D2Xs: reliable manual eye-focus possible?

Hello All,

I recently spent 6 months or so using a D200. The pictures were fully acceptable, and the ergonomics of

the body were nice, but the viewfinder lacked reliable manual focusing accuracy with certain lenses;

particularly the 85/1.4 Ais. The green dot focus indicator was accurate, but at the same time the image

on the focusing screen would be blatently out of focus...green dot+out of focus screen image= shot in

focus on the sensor. I understand that there are design compromises in the finder system to allow for the

use of relatively slow(f/4.5) lenses, etc. Since for me the whole point of a SLR camera is to compose and

focus on the "ground glass", this was an unacceptable situation, and the D200 for me is history. The D2Xs

certainly has a brighter and contrastier finder than the D200, but does it have the same focusing issues?

Some will say that the D2x/s is as easy to focus as the 100% viewfinder film models, but I don't. It's not horrible, but not as easy as a film SLR. Aside from my eyes getting a little worse each year, I've started to wonder if cameras are not made to be manually focused anymore.

 

Things will definitely be easier if you are using a fast lens, though.

I use manual focus with my D2x regularly for tabletops and macros, with both MF and AF lenses. Piece of cake.

 

Make sure you have the eyepiece diopter set so that the grids and brackets are in sharp focus. The screen is on the transparent side, so you need to make sure your eye is focused on the screen rather than the virtual image.

Does the D200 have a diopter adjustment on the viewfinder? The D2X bodies do. if it isthe AF sensor says it's focused and the shot is focused i oas recorded, you should see a sharp image in the viewfinder -- so that makes me think it is your eyes + the viewfinder combination that needs adjusting. Adjusting the diopter magnification will solve that until you realize you need glasses.

It's entirely possible that the mirror / finder are introducing a slight inaccuracy that the

diopter simply cannot correct.

Yes, there is a diopter adjustment on the D200.

I have ad D200 and 4 AIS lenses of varying focal lengths. I do not experience the problem that you describe. I would guess the diopter needs adjustment, as described above. Good luck.

I shoot with the D200 and just recently purchased a Katz Eye focusing screen. Because I'm shooting wildlife and birds generally with a 2x TC on my 500mm f4 I found the prism didn't work well at all. However the outside edge of the screen with the matte finish made manual focusing dramatically easier. I just ordered a new Katz Eye screen without a prism and can't wait for the improved sharpness and image in the view finder. Having sent back my first Katz Eye screen for a refund toward this new one I ordered I had to use my Nikon stock screen again and plain and simple its not precise, or as sharp.

 

Katz Eye makes a screen for the D2x, I would recommend them to anybody that uses manual focus. The difference between the stock screen and the katz eye screen is just unbelieveable.

All that the diopter adjusts is the uniform sharpness of the focusing screen. A misadjusted

diopter simply does NOT affect the depth at which the lens appears to be focused; it just

makes the entire focusing screen softer or sharper.

Thank you all for your answers and suggestions. -KB-

It sounds to me like your manual focus adjustment is off. Any camera that is sold as "professional" should be able to accurately focus a wide aperture manual lens, especially a D200, which is sold as a camera that can meter with the old manual AIS lenses. Other people with D200s are all not having this problem either, at least in large numbers. My D70 is dead on with my 50mm 1.4 and other wide aperture manual lenses. But, my D80 is having problems like yours. I shot a ruler at close range at about 45 degrees, wide open, with the 50mm. The camera consistently captured an image that was focused on the number in front of the one that was sharp and focused in the viewfinder, hence, it was "front focusing." This occurs with all my wide aperture lenses with the D80 (but not the D70). Once I described what was happening, Nikon said they would take it in and repair it, so that's were it is right now. Diopter adjustments did not solve the problem. Call support at Nikon and tell them what the problem is. I think you can get it fixed without having to resort to getting a different camera.

The idea that a misadjusted diopter just makes the focusing screen "softer or sharper" needs elaboration. Basically, what the screen does is breaking up the aerial image projected by the lens so the eye can hold on to a wafer-thin plane parallel to the screen. We would wish that plane to be precise aligned within the focusing screen itself, then visual focus judged from the screen and actual focus of the lens (onto the film/imager) will coincide. If the diopter is set so the eye focuses slightly below or above the focusing marks of the screen, easily done with todays far too bright and transparent screens, then the actual focus will be off. You realise this issue if you try to focus a superfast f/1 or f/1.2 lens, which is well-nigh impossible on a D2X unless you have a split-image rangefinder (Katzeye or similar), or you have pin-point light sources that can be used for focusing. In fact, it's far easier to focus such lenses with the coarse-grained screens on my F2 than the D2x, even when the first has a much darker finder.