New Focusing Screens

[isaac sibson]

Well now, people are probably aware of the new range of focusing

screens for the EOS 5D (Ee-A being the standard screen).

 

However, what may have escaped most people's notice is the new

screen for the 1/3 series cameras, the Ec-S.

 

This would appear to be equivalent to the Ee-S screen for the 5D.

This is interesting in that it debuts a new focusing screen type,

the "Super Precision Matte", which takes on further from the

Precision Matte (Ee-A and the non-interchangable EOS 20D screen).

 

I think canon are trying to produce a brighter screen which doesn't

suffer the complete lack of focus snap that afflicted their previous

series of very bright screens (Bright Laser Matte, screen Ec-K and

all Ed series screens).

 

It would be interesting to compare side-by-side the screens Ec-K, Ec-

CIII, Ec-N and Ec-S. My preference was for the darker Ec-CIII (Laser

Matte) over Ec-N (New Laser Matte) in my EOS 3 for better focus

snap. I certainly would not have touched Ec-K (Bright Laser Matte)

after owning an EOS 5.

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

So the Ee-S is brighter without (supposedly) affecting Focus Snap on the 5D, count me in, a nice addition to the 24-105L! ;-)

[robin_sibson1]

The S screens are apparently designed for f/2.8 and faster lenses, so may not work well at f/4. This is taking us back to the old days of the F-1, where the microprism screens came in three versions, for fast, medium, and slow lenses.

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

Which bit won't work, the brightness or the focus snap? Shame, the only thing holding me back from the 24-105L to replace my 24-70L (assuming equal performance at f4) is the darker viewfinder.

[gross_holger]

Is it possible to use the 1 er series screens in eos 5d? I am used to split screens from my old days and i won?t go for a 5d without the options to work perfectly with mauell focus(i.e i use nikon lenses with adapter 1.2 50 and 1,4 35). Can?t afford the 1ds markii and finder in 1d mark ii is to small

[robin_sibson1]

Ben, what used to happen with microprism (or split-image) screens used with too small a lens was that there was no eye position up against the finder that allowed you to see light through all sets of prisms (both prisms) simultaneously, so you could not actually use the focusing aid at all because half of it was black. It's exactly like trying to use an optical rangefinder with a 12" base through a hole 6" in diameter. It's not easy to say what the effect will look like with these new screens, but I would expect a dark grainy effect with less good focusing than the screen designed for the job.

[blake_willis]

<A HREF="http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-7885-7973">Rob

Galbraith's writeup</A> on the 1D MKII N has very comprehensive info on the new Ec-S

screen. Unfortunately it seems that due to differences in metering this screen will not be

compatible with anything other than the 1D MKII N, at least not without Canon releasing a

firmware update that tells older cameras how to meter properly when using it. A shame,

as I'd love to have put one in my EOS 1n ($280; thanks Adorama!) and I just can't see

dropping $100+ on a Beattie screen for a camera I use only use for extreme wide-angle

work and as a backup to my 10D.

[robin_onishi]

will the ec-S for the 1d MkII work for the 1D MkIII?