Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Doug, I know I couldn't match the beauty of your pictures with anything short of the rare Doug Herr Eye for my focusing screen. That aside, I agree with you about the desire to try a clone of the SL screen on the R8. I really like my R8, but for all its bells and whistles, it doesn't (for me) match the viewfinder satisfaction of the SL. I just went on the rear deck and did some camera switching, with the neighbor's grass as my "subject", and found: Using the 400, the periphery of the SL screen gets a slight edge for brilliance. When I switched to the R8, I actually looked up to see if a thin whisp of a cloud had gone over the sun (no clouds in the whole sky). The central microprisms of the SL do darken with the 400 f6.8, and I actually do not use the central area for focusing that lens. But I like those same central microprisms with my 180, 90, and below. I may wind up with the central microprisms on the R8 to make its use with shorter lenses a little more comfortable. I can still use ground glass in the periphery for focusing the 400. And I've still avoided the central split image mess. To tell the truth, all this has more to do with a feeling of security (comfort) in focusing than with any problem I've actually experienced with performance. But oh, how I hate switching screens. Simple, I know, but I manage to fumble and get extra dust in the viewfinder every time I do it. Thanks for your input, and for those links to your photography. It's always nice to revisit. Julian - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Douglas Herr" <telyt@earthlink.net> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 11:15 AM Subject: Re: [Leica] Microprisms for R8? Julian Koplen wrote: > > Does anyone have experience with the microprism focusing screen on the R8 > vs. the ground glass? I have the ground glass and do pretty well with it, > but when switching back and forth with my SL, I notice a much better > "feeling" about my focusing with the SL. I don't know if it's due to a > slight brightness advantage of the SL or due to its microprism screen. > > This gives rise to the temptation to try a microprism for the R8, but I have > a natural resistance to "messing around" inside my camera and am wondering > if it will even be worthwhile to switch. I use the R8 with everything from > 24mm to 400, but mostly 90, 180 f3.4, and 400 f6.8. Anyone tried this? > I'm very curious about this too, particularly since your most-used lenses are among my favorites. My understanding is that the microprism of the R8 screen is limited to the central selective metering area, while the SL's viewscreen has teensy microprisms across the entire viewscreen with coarse microprisms in the central area. I suspect the R8 microprism viewscreen wouldn't do much for the 400, at least for me, since the central microprisms becomes too difficult to use at smaller apertures. A clone of the SL viewscreen would IMHO be fantastic in the R8. The 90 Summicron-R, 180 APO-Telyt, and 400 f/6.8 snap into focus so quickly, easily and with such confidence using the SL that it's hard to imagine any benefit to using AF. Examples: http://www.wildlightphoto.com/mammals/pete.html http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/blsk.html http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/CAGOEA.HTM - -- Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html