Split image focusing screen for the 5D mark II?

[AmateurMan]

I've been wondering if I could find Split image focusing screen for my 5D mark II. I've looked at this awhile ago but I got distracted with other things in life. But after shooting film photography with my Minolta SRT-202, the thought of the focusing screen came back. Well has anyone experienced the split image focusing screen on a 5D mark II? ( I'm trying to find one and need help )

 

[JamieTux]

I have not looked for any split screen solution but the super matte screen is a great boost for manual focus with the big advantage being that you can choose any part of the image to check focus.

Ive not found it a problem for low light either so its permanently installed in mine

 

[AmateurMan]

Thanks! I'll take a look into that screen. I'm a busy bee on the internet, I like manual focusing on all my lenses. So I'm trying to find a screen for manual focusing, that's why I asked about the split image focusing screen.

 

[Mike K]

AmateurMan wrote:

I've been wondering if I could find Split image focusing screen for my 5D mark II.

Brightscreen

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www.brightscreen.com

Haoda

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www.haodascreen.com

focusing scree.com

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www.focusingscreen.com

and of course by far the least expensive is Canon Ec-B, with many, many suppliers:

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atinyblip.com

All split screen focusing screens will impact your exposure, as the split is always in the center of the frame. Canons general advice for this choice is DON'T use center spot metering and use center weighted rather than evaluative metering. If you use fast glass (f2.8 or faster) the exposure change will likely be very small while for f5.6 lenses the exposure change can be pretty significant, and the viewfinder brightness in the split area of the screen can be dramatically decreased under dim conditions.

For tripod based work, Live View manual focus with 5-10X in-camera magnification, is a much better solution. This is my preferred MF approach, especially for telephoto or tillt/shift lens use. Use the joystick to move the magnified area about in the frame to optimize focus on what is critical; the same LCD green rectangle is used to establish exposure.

Mike K

 

[SeptimusFry]

Just in case someone stumbles on here looking for split- and other -screens, please note that the info does NOT necessarily relate to a 5D mk II. Full info on what screens are available can be found here

Notice how it is not recommended to use the full matte screen for smaller aperture lenses.

 

[HeatherJG]

Great advice. Thank you! Funny: I'm using MF nearly all the time now, though still a bit hit and miss (but better than endless AF hunting!). But I had completely forgotten the 'old days' of a film OLympus SLR and a split-screen focus screen that was just great. I don't find MF easy with the ordinary screen on the MkII, and have ordered the matte (w grid lines cos that's what seems to be available). Looking at loads of reviews of this screen, I see that 99% of them don't refer at ALL to whether the thing helps MF - they just admire the damn grid-lines to keep the horizon horizonal. Grrr! So...I've ordered the matte screen and hope it'll aid my MF. And have re-checked - again! - the diopter setting. PLeeeease: any other hints on accurate MF-ing on the MkII? I've turned from macro photos of butterflies and moths, using a Sigma 180mm, to photographing birds (for a chapter in a book I'm writing), using that lens plus a 2x Sigma teleconverter. Sharp images WHEN I get the MF right, but that's rare enough. Considering a Tamron 150-600mm, which seems well reviewed, and has AF as an option, which the 180 + 2x Tele doesn't. Any hints would be really welcome.

 

[AlephNull]

I've been wondering if I could find Split image focusing screen for my 5D mark II.

Brightscreen

http://www.brightscreen.com/styles.html

Haoda

http://www.haodascreen.com/Pages/Canon5D.aspx

focusing scree.com

http://www.focusingscreen.com/

and of course by far the least expensive is Canon Ec-B, with many, many suppliers:

http://atinyblip.com/articles/photography/eos-focusing-screens/

All split screen focusing screens will impact your exposure, as the split is always in the center of the frame. Canons general advice for this choice is DON'T use center spot metering and use center weighted rather than evaluative metering. If you use fast glass (f2.8 or faster) the exposure change will likely be very small while for f5.6 lenses the exposure change can be pretty significant, and the viewfinder brightness in the split area of the screen can be dramatically decreased under dim conditions.

For tripod based work, Live View manual focus with 5-10X in-camera magnification, is a much better solution. This is my preferred MF approach, especially for telephoto or tillt/shift lens use. Use the joystick to move the magnified area about in the frame to optimize focus on what is critical; the same LCD green rectangle is used to establish exposure.

Mike K

I'm confused.

The focussing screen goes at the top, just under the pentaprism, right?

I thought the exposure metering happened earlier in the light path than that?

So how would the focussing screen affect the exposure?

Like I said: I'm confused.

 

[Lemming51]

All split screen focusing screens will impact your exposure, as the split is always in the center of the frame. Canons general advice for this choice is DON'T use center spot metering and use center weighted rather than evaluative metering. If you use fast glass (f2.8 or faster) the exposure change will likely be very small while for f5.6 lenses the exposure change can be pretty significant, and the viewfinder brightness in the split area of the screen can be dramatically decreased under dim conditions.

For tripod based work, Live View manual focus with 5-10X in-camera magnification, is a much better solution. This is my preferred MF approach, especially for telephoto or tillt/shift lens use. Use the joystick to move the magnified area about in the frame to optimize focus on what is critical; the same LCD green rectangle is used to establish exposure.

Mike K

I'm confused.

The focussing screen goes at the top, just under the pentaprism, right?

Correct.

I thought the exposure metering happened earlier in the light path than that?

No, the TTL exposure meter gets light from the pentaprism after passing through the focus screen.

see Link for illustration of 7D Most (all?) SLRs are similar.

--
Unapologetic Canon Apologist