RichC
Well-known
Raid, if you want a split prism or matt focusing screen, you can buy one here:
https://www.focusingscreen.com/index.php.
These screens are genuine Canon, Nikon, etc., that have been modified, and come with a little fitting kit. The company's in China but are reliable and have been trading for several years. Make sure to select US dollars for the currency to avoid being freaked out by the price! (I've no connection with the company - just a user.)
I used one in my Nikon D800E for most of the 5 years I owned the camera. It did not have any adverse affects (metering was unchanged, etc.). Fitting is straightforward but a bit nerve wracking (OTOH, your camera was a lot cheaper than my bought-new D00E). I put the original screen back in before selling the camera, which, despite not having done the process for 3 years, only took about 15 mins from start to finish. Basically, the screen's held in by a wire clip that you unhook.
(As an aside, I can (or could) buy manual focusing screens from China on eBay for my Nikon. If available for the D700, don't do that! They're cheaply made trash!)
I suggest doing the swap in the bathroom after running a hot shower just long enough for a little steam to settle any dust. Dust was the most annoying thing - I had to remove and replace the screen three times before my viewfinder was dust free! When I put the old screen back in, I managed to do it dust free the first time!
Now, the important question: did it make focusing any faster, easier or quicker? The honest answer is no. Possibly the opposite. Manual screens are less bright than modern digital ones, and if you go for a split prism screen as I did, you now have that circle in the middle of what was a nice empty view.
The green dot is also very accurate. It does have a quirk, though, which I'd imagine is the same in D700: a kind of "slop" for want of a better word. It stays lit if you move the lens focus ring back and forth a little. I suggest experimenting with your fastest lens and a near subject, and deciding where focus is sharpest. Try focusing beyond the subject and see if the image you take is in focus when the LED just lights, then the other way by focusing behind then turning the focus ring until the LED just lights; you may even find that your camera is in focus just past when the LED lights in one of these directions! Anyway, when all that faffing and checking photos is done, you'll know at what point your camera focus is spot on when shallow DOF rears its head...!
It's also perfectly doable to judge focus using the standard screen.
In short, eyeballing when stuff looks in focus plus using the green LED works fine for manual focusing.
In hindsight would I bother fitting ye olde worlde split prism screen? No. Practically, it did not make manual focusing better in any way, and in fact had the downsides of adding clutter to and darkening my view.
That said, the downsides weren't sufficient for me to make the effort to put my standard screen back in (at least until I decided to flog the camera)! The clutter and darkening aren't that much...
It's worth pointing out that in all the time I owned my Nikon D00E (half a decade) I used only manual lenses. I don't actually own an autofocus lens!
So, at the end of the day, I'd say whether you prefer the standard screen or split prism or matt screen boils down to personal preference rather than one being better than the other in reality for manual focus.
https://www.focusingscreen.com/index.php.
These screens are genuine Canon, Nikon, etc., that have been modified, and come with a little fitting kit. The company's in China but are reliable and have been trading for several years. Make sure to select US dollars for the currency to avoid being freaked out by the price! (I've no connection with the company - just a user.)
I used one in my Nikon D800E for most of the 5 years I owned the camera. It did not have any adverse affects (metering was unchanged, etc.). Fitting is straightforward but a bit nerve wracking (OTOH, your camera was a lot cheaper than my bought-new D00E). I put the original screen back in before selling the camera, which, despite not having done the process for 3 years, only took about 15 mins from start to finish. Basically, the screen's held in by a wire clip that you unhook.
(As an aside, I can (or could) buy manual focusing screens from China on eBay for my Nikon. If available for the D700, don't do that! They're cheaply made trash!)
I suggest doing the swap in the bathroom after running a hot shower just long enough for a little steam to settle any dust. Dust was the most annoying thing - I had to remove and replace the screen three times before my viewfinder was dust free! When I put the old screen back in, I managed to do it dust free the first time!
Now, the important question: did it make focusing any faster, easier or quicker? The honest answer is no. Possibly the opposite. Manual screens are less bright than modern digital ones, and if you go for a split prism screen as I did, you now have that circle in the middle of what was a nice empty view.
The green dot is also very accurate. It does have a quirk, though, which I'd imagine is the same in D700: a kind of "slop" for want of a better word. It stays lit if you move the lens focus ring back and forth a little. I suggest experimenting with your fastest lens and a near subject, and deciding where focus is sharpest. Try focusing beyond the subject and see if the image you take is in focus when the LED just lights, then the other way by focusing behind then turning the focus ring until the LED just lights; you may even find that your camera is in focus just past when the LED lights in one of these directions! Anyway, when all that faffing and checking photos is done, you'll know at what point your camera focus is spot on when shallow DOF rears its head...!
It's also perfectly doable to judge focus using the standard screen.
In short, eyeballing when stuff looks in focus plus using the green LED works fine for manual focusing.
In hindsight would I bother fitting ye olde worlde split prism screen? No. Practically, it did not make manual focusing better in any way, and in fact had the downsides of adding clutter to and darkening my view.
That said, the downsides weren't sufficient for me to make the effort to put my standard screen back in (at least until I decided to flog the camera)! The clutter and darkening aren't that much...
It's worth pointing out that in all the time I owned my Nikon D00E (half a decade) I used only manual lenses. I don't actually own an autofocus lens!
So, at the end of the day, I'd say whether you prefer the standard screen or split prism or matt screen boils down to personal preference rather than one being better than the other in reality for manual focus.