Canon 5D Classic Focusing Screen (EE-S) Help

[cedgecombe]

Is there an easy way to tell which focusing screen is which for the Canon 5D Classic?

I only ask, as I was after an EE-S to help with Adapted MF lenses and I bought a 'job lot' of accessories which seemed to contain a couple of boxes labelled EE-S and EE-D focusing screens. The EE-D is easy to tell which is which as they have a grid like pattern but how easy is it to tell the EE-S and EE-A screens apart?

I've tried to run some focusing tests to see whether I could tell the difference between them but my eye sight is not the best and I feel like I may have 3 EE-A screens and no EE-S screens.... I made sure as well to set the Canon 5D custom menu focusing screen option to the correct screen e.g. EE-S in my tests.

Any help would be appreciated before I spend more money on trying to get what I originally wanted .

 

[Sittatunga]

Is there an easy way to tell which focusing screen is which for the Canon 5D Classic?

I only ask, as I was after an EE-S to help with Adapted MF lenses and I bought a 'job lot' of accessories which seemed to contain a couple of boxes labelled EE-S and EE-D focusing screens. The EE-D is easy to tell which is which as they have a grid like pattern but how easy is it to tell the EE-S and EE-A screens apart?

I've tried to run some focusing tests to see whether I could tell the difference between them but my eye sight is not the best and I feel like I may have 3 EE-A screens and no EE-S screens.... I made sure as well to set the Canon 5D custom menu focusing screen option to the correct screen e.g. EE-S in my tests.

Any help would be appreciated before I spend more money on trying to get what I originally wanted .

The mounting tab on my Eg D screen has a number 8 on it, while the one that came with my 5D II has a number 1. I need a powerful magnifying glass or a macro lens to read it as it's within a 1mm diameter circle on the tab. The instructions leaflet in the box for the screen says that the Ee-S mounting tabs have identifying logos for telling them apart, but doesn't give a table to say which is which. I hope that's some help.

 

[cedgecombe]

It does help, I have seen that a proper EE-S should have perhaps an S embossed on it but when I've tried to look at the tabs on my EE-A and EE-D screens, its impossible to see it. I'll try and find a magnifying glass to see it more clearly.

 

[BlueRay2]

It does help, I have seen that a proper EE-S should have perhaps an S embossed on it but when I've tried to look at the tabs on my EE-A and EE-D screens, its impossible to see it. I'll try and find a magnifying glass to see it more clearly.

can't you take the existing one out and see what it is? long long ago i remember i switched mine because i had difficulty focusing. i'll check and see if i can locate the box and let you know.

 

[cedgecombe]

I've come to the conclusion that I have three EE-A screens and one EE-D screen (its obvious to see the grid lines on this one). I think the EE-S screen will have an 's' on its tab to indicate that its the EE-S screen.

 

[Sittatunga]

I've come to the conclusion that I have three EE-A screens and one EE-D screen (its obvious to see the grid lines on this one). I think the EE-S screen will have an 's' on its tab to indicate that its the EE-S screen.

My D screen does have enough texture to act as a focussing screen. And if you have the camera on a tripod you can use the grid lines for parallax focussing - the in-focus parts of the image won't move relative to the grid lines when you move your head sideways while looking through the viewfinder.

 

[cedgecombe]

Are you saying that the EE-D has some of the EE-S texture (or is better than the EE-As) to help focusing with manual lenses?

 

[Sittatunga]

Are you saying that the EE-D has some of the EE-S texture (or is better than the EE-As) to help focusing with manual lenses?

I can just about make the texture out against a clear sky. It's reasonably good for focussing not quite as good at checking depth of field as an EVF, but it's better than most SLR screens. Even with better than 6/6 vision you're not going to be able to focus as precisely on any screen as the central AF detector of the camera can confirm focus.

The other thing is, just like focussing with surveying instruments such as theodolites and levels, you can check the focus by parallax. When an optical instrument is on a tripod, if you move your head from side to side, the out of focus parts of the image move relative to the graticule. The grid will help with that.

 

[2ndact scene1]

In terms of DOF, with the EE-S, I find the shallow DOF on a lens f/2.8 or wider is very noticeable (in good light) and very helpful if focusing manually.

When you are using a narrower shooting aperture, I find the the DOF preview button is also very useful to check if DOF is where I want it.

Unfortunately, mirrorless cameras do not have a convenient dedicated DOF preview button. So you have to assign it to a button of your choice. I use the movie button on my RP (which I guess identifies me as very old school).

In terms of identifying the EE-S screen on my 6D, I am reluctant to pull the focusing screen to check the tab because I remember having problems getting it in there in the first place (several years ago). But I will check later if I still have the instructions.

 

[2ndact scene1]

I was able to find the packaging for my 5D Ee-S screen. I assume the screen in the box is the standard screen that was in the camera when I bought it in 2016 or 2017. This is what the instructions say:





So this implies that only the more specialized screens have identifying markings on the tab. The regular screen has no markings on the tab that I can see under a magnifying glass. Hope this helps.