Soft corners in FM2n finder?

<p>Hello there,<br>

I purchased an FM2(n) recently. What bothers me is the finder, which never seems to get <em>critically </em> sharp on the matte surface, especially in the corners. The split screen is sharp though.</p>

<p>Is this what one would expect?</p>

<p>Is there a chance that the screen might not be installed properly?</p>

<p><em>Thanks for your help!</em></p>

 

<p>Probably is more the lens than the ground glass. Which lenses are you using?</p>

<p>There are several issues here... lens speed (the faster the brighter and more snap focus), lens`field curvature (some lenses appear to be in focus in the center but are out-of-focus in the corners) and viewfinder illumination (the bigger and/or better pentaprism the sharper images at the corners - the FM2n is good, but it`s not a F3 or F6-).<br>

<br /> I suppose you`re refering to the original screen, and in resonably good shape. Third party screens perform in different ways (usually not as fine in my experience).<br>

<br /> I doubt it`s an installation problem. It could be, but seems to me rather odd.</p>

<p>No problem with my FM2N. Matte portion of screen is sharp enough for accurate focusing even in dimly lit areas with a fast lens. Mine has the standard K screen, center split image aid and microprism collar.</p>

<p>It'll depend on your lens and focus screen. Anything slower than f/4 effective maximum aperture will be very difficult to focus accurately in anything less than bright light. But with an f/2 or faster lens, it should be bright enough to focus in a typical room with a single 60 watt lamp.</p>

<p>Check to be sure the focus screen is seated properly. Handle it gently, the etched surface will be fairly delicate and easily scuffed. Been awhile since I swapped focus screens in any of my Nikons so I don't remember which surface is the most delicate, but at least one side can be fairly easily scuffed with anything more than light pressure from a soft brush.</p>

<p><a href="http://mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfeseries/fefmshared/html/screens.htm">Here's some relevant info on the mir.com.my site</a> .</p>

<p>Baris, this is perfectly normal. The FM2n lacks the condensor lens that the larger F3 has, therefore the corners of the finder are a bit softer than the centre. This applies to every camera of this design - from the FM of 1977 to the FM3a made up to 2006.<br />Using a distortion free 50mm lens on a FM2 and then on a F3 shows this quite clearly - the F3 is sharp across the whole viewfinder frame.<br />Along with the slight corner softness you will also see some pincusion distortion (seen on seascapes) and 'image stretch' in the corners. Whilst I agree that these are not ideal, the camera more than makes up for this in the good metering and ease of use/carry. I will add that although the edges are not as sharp as the centre, they still can be used for critical focus (with care).</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>