5Ds R: Which S-Type Focusing Screen to choose?

[niels123]

For my new 5Ds R, I ordered the 5Ds / 5Ds R S-type screen from focusingscreen.com. Although I am aware that replacement of the standard screen is quite easy, I really do prefer to have it done by a professional.

Unfortunately, the professional concluded that the screen is too thick and that it doesn't fit ('they just took a 5D III screen and filed off some notches'). I started a paypal dispute with the seller so I hope I can get my money back, but now I still have the original screen in my 5Ds R.

Since I do prefer to have a high-quality screen for my 5Ds R, I am asking for advice here: if you have experience, comments or suggestions please let me know. What I need is a s-type screen with no loss of autofocus accuracy (with AF lenses) that fits well with no risk of coming loose one day.

 

[Sporgon]

With you emphasising a “high quality” screen I suspect you may not achieve quite what you’re looking for as the 5Ds (and other recent high end Canons) use a transmissible lcd display that is actually all over the screen. Take the battery out of your camera and you’ll see that the viewfinder goes darker as the crystals are not energised or “excited”. So this is what you’re looking through irrespective of what screen you fit, and you’ll never get that clean, crisp view that you got in cameras of old. On the 5D and 5DII I had the s screens fitted but to be quite honesty my advice on the new cameras is to leave them as is.

 

[Zeidora]

The focusing screen works perfectly fine in my 5DsR. No idea what the "pro" means by too thick. Maybe this is just an excuse for not wanting to deal with it? It really is not that hard. Get a jeweler's phillips x screw driver, and that's it. Several youtube tutorial available. I did it based on one for the 5D3.

 

[niels123]

The focusing screen works perfectly fine in my 5DsR. No idea what the "pro" means by too thick. Maybe this is just an excuse for not wanting to deal with it? It really is not that hard. Get a jeweler's phillips x screw driver, and that's it. Several youtube tutorial available. I did it based on one for the 5D3.

He has succesfully swapped a screen in two 5D3's of mine and I'm pretty sure he knows what he is talking about.

 

[niels123]

With you emphasising a “high quality” screen I suspect you may not achieve quite what you’re looking for as the 5Ds (and other recent high end Canons) use a transmissible lcd display that is actually all over the screen. Take the battery out of your camera and you’ll see that the viewfinder goes darker as the crystals are not energised or “excited”. So this is what you’re looking through irrespective of what screen you fit, and you’ll never get that clean, crisp view that you got in cameras of old. On the 5D and 5DII I had the s screens fitted but to be quite honesty my advice on the new cameras is to leave them as is.

I haven't noticed before and curious enough, I tested it immediately. Wow, what a difference
Since I also use the camera quite a lot in low-light situations, I decided to keep the original screen and no longer change it because with no battery the viewfinder is unworkable dark.

 

[Sporgon]

With you emphasising a “high quality” screen I suspect you may not achieve quite what you’re looking for as the 5Ds (and other recent high end Canons) use a transmissible lcd display that is actually all over the screen. Take the battery out of your camera and you’ll see that the viewfinder goes darker as the crystals are not energised or “excited”. So this is what you’re looking through irrespective of what screen you fit, and you’ll never get that clean, crisp view that you got in cameras of old. On the 5D and 5DII I had the s screens fitted but to be quite honesty my advice on the new cameras is to leave them as is.

I haven't noticed before and curious enough, I tested it immediately. Wow, what a difference
Since I also use the camera quite a lot in low-light situations, I decided to keep the original screen and no longer change it because with no battery the viewfinder is unworkable dark.

I should mention that the lcd isn’t actually part of the focusing screen, but even if you change the screen the lcd is still there.

 

[niels123]

With you emphasising a “high quality” screen I suspect you may not achieve quite what you’re looking for as the 5Ds (and other recent high end Canons) use a transmissible lcd display that is actually all over the screen. Take the battery out of your camera and you’ll see that the viewfinder goes darker as the crystals are not energised or “excited”. So this is what you’re looking through irrespective of what screen you fit, and you’ll never get that clean, crisp view that you got in cameras of old. On the 5D and 5DII I had the s screens fitted but to be quite honesty my advice on the new cameras is to leave them as is.

I haven't noticed before and curious enough, I tested it immediately. Wow, what a difference
Since I also use the camera quite a lot in low-light situations, I decided to keep the original screen and no longer change it because with no battery the viewfinder is unworkable dark.

I should mention that the lcd isn’t actually part of the focusing screen, but even if you change the screen the lcd is still there.

Then what's the technical reason that the screen is so much darker with any focusing screen other than the origional?

 

[Zeidora]

Then what's the technical reason that the screen is so much darker with any focusing screen other than the origional?

Clear screen vs. matt screen, the matting scatters some light, and therefore there is some attenuation/extinction. That was also part of the reason for clear screens with cross hair in old SLRs for high mag macro, so every bit of dim light reached the view finder. Had those for my OMs back in the day.

I'm still surprised by the thickness indication. I sent focusing screen my original 5DsR screen to they could check it out and manufacture the replacement screen. And my replacement works perfectly fine. I think a number of people use that here, and this is the first time I've heard anything about alleged thickness issues. I don't know of any other manufacturer for replacement screens, Beatie Katzeye etc all went under. my 2c.

 

[Eldar]

Then what's the technical reason that the screen is so much darker with any focusing screen other than the origional?

Clear screen vs. matt screen, the matting scatters some light, and therefore there is some attenuation/extinction. That was also part of the reason for clear screens with cross hair in old SLRs for high mag macro, so every bit of dim light reached the view finder. Had those for my OMs back in the day.

I'm still surprised by the thickness indication. I sent focusing screen my original 5DsR screen to they could check it out and manufacture the replacement screen. And my replacement works perfectly fine. I think a number of people use that here, and this is the first time I've heard anything about alleged thickness issues. I don't know of any other manufacturer for replacement screens, Beatie Katzeye etc all went under. my 2c.

I agree with Zeidora. I installed the focusingscreens.com S-screen in my 5DSR and it worked great. However, your viewfinder gets darker, so f4 lenses becomes a bit of a problem in low light and you have to compensate for an offset in exposure readings. So unless manual focus, with fast lenses, type Otus etc., is a priority, I would not swap screens.

 

[Easer]

Anyone who has changed to an "s" type screen in their 1DX2 or 3....?

I am looking to get a 1D type pro camera that hopefully will last the rest of my life, I have a 5D3 now (in which I succesfully installed a 5D2 type "s" focusing screen, despite the 5D3's focusing screen is listed as fixed/unchangeable), but I will want to have a optical viewfinder camera before they become an extinct breed.
-Unless it can't take an "s" type focusing screen, thát is, as my portrait workflow relies heavily on manual focusing my 50L and 85L....

Good to know that the focusing screen can be changed in the 5DsR, I will absolutely consider thát, thanks....

 

[Ed Avis]

I have fitted the Ec-S focusing screen in my 1DX (mark 1). I previously used that screen with a 1Ds3 and earlier 1 series bodies. There is a menu item to specify the focusing screen you have fitted, so that exposure can be adjusted, but strangely it doesn't have Ec-S as an option. I have left the setting at its standard (Ec-C V) and the exposure seems okay with the Ec-S screen too.

I've found the viewfinder image to be better, certainly with fast lenses (f/2 and faster) where it's much easier to see the difference between in focus and not. With sharp lenses there's a kind of 'shimmer' or moire' you get when an object is exactly focused. They say that with slower lenses the viewfinder can become too dark, but I have not found this. I tend to use slower lenses in bright daylight anyway. Even with a manual lens stopped down to f/8 you can still see clearly. Perhaps I am lucky to have good eyesight.

(When I sent the camera in to CPS I forgot to mention that it had the different screen and they replaced it with an Ec-C V without checking. I thought the viewfinder was broken or misaligned when I got it back. That's how much better the S screen is.)

I've now got a 5DsR and I'm finding it difficult to manually focus through the viewfinder. I think I will order the S type screen mentioned above. The viewfinder is not quite as big as on the 1 series, so perhaps the darkness of the replacement screen is more noticeable.

 

[Sporgon]

The 5DS doesn’t have an interchangeable screen, it’s fixed. You can get third party screens for then, but it requires a little bit of dismantling the mirror box to take the old one out and fit the new. As there is no mode for S screen exposure, you’ll have to set compensation all the time.

 

[Ed Avis]

That's correct, I will have to fiddle with a screwdriver to install the new screen. What exposure compensation do you believe will be needed? I know that the metering can be affected by the choice of screen, but with the Ec-S screen on my 1DX, there isn't a mode for the S screen exposure there either (there's a focusing screen menu, but it doesn't mention the S type) and so I have it left at the standard setting. In practice it seems to set exposure fairly well.

 

[Sporgon]

I can’t remember exactly, I think it was meant to be + 2/3 of a stop.

 

[Ed Avis]

Thanks, that makes sense. I've noticed with the 1DX that I typically apply at least +0.5 stops of exposure compensation in post. Until now I hadn't made the connection with the focusing screen and that the camera might be underexposing. I think I can live with that; at least with the 1DX I prefer a bit of underexposure since it's easier to bring up the shadows than to recover from blown highlights. The sensor of the 5DsR might change this preference.