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Jack
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 04, 2006 - 09:19 pm: | 
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I have a Nikon FG that needs a new focus screen. Does anyone know if the screen from an EM will fit and focus correctly? Being as the EM, FG and FG-20 are all fundamentally similar and from the same era, I'm thinking this is a reasonable possibility. If anyone can confirm one way or the other, it could save me a lot of needless work.
Thanks!
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Jon Goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 04, 2006 - 09:57 pm: |
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I think they're the same. Give it a try.
Jon |
Haig Hovaness
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2006 - 09:25 pm: |
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You are in luck. The Nikon 2 and 3 series screens for the FM/FM2/FM3a cameras will fit if you saw off the handling tab. Alternatively, you can cut a notch in the FG screen holder frame to make room for the tab.
I have modified an EM, an FG, and an FG20 to take the incredibly bright Nikon B3 matte screen. It provides the best SLR viewfinder image I have ever seen.
Whatever you do, don't use a recycled EM screen in an FG. It is not as bright. I suggest finding a good used K2 screen on eBay and notching the screen holder to fit it. |
rick oleson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2006 - 10:37 pm: |
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that is great to know! thank you Haig!
rick : ) = |
Jack
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 08:28 am: |
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Thanks Haig, that's exactly what I needed to know. Guess I won't be able to use the old EM I picked up. I do have a split screen from a FM3A, though. I was thinking about using it in my FE2, but only for whatever improvement it might make. The FE2 screen is perfect.
Here's a thought: I could remove the FE2 screen and use it in the FG. Will that require exposure compensation in the FG? Also, is there any real advantage to installing the FM3A screen in the FE2?
Thanks again!
Jack
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Haig Hovaness
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 10:16 am: |
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Having tried most of these screens, I find that the K3 split screen is brighter than the K2, but at the expense of split-image darkening problems with slower lenses. If you are using the normal lens most of the time, the K3 is fine.
No exposure compensation will be required for the FG, since the stock FG screen is about as bright as the K2. If you like, I can email you instructions for notching the FG screen holder frame. This will avoid having to cut the delicate focus screen to remove the handling tab. |
Jack
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 12:57 pm: |
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I'm an idiot. I just searched my hard drive and found your file "EM Technical Notes.rtf." You apparently mailed it to me back when I still had an EM. Are the instructions for the FG the same? I think the screen holder may be a little different, but I'm not sure. If you have something newer, I would be grateful for a copy.
Regarding the K3 screen, the darkening isn't likely to be a problem. In the past, I tended to select lenses in anticipation of the subject matter. Now that victims of digital dimentia are dumping the best cameras ever made onto the used market, I have the luxury of also selecting from several bodies. Assuming I wanted to use a slow, cheap zoom for some reason, the matte screens of my F4 and N6006 mate well with such lenses. Conversely, this means I can continue to enjoy the classic feel of the split screen in bodies like the FG and FE2, with which I always use lenses f/3.5 and faster.
I rather like the idea of adapting the FG to the later screens. Aside from being able to use something better, the tab will allow easier installation with less risk of damage. Can't wait to try it!
Jack |
Haig Hovaness
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 07, 2006 - 01:51 pm: |
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The basic geometry of the FG screen holder frame is the same as that of the EM. It is just better constructed. Looking at the front of the frame, you need to cut away the left half of the left front screen retaining tab. A fine saw or Dremel cutting disk will quickly cut through the stamped brass. You can either make two cuts and fully remove a section of the tab, or you can make one vertical cut and bend down the left part of the tab.
Another advantage of this modification is that it forces you to insert the focus screen right-side-up, because that's the only way it will fit.
I suggest that you practice reinserting the screen holder with the old screen before you put in the replacement, since this is the most difficult part of the procedure. You have to engage a lip on the back of the screen holder on a ledge above the shutter opening while pushing up against the springs that keep the focus screen in place. It may take a few tries, but the result is worth it. |
Jack
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 27, 2006 - 09:19 pm: |
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Haig, many thanks for your help with this. The modification is really simple, and I replaced the mirror foam while the frame was out. I made a vertical cut in the retaining tab with precision dykes (wire cutters), then gently bent the cut material back and forth until it broke away. I wish I had taken a photo, but I wasn't sure it was correct until I already had it back in the camera.
The screen I installed is a K3 from a FM3A. The difference through the viewfinder is incredible. Although there's only a slight improvement in brightness (in my visual estimation), the K3 screen exhibits tremendously improved clarity. The original screen appears a little fuzzy, even when the subject is in perfect focus. With the K3 and a f/1.4 Nikkor, it's really sharp and clear, more like looking through polished glass than a camera viewfinder.
There's another thing about the K3 screen that I especially like - the small split circle loses focus (blurs) to nearly the same extent as the matte field. That doesn't happen with earlier screens like the K and K2. This means that in most cases, you don't have to position a centered subject into the matte field, focus, then recompose the shot. You can focus right *through* the split field image. Wonderful!
For what it's worth, my measurements indicate that the K3 screen is about 1/2 stop brighter than the original FG screen. In my case, the FG I installed it in was 1/2 stop "hot." Following the replacement, the metering agrees with all my other Nikon bodies, including a second FG with an original screen.
Thanks again, it's a terrific improvement!!
Jack
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