Hi guys,
Very interesting topic! I have a 60D and use manual lenses a lot! I never thought it is possible to change the focusing screen! Great news.
Could anyone please recommend me a good focusing screen for manual photography. Especially for macro work. It would be of great help.
Thanks!
Your options from Canon are limited to:
- Ef-A Standard Laser Matte focusing screen
- Ef-D Precision Matte surface with etched grid lines. The camera’s AF points remain fully visible. Focus characteristics are suited to most lenses.
- Ef-S The Super Precision Matte focusing screen is optimized for wide-aperture lenses from f/1.8 thru f/2.8. Areas that are slightly out of focus appear more out of focus, making it easier to tell when focus is right-on. It is ideal for users who frequently use manual focus in dim light with fast lenses.
Note that these are the same options as for the 5D and 5DII, but they are different sizes and are sold as Ee- and Eg- screens. The 1-series bodies take the Ec screens, and there are
many more options in that format.
The Ef-A is in your camera now. The Ef-S is great for manual focusing with lenses faster than f/2.8, since the stock focus screen is laser microetched for a brighter viewfinder (good for slower lenses), but the tradeoff is that you see the DoF of ~f/2.5 when looking through the VF, even with a faster lens. The downside to the Ef-S is if you put on an f/5.6 lens the VF will be dim, perhaps too dim to see effectively in low light.
For 'macro work' you likely have an f/2.8 (or slower) lens, and so you won't benefit from the Ef-S screen. There are 3rd party options with a variety of modifications (split prisms, microprism collars, etc.) to make manual focusing easier.
Honestly, for macro shooting, I think Live View is far superior to the viewfinder.