Using P or K screens in an F4s

Hi,

 

I have recently become the happy owner of a very good F4s for a

bargain price (I love digital!;)), AF was never my top priority and

I absolutely love this camera.

 

I know Nikon makes/made different focus screens, for example the K

and P types for the F4. The autofocus cam is quite jumpy in the F4,

and I would like to use one of these split-focus rangefinderlike

screens in my F4s (I am used to those from using an FT3 and an FG20,

and I own and use mostly manual lenses anyway).

 

My questions are the following;

 

1.) Can I still use autofocus lenses when having a K or P screen

installed? (and by using I mean: will they still autofocus?)

 

2.) Probably connected to the first question; when using manual

lenses, will the electronic focus indications/confirmation (ie the >

o < signs) still show up (and work properly)? ie could this be

a 'best of both worlds' kind of thing, or will I have to choose?

 

3.) Any comments on using a K or P screen in an autofocus camera?

Does anyone do this, how does it work out for you?

 

4.) Does Nikon still manufacture those focus screens for the long

discontinued F4?

 

 

Sorry for all the questions, but you have my thanks!

 

Jonas

Hi Jonas,

 

1) Yes, you can still use autofocus lenses and autofocus with a K or P screen. It works because the AF sensor of the F4 is actually in the body! Even when you take off the viewfinder and screen, the F4 still autofocuses correctly.

 

2) Yes as well. With manual lenses the focus indicators will work properly with the P and K screens.

 

3) I personally use the E screen. But a K screen would just be like from the F3 and FM2. One thing though, there will be situations where the K and P screens indicate correct focus, while the focus indicators indicate otherwise. Decide first which focus aid would you trust more.

 

4) I purchased an E screen for my F4 3 years ago. I think since the F5 came out in 1996, so the F4 was officially discontinued then and that parts would still be made (at least to order) until 2006. So get your accessories and spare parts soon.

 

One extra tip. Get a Nikon service center to check exposure in P mode at shutter speeds of 1/4000-1/8000. I was experiencing random under and overexposure and it was due to the aperture stop down mechanism being sluggish. Had to change the aperture control unit but it has been fine since. Since you love your F4, get this checked out and fixed if required while spare parts are still available.

Jonas,

 

I occasionally use a K screen in my F4. But like Aaron, I prefer the E screen most of the time.

 

1) Yes. The autofocus sensors do not "see" the screen, so screen type is irrelevant for autofocus.

 

2) Yes.

 

3) Works fine. Like all split-image rangefinder screens you will get split-image blackout with slow aperture lenses if you don't carefully center your eye to the finder.

 

4) Very doubtful (same goes for parts - what's available is "stockpiled" from the last production runs). But there is still a lot of NOS (new old stock) out there, and they are commonly available on eBay and from other used vendors.

A secondary but perhaps not unimportant concern: will the spot meter still work correctly with a focusing aid sitting right on the part of the screen it normally reads?

In addition to previous two responses, I personally prefer P than K a lot because P screen has diagonal slit prism AND both horizontal and vertical lines thru center which is very useful and handy to capture architecture type images.

"... will the spot meter still work correctly with a focusing aid sitting right on the part of the screen it normally reads?"

 

Because the spot meter is in the mirror box (not the viewfinder), the spotmeter does not "see" the screen - it is not in the optical path of the meter cell and is not affected by screen choice. Only the matrix meter and center-weighted meter see the screens (the cells are above the screen in the DP-20), and exposure compensation is required for some screens for these two metering modes (the spotmeter does NOT require compensation).

With thanks to Leonard Foo of "Photography in Malaysia".

 

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf4/index.htm<div></div>

Thank you Aaron and Michael for the detailed replies! You answered all my questions.

Jay, thanks for the input, I too am leaning more towards the P screen, but there is a chance I could get a K screen for free, in which case I'll go with that :)

David, thanks for asking that question, I forgot about metering! And Michael, thanks of course for answering it!

 

Thank you!

When I had F3's and later F4's, the "P" screen was my standard screen. Very helpful in compostion and keeping horizontals and verticals straight.

"Very helpful in compostion and keeping horizontals and verticals straight."

 

That sounds like the E (grid) screen (?).