Focusing Screen

I'm not sure if it was in this post or another. But it has been confirmed that the Canon screens DO have a focusing circle in the middle. None of the known Canon screens are a clear matte with no circles/focusing brackets/split diopters. Sorry guys.
 
Hey, I've been searching around for any alternatives to the Nikon D screen (as they're almost impossible to get) and I found a few ideas that aren't too expensive. Anyone tried this Pentax screen? Or what about this Mamiya screen? Or here's another Mamiya.

Everything else was over $100 so I didn't include those. There's just gotta be something that's available out there for people to use. I'm pleased with my results from the D screen, but I'm just wondering what else is out there.
 
I have searched long and hard as you. So far the options seem to be:

Nikon D
Very hard to find. I contacted Nikon and it is no longer made. The last record they have of selling one from nikon is 5 years ago in Europe.

Beattie
expensive and very easy to scratch. Doesn't seem to perform as well as the D screen from the tests that I have seen.

Wax
Takes some effort and results will vary

AOL case or other translucent plastic
Produces great results. Often better than D screen if the area taken from the case is clean. I am looking into some plastic sellers and places to buy comparable plastic.

Home made GG
Micron grit sand and some elbow grease. Mixed results. I have a tutorial, but can't seem to find it right now.

So far, that is all I know of... any others?
 
Ok, why can't we get a straight word out of Nikon. I'm not calling you a liar, as I'm sure you did contact them and received the answer you did. But others have contacted Nikon and are told that they DO still make it. Who knows? I guess the only thing certain is that the D screens are hard to find. I think if any of us could find a nice plastic screen that would work well (like the AOL screen) and could be found easily most of us would be set. :D
 
I haven't seen anyone report back from Nikon with that info, but I of course believe you. I agree about the plastic. I think that the best option is going to end up being the translucent plastic (AOL case). It will be inexpensive and it has already shown top notch results. I am going to grind some glass in a few weeks for my adapter tutorial DVD. I will let you all know how it works out.

The tutorial for grinding glass that I mentioned earlier is from a photo mag. I ordered a copy of the magazine for the tutorial. At one point the whole article was floating around on the web. Not sure where it went.

http://www.phototechmag.com/previous-articles/2003/mj-dokas/dokas.html
 
Snodart, AOL stopped sending me those AOL cd intenet offers. Do they have them any where for free like at k-marts or something. Id like to get ahold of one for some testing. I can easily adapt it into my spinner. thanks for all the help.

ovjamaica rulds too?
 
The AOL cases seem to be as hard to find as the Nikon D screen. I have ordered 5 different types of cases, with no luck. When hero-fest is over, I will be spending some time at a local plastic store.

I even contacted AOL via email, but I think they just thought I was crazy. I am going to give them a call once I'm done shooting and have 4 hours to waste on the phone.
 
"AOL Customer Service, how may I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to order 10 of your AOL demo CD's in opaque plastic cases."

"I don't understand sir. You want us to send you 10 AOL CD's?"

"Yes, in opaque plastic cases."

"Why do you need 10 of them?"

"I really like AOL and so do all of my friends."

"Ok sir. If you say so."

:D Good luck snodart. I hope we can find it. Did you get all of those cases in that you had ordered? Last I heard you had 4 different ones on the way but I think you ruled out two. Maybe I'll check with some sort of plastics companies around town. I've got a piece of the original AOL case so maybe they can tell me how to get something similar. Wish we knew the supplier of the AOL case.

Forrest, yes I am. Noticed your pic and couldn't help but ask.
 
lol.

I have received and ordered 5 different kinds now. None of them worked. They were either too frosted (too much grain) or too transparent.
 
I'll go with very zen. ;) I've been checking every plastic material I've seen, and so far no dice. :( I just wish the D screen was more available. I've been satisfied with my results from it. Or that there was some other uber-screen that worked well. I mean, the Beattie works great, but it scratches so easily. Such a shame.
 
snodart, would you be willing to sell some of the screens you have tried? I am willing to work with screens with too much grain, as I have a vibrating adapter. Also the bokeh on overly-grainy focusing screens is much more pleasing to the eye, and seems to be overlooked in this quest for grainless, bright footage. PM me if you have any, with no markings, to sell.

Also, I have a beattie and have been using it in my Letus for about five months now. It works great and has amazing light transmission. I don't know how you guys are scratching it so easily, I hope you're using the included plastic tweezers, and only on the small tab that sticks out of the edge to pick it up. Nothing should ever touch the actual focusing plane. Here's an example of the beattie with my FX1:

http://www.frozenphoenixproductions.com/misc/pimped_letus/fx1testsm.bmp
http://www.frozenphoenixproductions.com/misc/pimped_letus/fx1test2sm.bmp
http://www.frozenphoenixproductions.com/misc/pimped_letus/fx1test3sm.bmp

Notice that, while bright, the beattie gives the out-of-focus area an unpleasantly greasy, hazy look that isn't completely diffused.
 
Last edited:
funkbomb said:
snodart, would you be willing to sell some of the screens you have tried? I am willing to work with screens with too much grain, as I have a vibrating adapter. Also the bokeh on overly-grainy focusing screens is much more pleasing to the eye, and seems to be overlooked in this quest for grainless, bright footage. PM me if you have any, with no markings, to sell.
Click to expand...

The grain isn't slight. It is to the point that it is hard to make out the image. The vibration of my adapter did not even come close to making it somewhat usable. You will have to just trust me that you don't want them.

A DVXer was kind enough to send me a piece of an AOL case. I am going to spend some time now trying to find a match somewhere. Of course, I will spread the word if I find any good news.

The more and more that I see of the beattie, I'm thinking that the D screen and the translucent plastic are the top two options. I have high hopes for DIY GG as well.
 
here's a funny story...

I was packing my bags a couple days ago for my upcoming 3-month-long adventure in Atlanta...
and I found a Nikon D screen! I completely forgot that I ordered one last year
when I was trying to make an adapter. This is very cool for me, because I wanted
to try and build one again and I became very discouraged when I started reading
this thread. But now I'm ready to rock!
 
ovjamaica said:
"AOL Customer Service, how may I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to order 10 of your AOL demo CD's in opaque plastic cases."

"I don't understand sir. You want us to send you 10 AOL CD's?"

"Yes, in opaque plastic cases."

"Why do you need 10 of them?"

"I really like AOL and so do all of my friends."

"Ok sir. If you say so."

:D Good luck snodart. I hope we can find it. Did you get all of those cases in that you had ordered? Last I heard you had 4 different ones on the way but I think you ruled out two. Maybe I'll check with some sort of plastics companies around town. I've got a piece of the original AOL case so maybe they can tell me how to get something similar. Wish we knew the supplier of the AOL case.




Forrest, yes I am. Noticed your pic and couldn't help but ask.
Click to expand...



hahahah, that is the first time on this board that i have actually laughed out loud. hehe :)
 
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