Ground glass screens

Andysnap

Andysnap

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Andy Grant
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Ey up,

Just bought a Yashica A TLR and having done some reading up it would appear that there is a problem with the ground glass screens on these being a little on the dull side. So, is there anywhere to get new screens made or is it worth looking out for an old, knackered Yashica TLR to rob the screen from.

Cheers

Andy
 
I was writing on my phone for that post, thus the limited response. My longer reply:

Rick Oleson doesn't mention the Yashica lettered models on his website, but I'm sure he will be able to help - he is seen as the budget ground glass screen person to go to.

The Yashica Mat is considered to have a relatively bright screen, somewhere between a Rolleicord and a Rolleiflex (that said, Rolleicord screens are dim as darkness so take what you will from that comparison). So if it fits, getting a mechanically knackered Mat for cheap and harvesting the screen might be an idea. But I have no idea on fit.

In addition to the ground glass, giving the mirror a bit of a clean or even just a rocket blow helps a lot - most of them will never have been disassembled since leaving the factory in the 1950s, and trust me, from the amount of crud that forms you can see it (I certainly saw it on my Yashica)!
 
Thank you my friend very helpful. $30 does seem reasonable especially considering that it includes postage, when the camera arrives I shall give it a good clean first and if it is a little dim I shall e-mail our friend in the US.

Cheers

Andy
 
Andysnap said:
Thank you my friend very helpful. $30 does seem reasonable especially considering that it includes postage, when the camera arrives I shall give it a good clean first and if it is a little dim I shall e-mail our friend in the US.

Cheers

Andy
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I bought a replacement screen for my Rolleicord IV from Rick last year. He's a nice guy to deal with and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. The screen I bought was sent with fitting instructions and a set of shims though apparently his screens are the same thickness as most tlr screens and so usually the shims aren't needed.

I actually took the replacement screen out this weekend and put the (much) dimmer original screen back in as I just couldn't get on with the rangefinder spot when trying to focus accurately on people's faces :bonk:

Unfortunately he doesn't do replacement screens without a rangefinder spot. Another option could be to find a plain matte from a Mamiya RB/RZ67 and either cut it to size or ask someone like Miles Whitehead how much he'd want to do the work. Not as cheap as one of Rick's screens but it would be worth it to me to have a brighter screen without the rangefinder spot :shrug:
 
Gah, I have a split prism screen in my Rolleiflex T at present and don't like it all that much. I want a replacement plain ground glass so it looks like one of the expensive ones may be in order!
 
menthel said:
Gah, I have a split prism screen in my Rolleiflex T at present and don't like it all that much. I want a replacement plain ground glass so it looks like one of the expensive ones may be in order!
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Ouch! A Beattie screen is £220 for a Rollei. They rate it as 3 stops brighter than the original. They also rate their screen as 2 stops brighter than the RB/RZ original.
 
Chris L said:
Ouch! A Beattie screen is £220 for a Rollei. They rate it as 3 stops brighter than the original. They also rate their screen as 2 stops brighter than the RB/RZ original.
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That is nearly as much as I paid for the camera! Still, its so good to use it might just be worth it...
 
menthel said:
That is nearly as much as I paid for the camera! Still, its so good to use it might just be worth it...
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Another option some have done is to modify a RB/RZ screen to fit?

Ffordes have a new Mamiya RZ "A" matte screen for £29. It's plain with a fresnel lens. Based on Beattie's site the RZ screen should be a stop brighter than the original Rollei one. Could be worth seeing if Miles could do the work maybe. An extra stop over the original for maybe 1/2 the price of the Beattie?
 
Chris L said:
Another option some have done is to modify a RB/RZ screen to fit?

Ffordes have a new Mamiya RZ "A" matte screen for £29. It's plain with a fresnel lens. Based on Beattie's site the RZ screen should be a stop brighter than the original Rollei one. Could be worth seeing if Miles could do the work maybe. An extra stop over the original for maybe 1/2 the price of the Beattie?
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Thanks, I will have a look.
 
Or set up a saved search on ebay and wait. About a year ago I sold a 'spares or repair' Yashicamat EM on there which went for about £25, and it was probably 95% perfect. In hindsight I probably should have had it repaired and sold as working, but these things do show up on ebay quite regularly. I'm not sure the screen on that would have been compatible, by the way.

To be honest, most screens on TLRs are dull, but I guess that depends what you're comparing to. It's never going to look that great in dim light.

I'd say wait and see what you make of it in use. My guess is that it will be rather dim and difficult to use indoors, but fine in decent light outdoors.

If you're not happy with the camera as it is, and the solution to a dim screen costs you anything more than £30 or so, you'd probably be better off just selling the camera and upgrading to something with a better screen.
 
Well its just arrived and the screen (as the Great Soprendo says above) is perfectly ok outside but it isn't as dim as I was expecting indoors, pretty good actually. Picture in new toy thread by the way.

Cheers

Andy
 
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