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R-users: D700 /Katseye replacement screen


andybarton

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There's a reason why Nikon say that the factory screen is not user replaceable. It's because it isn't.

 

One camera off to Nikon on Monday for a new screen...

 

Absolute nightmare.

 

R-users beware.

 

I really should have left well alone. Stupid. I don't really know why I bought it when it was offered to me, to be honest

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First thing i will look at if i replace my good old 5D1: does the new body accept third party split-image focus screens. I don't know about the 6D BTW.

 

The 5D Mk III's focusing screen can no longer be replaced, as shame since it finally offered a 100% coverage.

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Sorry to hear of your woes Andy. That kind of thing is really annoying and time wasting.

 

On the 5D screen - I have a good feeling they made the 5D screen non replacable to make it harder to use Manual Focus lenses like the Zeiss' etc. which it seems more and more people were doing.

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Andy,

 

Sorry to hear about the mishap. I gather from thread headline you tried to fit KatzEye screen but things didn't work out...:(

 

It can be fiddly but I managed to replace mine without a problem. I have been using D700+KatzEye for a while but I think I prefer focusing experience with old fashioned manual focus film Nikon cameras fitted with split prism screens.

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I did. My camera has two shims, one of which is about as thick as a sheet of tinfoil. Just impossible to get them back into the throat and sit flat.

 

I will have one more go tomorrow, but I've already got a scratch on the old screen, so even Nikon will have to sell me a replacement if I return it to them.

 

It is 1000x more difficult than on the R8, but that was designed to be easy to swapped out

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Interesting, I encountered single shim, thin rectangular spacer size of the screen sitting between original screen and prism.

I am not concerned with reversing, feel D700 is a keeper and last DSLR to buy from Nikon. Leica is finally catching up with M(240).

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Bad news Andy, sorry to hear.

 

I have a Katseye screen on my D700 and my experience was more akin to Mladen's. I was clumsy, and I have a small mark on the Katseye screen; irritating but does not effect performance. I agree that it is easier to focus with my FM3a, but it does make the D700 much easier to use with the Leitax'd lenses.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

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Andy I just recently had an email exchange with Rachael Katz on this. She told me that they are having great difficulty providing for the newer high end Nikons due to a lack of support.

 

I just got the D600 and currently there are no plans for a KatzEye screen for it.

The KatzEye screen for the D7000 is superb in my experience.

 

However I shall be very interested to follow what can be done with the new M(240) and adapters.

 

The physical process of fitting /removal of the screens is a bit fiddly but not complex and it is the same as for earlier cameras. (D7000 and D600 installs appear the same at least).

 

I found their provided PDF instructions to work well if followed explicitly and a fit/removal takes me less than 5 (careful) minutes. The potential complication is with any present shimming. It sounds like you have been bitten there. :eek:

You MUST have the camera body positioned so that gravity is your friend!

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Use a soft old cloth to protect mirror.

 

Use small screwdriver to pop wire holding screen down. Protect with forefinger from going too deep.

 

Use quality tweesers from Micro Tools to remove ,replace screen.

 

Shims should not have fallen out if camera was on its back. Just use tweesers to replace them.

 

Push wire frame back down.

 

Promodels have a nice hex nut to raise/lower screen to achieve perfect focus. 1.5 mm hex screw. Customer Service will send instructions. DO NOT TOUCH THE SCREEN STOPS OR SECONDARY MIRROR STOPS OR IT WILL HAVE TO GO TO NIKON TO BE STRAIGHTENED OUT. You have zero chance of putting it back right.

 

But you are correct, it does not go in and out like a Nikon F2 screen or even the R series screen. Nikon F/F2 was the best. NO TOOLS, glass screens and could be done in the field.

They don`t build `em like they used to.

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OK. Another half hour of my life before I sent it off to Nikon and the Katseye screen is now installed. With the shims in place.

 

Unfortunately, the camera now doesn't focus properly onto the screen - and yes I have got the focus spot on the centre of the screen.

 

What a disaster.

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It's all loosening up in there now, so the screen has now come out, the shims have been flattened and reinserted and the screen has gone back.

 

It works.

 

But, the plastic used for the screen is so soft that it's been scratched, rendering the camera worth less than if I'd left it well alone. Which is what I should have done, as, to be honest, there was nothing wrong with the focusing of it in the first place.

 

A lesson learned.

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sorry to hear that, I never had a probelm with Katseye screens, on my D200/300/700 and D3x. But shit happens .......

 

The other point is that it can happen (and in my experience it was often the case) that the screen is not perfectly aligned with the AF, so that you will get irritating results. I had may D3x 3 times in the Nikon service till they got a perfect calibration.

 

This said, the D800e fokusses extremley well manually with the focus point so i will not install a Katzeye on it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

FWIW, the 7d, 6d and 5d3 (and 1dx) screens can't be replaced; they now have a different AF projection mechanism, and the net effect is that the viewfinder is *a lot* brighter than with the older screens.

 

FWIW2, I couldn't properly manually focus with a 7d and Leica or Oly lenses under f4. Just couldn't do it. Whether that's because there's something funky with alignment of the screen on that particular camera is unknown, but other Canon lenses focused fine manually; Leica and Oly did not.

 

My 5d3 is fine with Leica and Oly lenses, but super-sensitive to diopter settings; I never feel it's quite right when shooting below f2, which is annoying.

 

Above f2 or with wider lenses it's perfectly fine, and the new 100% screen is much noticeably brighter than a 5d2, older Canon, or the D3. I'd put brightness up there with the DMR (but I'm doing that from memory, to tell the truth).

 

But it is finicky as heck with MF third-party lenses, and there's a notable difference in accuracy between the viewfinder and live view wide open.

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