of quid so I'm happy to share the alt love)
