Manual Focusing for Nikon D5000

[sinax]

I'm wondering how to find / where to purchase a manual focusing screen (e.g. split screen) for my new nikon d5000 camera.
I have a few old lenses and want to use them on my new body. Lack of internal focusing motor causes some of my old lenses fail to auto focus. using the electronic range finder and focus indicator in the viewfinder is an option but i don't like it.
I want to know which model and brand of focusing screen could be installed on nikon d5000. Can I use any from old analog models or so?
Thanks in advance

[vandergus]

Katzeye is the closest you'll get to an official product, and they're not cheap. Here's what they recommend for the D5000. I went the cheap route and got one off ebay. These are usually focusing screens from old film cameras that have been cut down to fit a specific camera model. The alignment may not be as precise as the Katzeye screens and they may suffer from a little more black out but they get the job done.

There are some things to be aware of with replacement focusing screens. Technically, they will void your Nikon warranty so consider yourself warned. However, you can just keep the original screen and pop it back in when you need to send the camera in for service. It's not an irreversible modification. Secondly, you will probably experience some "black out" with slower aperture lenses, which means that sections of the split prism become opaque when they don't receive enough light. It is still usable but is a bit annoying to look through. My screen blacks out with any lens that has a maximum aperture of f4.5 or less.

It turns manual focusing into a completely different ball game, though. So much easier. I even appreciate it with my auto focus lenses as it allows me to easily see whether my camera really achieved accurate focus or not.

Good luck with your search.

[sinax]

Originally Posted by vandergus

Katzeye is the closest you'll get to an official product, and they're not cheap. Here's what they recommend for the D5000. I went the cheap route and got one off ebay. These are usually focusing screens from old film cameras that have been cut down to fit a specific camera model. The alignment may not be as precise as the Katzeye screens and they may suffer from a little more black out but they get the job done.

There are some things to be aware of with replacement focusing screens. Technically, they will void your Nikon warranty so consider yourself warned. However, you can just keep the original screen and pop it back in when you need to send the camera in for service. It's not an irreversible modification. Secondly, you will probably experience some "black out" with slower aperture lenses, which means that sections of the split prism become opaque when they don't receive enough light. It is still usable but is a bit annoying to look through. My screen blacks out with any lens that has a maximum aperture of f4.5 or less.

It turns manual focusing into a completely different ball game, though. So much easier. I even appreciate it with my auto focus lenses as it allows me to easily see whether my camera really achieved accurate focus or not.

Good luck with your search.

Thank you for you comprehensive response Vandergus.
I've found another website selling some focusing screens for various cameras, they're way cheaper than Katzeye's, though i didn't investigate them. They have installation information also: Focusing Screen
Have anybody had any experience with these screens?

[nemesis256]

Sorry for hijacking this thread, but can someone explain how these work? Does it enable autofocus for lenses that won't autofocus with the D5000? Or does it just make manual focusing easier? What do you see when looking through the viewfinder? Does it affect anything else like autofocus or metering?

[inkista]

Originally Posted by nemesis256

Sorry for hijacking this thread, but can someone explain how these work? ...What do you see when looking through the viewfinder?

In the center of the focus screen, there will be a "split circle"--a circle with a line across the center. When the image is out of focus, the image inside the two halves will not meet. When the two halves of the circle match, you're in focus. The circle is often surrounded by a prism "collar"--another circular ring around the center split circle. In this collar, when the image is out of focus, you'll see broken patterns of the image. When the image is in focus, the collar looks like a matte image.

From: Review of Haoda Fu's Split Image / Microprism focusing screen for the KM 5D - dyxum.com (which is reviewing a similar Haoda screen).

Does it enable autofocus for lenses that won't autofocus with the D5000?

Hell, no. That still requires a focus motor in the lens.

Does it affect anything else like autofocus or metering?

It definitely affects your metering, and, as vandergus mentioned above, parts of the screen will go black when you use it with slower lenses that have a maximum aperture smaller than f/4.

[ptremb3043]

I have a Katzeye in my d3000 w/ the optibrite coating. It wasn't cheep mind you at $160 after the rebate, BUT it works extremely well. I have some real slow glass f6.3@500mm and I don't have any blackout unless it gets real dark out. Even in the house w/ just a wall light is enough to keep it from going unusable black, what I do have is an eye alignment problem. If you don't look threw the view finder straight if you will, one half of the prism does go black and realigning the camera body in relation to my face makes it come clear again. That part takes some getting used to from using the auto-focus as it doesn't require anything other than a look threw to see if you have the image you want.

[ravncat]

Just a bit of a sidenote

If you want accurate focusing for macro / very narrow depth of field - make sure to use adjustment shims - as the thickness of the katzeye screens is not equal to the maker`s screens - and the tolerance for faster apertures is tighter than the maker`s default. I wish the big brands would make more focus screen alternatives.

For many circumstances, this won`t matter, but it certainly can. So don`t let this scare you away from Katzeye.

-p.s. In nikon cameras, there is a screw to adjust the angle of a mirror - don`t use this to calibrate your screen - as you would only be calibrating a horizontal center line, changing the angle will throw things above and below that point off calibration - one must use shims to allow proper focus screen calibration.

[vandergus]

In nikon cameras, there is a screw to adjust the angle of a mirror - don`t use this to calibrate your screen - as you would only be calibrating a horizontal center line, changing the angle will throw things above and below that point off calibration - one must use shims to allow proper focus screen calibration.

But if you're using a split prism you only care about focus on the horizontal center line, right? You're not going to be focusing on a object that is placed in the top half of the view finder, instead you would focus with the object in the center then recompose. Or am I not thinking about it in the right way.

[sinax]

Originally Posted by vandergus

It turns manual focusing into a completely different ball game, though. So much easier. I even appreciate it with my auto focus lenses as it allows me to easily see whether my camera really achieved accurate focus or not.

How long will it take -upon your experience- to replace a focusing screen, compared to interchanging lenses? Can somebody do it regularly or it will cause damages to the body?

[vandergus]

It's pretty easy to do. Not as easy as changing lenses, but no tools are required. The reason you want to avoid doing it too often, though, is dust. It's very hard to keep everything clean. The first time you install it, you'll probably get a few specs trapped between the focusing screen and the pentamirror. It doesn't affect performance or image quality but it's no fun looking through a grungy viewfinder. I'd recommend latex gloves to prevent finger prints, some swabs from a sensor cleaning kit to remove any stray specs, and the cleanest room in your house. Definitely not something you want to do in the field.