Mamiya 645 AF manual lens - focusing screen

[artyom_liss]

<p>Hi all,<br>

I'm thinking of adding a wide-angle manual lens to my M645 AF setup. The manual (on butkus.org) says manual lenses require a different "viewfinder screen" being fitted to the camera.<br>

Has anybody here got any experience with this? Why is a different screen required? <br>

Thanks<br>

Artyom</p>

[gregory_king1]

<p>The alternate screen (about $80) helps with manual focusing. Otherwise, you're forced to use the focus confirmation indicator, because the focusing screen is optimized for light transmission and not focusing. There is no split image indicator or fresnel lensing, for example.</p>

<p>The other disadvantage is that you must use stop-down metering. So if you want to focus wide open, you have to roll the aperture back to the desired stop before shooting.</p>

<p>I just picked up a 1000s for less than the price of the focusing screen to try with my manual lenses (30 fish, 35, 45, 80 1.9, 110, 200, and 300) to see if it improved my ease of shooting. Plus, it'll let me grab a 70mm leaf to shoot at 1/500.</p>

<p>I tried replacing the focusing screen in my DSLR and got so much dust in there that I'm leery to do it on my 645AF.</p>

[artyom_liss]

<p>Thanks Gregory. So just to confirm: a manual lens <em>will </em>focus with the original AF screen - but it's just a lot more hassle, right?</p>

[gregory_king1]

<p>Yep...and many people say it's not much more hassle. Me...I'm not too good at manual focus, and I'm not convinced the accuracy of the focus confirm light is good enough for shallow DOF work.</p>

<p>I think the last time I used my 35mm manual I had it on a tripod for seated groups with flash, so I had no focus or aperture issues to deal with. MUCH cheaper at <$200 than spending $500-600 on an AF version.</p>