le petit prince
Senior Member
You haven't tried the DA limiteds? You should! I'll be happy to lend you for shoots. Just ask.
Split Focusing Screen.. anyone using it?
- Thread starter epileatheral
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You haven't tried the DA limiteds? You should! I'll be happy to lend you for shoots. Just ask.
le petit prince
Senior Member
Noted with thanks! Somehow missed it.
I'll join in MO, if any. Or else sit tight and await others' reviews.
creampuff
Senior Member
le petit prince, ha, ha, I'm no K20D evangelist, just stating what little I know. :bsmilie:
It's been awhile since I printed 4R from a lab so I can't say how much of a difference.
I have printed some prints that were shot with the K100D, K10D, K20D and EOS 1Ds Mk III up to 8" x 10" and A3 thru the HP Indigo digital offset press and on an Epson 3850 that was used for proofing and bottom line is there is a noticeable difference.
A little digression, megapixels do matter. To illustrate what I mean, I'll give an extreme example. Here is a resized shot of a bird using the EOS 1Ds Mk III with 300mm f/2.8L lens with 1.4x converter giving an effective focal length of 420mm. The camera records a FF image at 21.1 megapixels (5616 x 3744 pixels). Shot at 1/80 sec at f/4 ISO 800.
Here is the 100% crop
No sharpening was done to the image but you can easily see the details from this extreme example (high megapixel, full frame, high end glass)
It's been awhile since I printed 4R from a lab so I can't say how much of a difference.
I have printed some prints that were shot with the K100D, K10D, K20D and EOS 1Ds Mk III up to 8" x 10" and A3 thru the HP Indigo digital offset press and on an Epson 3850 that was used for proofing and bottom line is there is a noticeable difference.
A little digression, megapixels do matter. To illustrate what I mean, I'll give an extreme example. Here is a resized shot of a bird using the EOS 1Ds Mk III with 300mm f/2.8L lens with 1.4x converter giving an effective focal length of 420mm. The camera records a FF image at 21.1 megapixels (5616 x 3744 pixels). Shot at 1/80 sec at f/4 ISO 800.
Here is the 100% crop
No sharpening was done to the image but you can easily see the details from this extreme example (high megapixel, full frame, high end glass)
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You haven't tried the DA limiteds? You should! I'll be happy to lend you for shoots. Just ask.
Thanks a bunch. Next outing perhaps. :think:
le petit prince
Senior Member
epileatheral
Member
There's another question.. that came to my mind. With the stock focusing screen, I have my 11 AF Points that will lit up. If I change the focusing screen, will there still be these LED indicating where it's focusing?
yes...
fengwei
New Member
Yes, the LED will still be there, and you can still select AF point for AF. But if you are using MF lens, you can only use the center point anyway, that's when the split screen come in handy
epileatheral
Member
Yeah, I notice that when using Manual lens, you can only select the middle.
Thanks for the clarification.
Thanks for the clarification.
le petit prince
Senior Member
Oh, by the way, I think I've found my answer here, with regard to my original question on how much of a difference I'll actually see on a print made with K100D compared to K20D:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=31068568
le petit prince
Senior Member
Ah, noted. Will loan a K20 someday and test/print it out to see for myself.
After sitting on the fence for quite some time, I've decided to take the plunge and hence ordered a K3-type focusingscreen from the online retailer focusingscreen.com
I used to have an eBay-ordered one, but it was a K1000/Minolta X700 screen lifted off 2nd hand cameras. It was a bit dirty and the edges were rough, not very professional....screen was slightly dull too. Removed it soon after.
The K3 screen was originally intended for the FM3A 'modern' manual-focus camera. It offers a microprism collar around the central splitprism-image rangefinder circle.
More details on the K3 here
Focusingscreen.com trims the screens(hey it rhymes!) to fit a variety of dSLRs, including the K100D, K200D, K-m etc.
Pricing:
It is considerably cheaper than the Katzeye, at ~S$100. Postage is ~$20. I've contacted the proprietor Deki Kuo, and he says he can waive postages costs for 5 orders and above.
Delivery:
Orders are worked on for abt 2 days after payment, and after that it's shipped by EMS...which took another 2-3days. It's signed-for and trackable, so the risk is low there.
The packaging is impressive. It's like unwrapping a box to find another sealed box, and then to find another sealed box...etc. The original nikon box is sealed, and so is the focusing screen inside. All in all, impressed with the cleanliness.
Installation:
It's not my first time, so installation was pretty quick. The package comes with a tweezers, rubber finger clots, and some fine-focus shims(which i never use). Within the original K3 packing, there is a special tool/clip to hold the focusing screen tab.
It pops in cleanly and the focus screen bracket of the camera clicks back properly w/o resistance. With the ebay one, it didn't quite sit properly.
Impressions:
When I held it to my eye after the 'operation', "WOW" comes to mind. The splitprism and microprism area was BIG and CLEAR and CLEAN! unlike the cheapo screen. It's very clean indeed and very refreshing to view into. The focusing area is very big, i repeat. And it makes a lot of difference....very similar to the view in the Pentax SuperProgram.
Tried some test shots and it does work wonderfully. I'd say it's money well spent.
Hahah i'm not affiliated to the shop in any way, just wanted to share my mini-review since info is quite scarce and scattered on the web.
You guys are welcome to have a look during the next outing or something.
Cheers
I used to have an eBay-ordered one, but it was a K1000/Minolta X700 screen lifted off 2nd hand cameras. It was a bit dirty and the edges were rough, not very professional....screen was slightly dull too. Removed it soon after.
The K3 screen was originally intended for the FM3A 'modern' manual-focus camera. It offers a microprism collar around the central splitprism-image rangefinder circle.
More details on the K3 here
Focusingscreen.com trims the screens(hey it rhymes!) to fit a variety of dSLRs, including the K100D, K200D, K-m etc.
Pricing:
It is considerably cheaper than the Katzeye, at ~S$100. Postage is ~$20. I've contacted the proprietor Deki Kuo, and he says he can waive postages costs for 5 orders and above.
Delivery:
Orders are worked on for abt 2 days after payment, and after that it's shipped by EMS...which took another 2-3days. It's signed-for and trackable, so the risk is low there.
The packaging is impressive. It's like unwrapping a box to find another sealed box, and then to find another sealed box...etc. The original nikon box is sealed, and so is the focusing screen inside. All in all, impressed with the cleanliness.
Installation:
It's not my first time, so installation was pretty quick. The package comes with a tweezers, rubber finger clots, and some fine-focus shims(which i never use). Within the original K3 packing, there is a special tool/clip to hold the focusing screen tab.
It pops in cleanly and the focus screen bracket of the camera clicks back properly w/o resistance. With the ebay one, it didn't quite sit properly.
Impressions:
When I held it to my eye after the 'operation', "WOW" comes to mind. The splitprism and microprism area was BIG and CLEAR and CLEAN! unlike the cheapo screen. It's very clean indeed and very refreshing to view into. The focusing area is very big, i repeat. And it makes a lot of difference....very similar to the view in the Pentax SuperProgram.
Tried some test shots and it does work wonderfully. I'd say it's money well spent.
Hahah i'm not affiliated to the shop in any way, just wanted to share my mini-review since info is quite scarce and scattered on the web.
You guys are welcome to have a look during the next outing or something.
Cheers
This is my experience in addition to other users' posting.
Just received my screen from the Taiwanese online retailer. Item was sent on 6 Mar & arrived on 9 Mar (faster than I anticipated).
Item was very well packed from the courier package outside to the screen inside. Screen & accessories are fully sealed in clear plastic (not the one end adhesive seal but got to cut plastic kind). Very clinical. Theres a Flickr discussion with pics of the package if you google for it.
This is a Nikon (1st party) K3 screen (with grid ) cut to fit my 350D. No complaints on the screen quality.
Changing the screen took me less than 2 min. No drama really even though Ive never stripped any camera parts. I relied purely on the pictorial guide available online. Screen size fitted my 350D with no misalignment.
Tested on my lens with variable aperture (F2.8~4.5). Didnt encounter any darkening of the split image at F4.5. Havent check with my slower zoom at F5.6 (not unusual if it darkens). Just have to shift the eye slightly to counter the darkening if it does happen. Focusing so far (whether AF or manual) is spot on. Didnt use the additional rubber shim provided.
This is an impulse buy. However no regrets. Great to be able to marry AF body with the good old split image of MF body. Just felt that every dSLR should come with a split image since manual focusing is a standard feature anyway.
Would an electronic split image focusing aid be a reality for Live View?
Just received my screen from the Taiwanese online retailer. Item was sent on 6 Mar & arrived on 9 Mar (faster than I anticipated).
Item was very well packed from the courier package outside to the screen inside. Screen & accessories are fully sealed in clear plastic (not the one end adhesive seal but got to cut plastic kind). Very clinical. Theres a Flickr discussion with pics of the package if you google for it.
This is a Nikon (1st party) K3 screen (with grid ) cut to fit my 350D. No complaints on the screen quality.
Changing the screen took me less than 2 min. No drama really even though Ive never stripped any camera parts. I relied purely on the pictorial guide available online. Screen size fitted my 350D with no misalignment.
Tested on my lens with variable aperture (F2.8~4.5). Didnt encounter any darkening of the split image at F4.5. Havent check with my slower zoom at F5.6 (not unusual if it darkens). Just have to shift the eye slightly to counter the darkening if it does happen. Focusing so far (whether AF or manual) is spot on. Didnt use the additional rubber shim provided.
This is an impulse buy. However no regrets. Great to be able to marry AF body with the good old split image of MF body. Just felt that every dSLR should come with a split image since manual focusing is a standard feature anyway.
Would an electronic split image focusing aid be a reality for Live View?
LKH, nice review.
The experience seems to be consistent with mine too.
The split image itself is not exactly the wonder-tool for perfect focusing, though it does helps to find the approximate focus point fast. The contrasty viewfinder image projected by the screen provides a more accurate method to 'snap' in the focus.
That said, a split image Liveview by itself would not be useful, the LCD screen must also be of good definition.
The experience seems to be consistent with mine too.
The split image itself is not exactly the wonder-tool for perfect focusing, though it does helps to find the approximate focus point fast. The contrasty viewfinder image projected by the screen provides a more accurate method to 'snap' in the focus.
That said, a split image Liveview by itself would not be useful, the LCD screen must also be of good definition.
epileatheral
Member
I met up FengWei yesterday to get the screen from him. Thanks bro..
Installation is easy.
No problem with my old Chinon F1.7 50mm lens. But on my kitlens and zoom lens, there's a darkening at the ring and the top corner of the middle circle. Probably this is due to the slower lenses.
Installation is easy.
No problem with my old Chinon F1.7 50mm lens. But on my kitlens and zoom lens, there's a darkening at the ring and the top corner of the middle circle. Probably this is due to the slower lenses.
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