My Experience - Focusing Screen
Two new fine and bright focusing screens (2-13 and 2-4) original for the OM3Ti
are available for sales separately, which
can also be used at OM3, 4 and 4Ti. You can purchase them from camera shop or
directly at OM camera service center. I have bought three pieces for my
OM4Ti and 2n, it require some rework on the tweezer holding tab in order to fit on
the 2n. With this new FS the meter on the OM2n does not indicate proper exposure value,
but it will not affect auto exposure accuracy.
Although the new focusing screens are very bright, but when I use
it in my OM4Ti with 300mm/F4.5 and 85-250mm/F5 lens, I found some vignetting.
Some other telephoto lens may also have this problem.
Anyway, as a whole the new screens are very nice.
Recently I got a OM-4 from a professional photogarpher, he had a EOS screen modified
and installed on the camera. It is a "EC-C" screen, although it is not as bright as the
OM 2-series screen, but it works better with wide angle lenses, as the OM are too
fine, focusing is very difficult with wide angle at the matted area. Now I have my
OM-4 and 4Ti installed with this screen. (19-May-99)
Things do change very fast, I found the "EC-C" screen does not work well with my new favourite
Zuiko zoom - the 35-70mm F3.6, it is very hard to focus. In the pass I rare use zoom, with the
large aperture Zuikos, I have no problem to focus even down to 21mm. I found the Minolta
7000i/8000i focusing screen work better with smaller aperture zooms. So I bought 2 Minolta
"7L" (with grid) from US. This focusing screen does not need any rework to put into OMs but
the height of this screen is a little bit less then the OM, you have to place it at the center of
the FS holder otherwise either top or bottom edge of the FS will be shown on the viewfinder.
The Minolta is not as bright and fine as the "EC-C", but it is still very good and it balance
well with different lens except for telephotos that down to very small aperture (< F8).
(Updated on: 22-Aug-99)
