Manual focussing support OTHER than live view on 5D3

[drolo61]

Hi everyone,
is there any option to change the focussing screen in the 5D3 for better manual focus with legacy glass? If not, any other option to support quick and as accurate as possible focus using the viewfinder?
Thanks for your help!
Cheers
Olaf

[brad-man]

I still shoot a mark ll, so my info is hearsay. I have read/heard that the focusing screen is not user replaceable in the mk lll. That said, fosusingscreen.com sells 4 different screens for the mk lll and has instructions for that purpose. I have no idea if it is a good idea or not. You may want to check up on the good folks at MagicLantern.fm, as I believe they have an alpha release of their fine firmware for the mk lll which may help with your situation. Hope this helps, but don't blame me if it doesn't...

[Drizzt321]

That is correct, there is no officially user-replaceable focusing screens for the 5D mark 3. However, there are 3rd parties who do offer focusing screens, and instructions to replace them. Supposedly it's just a couple of small screws, and carefully removing and replacing the existing one. I've been tempted, but I might just get one for my 5d2 and use my MF lenses on that when I don't want to use LiveView.

[brad-man]

That is correct, there is no officially user-replaceable focusing screens for the 5D mark 3. However, there are 3rd parties who do offer focusing screens, and instructions to replace them. Supposedly it's just a couple of small screws, and carefully removing and replacing the existing one. I've been tempted, but I might just get one for my 5d2 and use my MF lenses on that when I don't want to use LiveView.

I only have one manual lens, so didn't want a "focusing" focus screen. But I did put an EG-D screen in my mark ll for framing and it was a piece of cake...

[oscaroo]

You can also buy a "chipped" mount converter, or alternatively, a "chip" for your lens and put that in the mount. Then you can use the AF confirm function of the camera that lights up when you MF an AF lens into focus while in MF mode.

That, or live view
Or Magic lantern + Live view
Or 3rd party focus screens + screwdriver

[risc32]

i have a 5dc with the special focusing screen and a 5d3 with the standard screen. I have an easier time with the 5dmk3, go figure...

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The lens you pick to use will likely have more of a impact than a focus screen.  A lens designed for manual focus would be the first step.
Then, I'd get one of the viewers with magnifier that fits over the lcd screen and use liveview.  There are also eyepiece magnifiers.
I tried alternate focus screens on my 5D MK II, 1DMK III, and 1D MK IV and decided that they were not accurate enough for me.  Same result with the AF confirmation light.
 
I might also consider magic lantern and focus peaking once the software gets out of the early testing stage.  I'd still need a lcd viewing shade or the like to be able to see the screen in good light.
 

[Marsu42]

I might also consider magic lantern and focus peaking once the software gets out of the early testing stage.

Um, my usual comment: On other than the 2012 cameras ml is stable and proven for years - though on 6d and the op's 5d3 you have indeed to wait for the official release.

Btw: The upcoming ml release will also have "focus bracketing" so if you are not able to see where the focus is you can at least take a couple of shots with slightly different focus and then pick the good one. Unfortunately, due to Canon firmware constraints all focusing features of ml work only in live view.

[drolo61]

Thanks a lot for your comments.
I intended to use dedicated MF lenses via adapter (Leica-R glass comes at reasonable prices).
Will further explore the eyepiece magnifier route (as I do not really like the LCD view, a bit old school here)
Cheers
Olaf

[Marsu42]

as I do not really like the LCD view, a bit old school here

Me neither, and that's why I'm looking forward to an electronic viewfinder you cannot tell from an ovf - think focus peaking inside the vf...

[skitron]

I might also consider magic lantern and focus peaking once the software gets out of the early testing stage.

Um, my usual comment: On other than the 2012 cameras ml is stable and proven for years - though on 6d and the op's 5d3 you have indeed to wait for the official release.

I've used the current ML beta for 5D3 and it works pretty good for focus peaking. The downside is it's impossible to see it when shooting in daylight.

I've also used AF confirm chips for this. The only problem is if using an adapter, you need a chip that has programmable AFMA in it because the thickness of the adapter is greater than the AFMA span in the camera. Unfortunately I haven't found a AFMA programmable chip that works with 5D3. I've found some that work great with 5D2, 50D, etc., but not 5D3. The non-AFMA-programmable chips seem to work with 5D3 but that rules out using an adapter.