Does the fact that you don't have a 21-400mm zoom give you any clue?
If there were a perfect ALL AROUND screen for all lenses and uses, would
camera manufacturers be selling many different screens? They might try,
but nobldy much would be buying.
Here's the problem in a nutshell, the screens designed for long and/or
slow lenses are not ideal for wide and/or fast lenses.
For matte screens or parts of screens, the issue is the fineness of the
'texture'. Long telephotos are easiest to focus with very fine matte
finishes, hence the 1-8 screen. Wide angles are easiest to focus with
coarse matte areas, hence Jeff's comment "I've found the 1-8 useless for
short focal length lenses." Ah, no wonder Oly says of the 1-8 "This
screen is ideal for use with super telephoto lenses of 300mm or more in
focal length, or for astrophotography. The extreme fineness of the matte
surface permits outstanding field definition." The 1-4 is an effort to
resolve this issue, with a finer matte inside the circle and coarser
outside it.
For split image and microprism parts of screens, the issue is one of
geometry. The average angle of the light hitting the screen varies with
focal length and aperture. Thus, the angle of the prism that is ideal
for fast and/or wide lenses is quite different from the angle that works
best with tele/slow lenses. The angle used in the 1, 3, 13 and 14
screens is optimized for 50mm, relatively fast lenses and works quite
well for moderate WA and moderate tele lenses. With wider, longer and
slower lenses, parts of the focusing aid prisms go black. For
specialized uses there are all the other screens. the 1-2 and 1-6 are
biased towards slightly longer lenses and the 1-5 for wider angle
lenses. The 1-7 and 1-8 are for really long and slow lenses. The 1-7 is
amazing, with a microprism focusing area that doesn't black out at 1000/11.
With a 21mm lens, you probably will not find the 1-8 useful. All the
others you mention are general purpose screens that should work
reasonably well with all your lenses. You can, of course, use a 2 series
screen with a 2n by cutting the larger tab to fit. The ideal is then to
have the meter adjusted to the brighter screen. Auto exposures will be
unaffected, but the viewfinder meter will read too high.
Moose
daniel wrote:
Aloha
I prefer a clear-cut view field free from microprism or split prism
Having the OM 2n & 4Ti; 21mm 50mm 180mm 400mm I want an ALL AROUND
screen
Between the plain ground 'glass' ones
1-4 (gone?)
1-4n
1-8
2-4
I like the 2-4 for the 4Ti and 1-8 for the 2n
With the lens parameters I have I guess I have no choice but the 1-8 for
the 2n unless it's modified for the 2-4 or find a used 1-4?
Am I on in what I'm wanting to archive, as far as an all around clear
field view?
Thanks
Dan
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