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[OM] 2 Series Screen

Subject: [OM] 2 Series Screen
From: Winsor Crosby <wincros@xxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 13:58:09 -0700
I just got one of the new series 2-13 focussing screens.  I installed it in
my OM4T.  It has taken a while to figure out the difference. In most
situations I cannot tell any difference. In very dim light with a fast lens
the illumination of the focussing circle and the ground glass is the same,
so it is next to impossible to find the focussing aids in the middle. With
the old screen the focussing circle was lighter than the ground glass and
easy to see. You can focus either one using the ground glass in this
situation. In the old one the split image was usable in addition. (I was
able to do side by side with my OM1n)

I could not detect any difference in brightness in normal lighting
situations. I even removed the lens from both bodies and held the
viewfinder of each camera to an eye to seen whether I could detect any
light level difference.  Of course I realize that my eyes adjust
automatically. With the viewfinders held together(top to top) so that a
little piece of the field of each could be seen simulataneously it seemed
as if I could see difference, but it was hard to tell due to the
differences in the way the ground glass of each transmitted light. An
interesting phenomenon of the new screen is that without a lens in place
you can see blob-like colored shapes through it, but the old screen in the
same situation is evenly illuminated. Although I could make out the
granularity of the screens and some of the fresnel lines, I could not
subjectively say anything about the differences.

Now here it is, the situation where the new screen seems to make a
substantial difference. I put a 2X teleconverter onto my 200/F4 yield an F8
combination and focussed inside the house on a dimly lit, deep book shelf
with some objects on it. With the OM1n and the 1-13 it was impossible to
focuss on a brightly colored striped kaleidoscope and just possible to
focus on a small silver candlestick. All focussing was done with the ground
glass because the focussing circle was blacked out. With the same lens
combination on the OM4T the focussing circle was also blacked out, but I
had no trouble focussing on the candle stick. It just popped in
effortlessly. I was even able to focus on the kaleidoscope without much
effort.

My conclusion is that the new screens are good in dim light with really
slow lenses(maybe a 400/F6.3 or a 500/F8), or moderately slow lenses
combined with teleconverters. In most other situations there is no
appreciable advantage or even a clearly obvious difference. With a fast
lens in dim light, there may even be an advantage with the older screen
because the other focussing aid may still work and you can find where they
are.


Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California
mailto:wincros@xxxxxxxxxxx





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