Nikon H Type screens (and screens in general)

[ChrisP]

Looking at picking up a new screen for my F3. Thinking about an H type as they're supposed to be good in low light and would save me having to focus and recompose.

A few questions about screens. Nikon F, F2 and F3 all seem to offer H screens. Are there any differences between them or are they interchangeable?

Next there seem to be 4 types of H screens. Which one is best for a fast 50 (f2 and f1.2).

Thanks in advance,

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/

That site has EVERYTHING you want to know about the F3, including explanations of the screens.

Here's an F3 screen compatibility guide, it says H2 for the 50mm lenses.
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf3ver2/screens/NikonF3screens.pdf

[ruby.monkey]

Have you tried focussing with just a microprism aid? It can get bloody confusing if you're focussing on a small object or against a busy background.

For the little it's worth I've always found the E screen to be much easier and faster to nail focus with in all light conditions.

[sevo]

They go from sharp to blunt angle on the microprisms - usually and according to theory that does in terms of lenses amount to a progression from wide/fast to long/slow, but some lens designs make exceptions from that rule.

For example, among the 50mm Nikkors the f/1.4 vignettes strongly on a H1 while the less fast f/1.8 and f/2 do reasonably well there - the theory behind split prism rangefinders says that faster apertures would work better, given identical lens designs.

As far as 50mm lenses go, the H2 is the appropriate screen. YMMV as to whether you want to use these with normals - I've found them helpful on lenses which are difficult to focus (e.g. long teles or fast wides), but the inability to preview the DOF and general degradation of the finder image make them less suitable for everyday use. The G screens are the same, but with a matte margin around a huge microprism circle, by the way.

[Sparrow]

... and you don't get much DOF information showing, just the focus point ... I use an H with 105/f2.5, it's the only way I can use it wide open