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Bill Maltby ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) was saying something along these lines: >I was wondering if anyone on the list had a preference for a >particular type of focusing screen. I have been using the >one that came standard on the camera for years but it is >getting scratched so I was thinking about a replacement. I >have been thinking of one with grid lines on it as a >possible aid in eliminating my constant problem of not >having the camera horizontal. On my cameras (Canon F1) the >focusing screen also affects the metering pattern. Any >thoughts on focusing screens? Any thoughts on cleaning them? Bill, I've used F-1s for years and years, and have taken good advantage of the interchangeable screens. In the past, my favorites used to be the Bright Laser Matte (Screen AJ & SJ) with no focusing aids at all. They were incredibly bright, eliminated the problem of microprisms blacking out at low light, and both were a big help back when the majority of my lenses were slow zooms. I have used both the averaging metering pattern and the spot metering pattern and have alwyas been pleased with the accuracy of both. The F-1 screens used to be really expensive, but as the whole FD system fades in to the orangy sunset, most of the more esoteric accessories have dropped in price. I would think that the grid pattern could help, but you'd have to be careful what you choose to align with. We've all seen that signal mast or code line pole that sits on the edge of the frame ... and is leaning to one side or the other. Those always drive me nuts, and they can really make a scene look off kilter. These days, I have the standard AE (averaging meter, split image/microprism focusing) screen loaded in both my cameras, and I carry the SJ (spotmetering/bright laser matte) screen in my bag if I should decide I need it. The metering patterns have become less important to me over the years, as I've gotten used to judging light on my own. The focusing patterns have become MORE important to me, as my eyesight ain't what it used to be! Plus, now that my lenses are faster on the whole, I don't have the problem of the focusing aids blacking out. Even the standard F-1 focusing screens are incredibly bright, anyway. They will spoil you. I look through other people's viewfinders and feel like I'm wearing sunglasses. Cleaning is an incredibly tricky issue. The best thing to clean a focusing screen is a small, soft sable artist's brush. They're small enough that you can fish out little specks of dust out of the corners of the screen. (Which invariably happens with removable-prism cameras). Resist the urge to do any more cleaning to the focusing screen. If you have an accident and really smudge one, you can clean the top with a lens tissue rolled into a little point, and a VERY SMALL amount of high-grade cleaning fluid, applied to the tissue. Never apply fluid directly to the screen, and never try to clean the fresnel side with anything other than a dry brush. The F-1 screens are actually two parts of glass sandwiched together, and if you dump fluid on the screen, it will seep in between the layers and ruin the screen. And since that's where the beam-splitter is (which directs the appropriate amount of the view to the metering cells) it would undoubtedly affect the meter's accuracy as well. Hope this big long ramble helps, Scott Scott Withrow Terre Haute, Indiana (more or less) http://www.railcenter.com ======================================================= -> SPORRS: 'Serious Photographers Of Railroad Related Subjects' -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs/ -> Message © 1998 SPORRS® - All Rights Reserved =======================================================
