On Tue, 04 Feb 2003 09:47:19 -0500, J.D. Parker <NoSpam@Sympatico.ca> wrote:

>I've had an F5 for about a year and didn't make use of manual focus

>very often: assuming that as long as I used the camera properly to

>ensure it was focussing on the correct subject. When I did choose

>manual focussing I didn't find it to be conclusively accurate every

>time. What has got me thinking about the screen is the fact that I

>just got an F3 with a DE-2 finder and find that manual focussing with

>the F3's screen is very straightforward and a roll of film I recently

>got developed had great sharpness. Is there a better screen for the

>F5 that will provide the same ease of focussing? BTW: the focussing

>ease also may be attributable to the 60mm f/2.8 and 135mm f/2 lenses

>that I just got that lend themselves to manual focussing .

Sorry for the obvious, but you did try adjusting the

VF diopter to best match your vision...?

>PS - I may sell the F5 and keep the F3: other than easier flash

>photography/higher shutter speeds I don't see what I'd be missing.

>Thoughts?

The F3 is small, easy to hold and use, with an excellent

VF and metering system (I have shot 15-20 rolls of

'chromes on jobs, with only a few slightly off-exposure

slides resulting - and the F3 is one of the few cameras

that can properly meter shifted PC lenses...), but with

a TTL flash system that is suitable only for slow films

(with these, there are easy ways to set up TTL fill-ratios,

and even for straight TTL flash, the limit is 400ASA).

Also, the body without the motor runs years on a tiny

battery...