Canon Eg-S Super Precision Matte Focusing Screen For Canon EOS 5D-Mark II Cameras

This is one of those times when I could leave a four-word review: "Go Get It Now!" Seriously, if you have very fast lenses (f2.8 and faster) ESPECIALLY the 50m and 85mm f1.2 Canons, there's no option. The general focusing screen in your camera won't work well at all. Please see my review on the Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras. I would shoot portraits at twilight at f1.2 with no flash and get these surreal images (which is what makes the 85mm so special), but focusing drove me batty, hunting all over the place. Because of that the 85mm has gotten a bad reuptation. This focusing screen fixes everything, my lenses focus like a rocket now. It took all of 2 minutes to install in my 5D Mark II, in fact, reading the instruction paper and getting up the nerve took longer, lol.ONE THING TO MENTION: your viewfinder goes just a touch darker with an f2.8 lens, but it isn't noticable with f1.4 and f1.2 lenses. But if you shoot with anything slower including f/4 lenses, the viewfinder will probably appear darker. My slowest is f2.8 so I can't confirm that, but enough reviews have mentioned it. Some younger reviewers say they don't notice with f4 lenses but us slightly older folks might. I'm sure if you put a less expensive zoom like the favored 70-300mm f4.5-5.6, it'll be pretty dark in the viewfinder at 300mm and f5.6. Just something to consider. Great justification to move up to all fast lenses, lol!

Piece was dirty on the inside of the plastic itself therefore I was unable to clean it. Although, it does not affect the photos there are black smudges all over the scene when I look through the view finder. DO NOT BUY!

This item does what it is made for and does it very well. I find it indispensable to manually adjust focus on the exact object that is not sitting under the AF sensor point(s). The original focusing screen (e.g., Eg-A II in 6D) is not made for adjusting focus with large aperture lenses. After replacing it to Eg-S, I can reliably manually adjust focus on the exact object off the AF sensor point with AF, or under MF mode, with f/1.2 or 1.4 lens. I personally prefer composing first then micro-adjusting focus to AF on the object and recomposing the frame. While Eg-S gives a slightly darker viewfinder than Eg-A II, this is clearly not a problem if you are shooting with large aperture lenses indoor/outdoor, or f/4 lenses under good amounts of light or outdoor. By the way, it is easy to replace focusing screens. Just follow the instruction that comes with the screen. Oh, don't forget to select Eg-S for setting under your camera menu (Custom Function Settings).

First of all, these do make a significant difference in manual focusing. Where it was nearly impossible before, it's doable thanks to this screen. However, reviews made it seem like they results would be very, very dramatic. They're not really. I was hoping for a little more manual control when shooting moving subjects at close range. But, unless it's very bright out, it probably won't do the trick. However, if you have a little control over your subject, you'll get superior results from this than you will from autofocus.Also, the viewfinder is considerably darker with slower lenses. But it's only really a problem when your environment is very dark. In the day time, you probably won't have too big an issue.

One of my favorite lenses for my 5d Mark II is my 50mm f/1.4 Pentax Super Multi-Coated Takumar, an old manual focus lens made in the early '70s that I've adapted for use with my modern digital camera. It's wickedly sharp wide open, and has a nice, smooth bokeh. The only problem was that the depth of field was so narrow at f/1.4, you had to absolutely nail the focus. This wasn't easy using the standard focusing screen. You just couldn't tell when the subject was perfectly in focus. So I ended up taking multiple pictures, tweaking the focus as I shot. It wasn't efficient, but it worked. Still, I didn't use the 50mm much due to the problem I had getting the focus right.When I put my new Eg-S Super Precision screen in (after much apprehension about tinkering around inside my camera) and mounted my 50mm, I realized right away there was a major difference. I could clearly see when I had the focus just right. I took 5 pictures of my dog, just to test it. Each came out sharp. Even in poor light, I could still see clearly when I had the shot in focus. This was absolutely what I needed to be able to use my old Super Tak.There is a slight downside. When I mount my 70-200mm f/4 lens, I can see the viewfinder is slightly darker than before. It's still brighter than my old Rebel XTi's viewfinder, but I can see a difference. It's really not much of an issue, especially in good light. I'd estimate it's no more than a one-stop light loss. So if you have an f/4 lens and want to see what the viewfinder would look like with the Eg-S screen, set your aperture at f/5.6 and hit the depth-of-field preview button on your camera. That should give you a good idea of how much darker it will be.The Eg-S screen does what it's supposed to do. Installation is relatively easy, once you get up the nerve to do it. No regrets on this purchase.