<p>Some good news folks: Can you change the focusing screen on a 7D Canon camera? The answer is YES, and that includes the S-series Super Precision Matte focusing screen!<br /><br />[i'm writing this post to provide some info which I'd been looking for all over the Internet in the past weeks. Now that I've tried stuff myself, I can provide some fact-based info. Feel free to comment on your own experience below and to contact <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Alvarez-Pereyre-Photography/434215383309115">me</a> directly for more questions).]<br /><br />I'm not going to get into the details of <em>why</em> you might want to change the focusing screen of your camera. In my case it boils down to composition coming before focus, and the need for very accurate focus with very shallow depths of field, often in complex lighting conditions, and usually not at the center of the screen and without the time to select a focusing point for autofocus (which is usually a let-down anyway). I'll just assume that you want to change your focusing screen and that you have a 7D. I would suggest that you be smarter than me and that for any future camera that you buy, you check first if Canon made it possible to change the focusing screen in a standard manner.<br /><br />So, here's the thing: Canon does NOT make it possible for you to change the focusing screen of the 7D AS STRAIGHTFORWARDLY as on their other high-end cameras. But doing it is, in fact, not much more complicated than changing it on, say, a 5D. <br /><br />Note that it is possible that I got lucky and that I didn't need to tweak anything, but at least in my case it worked great. So here it is:<br /><br />What you DO need is a focusing screen (duh), of the type you want, that has been adapted to fit the 7D. The great news is that you've got at least two reliable places doing it for an OK price:<br /><br />1) <a href="http://focusingscreen.com">Focusingscreen.com</a> is where I got the S Super Precision Focusing Screen I am using. I don't think they really speak English but they seem to know how to do their job well. Within a few days I received the screen, packed along with tweezers (the tool you normally use to extract and place the screen is a bit bulky for this operation) and thumb protectors so you can put your fingers into the body of the camera (I used surgical gloves instead). They also packed several thin plastic layers the size of the focusing screen, presumably so you can prop up the focusing screen in case the focus is not accurate enough when you place it directly. That got me scared (I hated the idea of installing the bloody thing five times until I got it right), but mercifully, the focus was spot on when using the screen on its own.<br /><br />What they do not pack and which you will need for the <a href="http://www.focusingscreen.com/work/7den.htm">installation</a> is a small screwdriver (the install is really removing two easy screws, a small piece that the screws hold, then unlatch a spring, remove the "old" focusing screen and place the new one instead. As I said, barely more than an install on a 5D, except that you'll be moving the screens with the tweezers instead of the plastic tool. That's assuming you don't need the plastic sheets to prop up the screen). They are not very clear about which screwdriver to use (they provide a reference that got me nowhere on the web or at my DIY store), but the one that worked for me was one that I got <a href="http://www.leitax.com/Leica-lens-for-Canon-cameras.html">here</a> (scroll to the bottom of the page, I'll try to find a more exact reference and update this post).<br /><br />It took me about 5-10 minutes to do the change, and I tested it with a 50mm lens at 1.8 against the books of my library, shooting from the side so that one title would be perfectly in focus but not the ones before and after. It worked perfectly (I didn't keep the file but you can take my word for it). Does it affect metering? Probably to some extent, but since I meter manually and only trust the histogram and highlight alert to build my perfect shot, it's no big deal for me and I didn't even make tests for that.<br /><br />2) <a href="http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Canon-7D-Focusing-Screen--prod_7D.html">Katzeye</a> get great reviews on their focusing screens. I didn't try them but here is great news for S Super Precision Matte focusing screen lovers: they actually produce it, even though their page does not advertise it. Note that they recommend NOT taking the OptiBrite option for it. In any case you should be in touch with them before ordering to be sure you get what you need. They have AMAZING customer support. That's probably where I would have started had I not had a screen from focusingscreen.com on its way.<br /><br />I'll try to provide pics when I have ones that are good enough :)<br /><br />I hope this helps all of you who already own a 7D and were wondering, or those who are buying it on the cheap now that the Mark II version is coming out.</p>
