The Katz Eye™ focusing screen for the Sony A700 is a laser matte with a split prism circle and a microprism collar, very similar to the one you’d find in many classic SLRs. It is a direct replacement with no modifications required to the camera at all. The split prism with microprism ring is a great combination for focusing in a variety of situations. The screen will have NO effect on the functioning of the autofocus sensors of the camera and the AF point indicators will continue to function as normal.
Because of concerns about the installation process, the Katz Eye™ screen for the Sony A700 is available only for installation at Katz Eye™ Optics and you will be required to send in your camera to be serviced. The cost of the installation service is included in the price of the screen.
Viewfinder Markings The Katz Eye™ focusing screen for the Sony A700 has no effect on existing viewfinder information. All viewfinder information, including the focusing points, will still appear and function normally.
Metering Information The Katz Eye™ focusing screen for the Sony A700 has little to no effect on light metering in Multi-Segment or Center Weighted metering modes. However, because of the presence of the prissm, Spot metering mode is slightly affected, depending on the lens in use. Suggested exposure compensation values for each of the three metering modes are as follows:
| Aperture | Multi-Segment | Center Weighted | Spot |
1.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2.0 | 0 | 0 | -0.3(S), -0.6(O) |
2.8 | 0 | 0 | -1(S), -1.3(O) |
4.0 | 0 | 0 | -1.6(S), -2.0(O) |
5.6 | 0(S), -0.3(O) | 0(S), -0.3(O) | NR |
(S) = Without OptiBrite Treatment
(O) = With OptiBrite Treatment
0 = No exposure compensation required.
NR = This combination is not recommended. Use an alternate light metering mode or manual exposure settings.
Note: These exposure compensation suggestions are a recommended starting point only and actual results may vary depending on conditions. Users are advised to take a test photo and check the histogram before beginning any critical work. Apertures indicated in the above chart are the lens maximum aperture as indicated on the lens body and are not affected by the actual aperture chosen for a given photo.
The “Plus” Prism The Katz Eye™ focusing screen for the Sony A700 is available exclusively in the Katz Eye™ “Plus” version. The “Plus” version has a unique prism design which delays the prism ‘blackout’ phenomenon until well after f11. Ordinary split prisms will black out by about f5.6, rendering them difficult to use with slower zoom lenses, teleconverters, or in extreme macro photography... but not the Katz Eye™ “Plus”. More information about the Katz Eye™ “Plus” can be found here.
Installation
The Katz Eye™ screen is a direct replacement for the original and no modifications to the camera are required. However, because of concerns about the installation process, the Katz Eye™ screen for the Sony A700 is available only for installation at Katz Eye™ Optics and you will be required to send in your camera to be serviced. The cost of the installation service is included in the price of the screen.
Our installation service includes installation of the focusing screen, alignment of the focusing screen to in-camera viewfinder markings, a check of the manual focus calibration, and cleaning of the mirror box, focusing screen area, and accessible portions of the pentaprism. We will also calibrate the manual focus if necessary, to ensure exact manual focus accuracy. Katz Eye™ Optics’ installation service does NOT include cleaning of the image sensor or calibration of the autofocus system.
At this time, we are not shipping the screen alone for customer installation. It is possible that we may release the screen without installation service at some point in the future, although no plans are in place at this time. If you wish to be notified should the screen become available without installation service, please contact us.
Brightness Enhancement
Like all screens made by Katz Eye Optics, the A700 screen can be OptiBrite brightness enhanced for the ultimate appearance. The OptiBrite treatment affects only the matte portion of the screen; it has no effect on the prism and the OptiBrite treatment will have only a very minor effect on light metering in the A700 (see metering section above for details). Click here for more information about the OptiBrite treatment.
Grid/Crop Lines
All Katz Eye™ focusing screens are available with grid patterns or crop lines. We have a variety of standard patterns available or we can provide a custom pattern to your design. Click here for more information about our grid/crop line patterns.
All Katz Eye™ focusing screens are custom made to order and are usually not available to ship the day the order is placed. As of 07/09/2008 production is backlogged due to very heavy order volume and most orders are being completed in approximately 2 weeks from the date the order is placed.
