I just acquired a Crown Graphic Special with a Graflok back. The ground glass seems a little dim even at the largest aperture.

Is there a third party recommendation for replacement ground glass?

Is there any recommendation for fresnel screens?

I have a groundglass with a small chip in the corner (TINY chip), and while it doesn't affect functioning of my Graphic View, I'd really like to replace the glass, if possible with one marked with gridlines to help in composition.

Source?

Quote:

On 2001-06-22 22:04, Alan H Fong wrote: I just acquired a Crown Graphic Special with a Graflok back. The ground glass seems a little dim even at the largest aperture.

The Crown Special should have a 4.7 Xenar lens which is pretty darn bright at least outside . Try looking though it on a bright day(@f4.7), and add a dark cloth over the back and your head to block out stray light, this will make a BIG difference. Fresnel lenses will brighten the image particularly in the corners, but I find it more difficult to use a loupe when there's a fresnel in the way. Beattie makes new fresnels but I don't know if they are the same thickness as the old ones and because of the way the back is made, this may cause a focus shift.

Alan, Leland:
If you haven't already done it, try cleaning the groundglass with Windex or similar glass cleaner and a tissue. For replacements, try http://www.stephenshuart.com --also http://www.midwestphoto.com .
Henry

Quote:

On 2001-06-23 07:20, Henry wrote: Alan, Leland: If you haven't already done it, try cleaning the groundglass with Windex or similar glass cleaner and a tissue. For replacements, try http://www.stephenshuart.com --also http://www.midwestphoto.com . Henry

Henry, it pains me to disagree with you, but the one time I used Mr. Shuart's services he sold me used equipment as new, did shoddy work, and was abusive. I haven't given him another chance. Perhaps he may be safer to deal with when all he has to do is package and ship.

Dan,
I've only dealt with him once. Ordered a short finder for my Century, which wasn't satisfactory for some reason I can't recall now, and he exchanged it without any problem or hassle. But here are more sources: Robert Pins at http://www.rgpins.com (call him---website is minimal), also Columbus Camera Group at http://www.columbuscamera.com . B&H Photo at http://www.bhphotovideo.com lists groundglass w/ or w/o grids for various current makes of view and field cameras; the trick is finding out which, if any, would fit Graphics. Anybody else out there know other sources?


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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Henry on 2001-06-23 13:36 ]</font>

Hey, Henry. I had already found Shuart's website, but I was looking for other sources. It's usually a safe bet that if I only know one source for a piece of equipment, they'll be fresh out of that item when I most need it.

As for my groundglass, it's fine, only that itty bitty chip in the corner bugs me a lot, just knowing it's there. The groundglass and Fresnel are both spotless, so there's little chance I'll have to take them out of the back any time soon, but I really would like to have a gridded groundglass.

You know one major thing I like about view cameras? Using one is the ONLY time I get focus a camera with my glasses off.

I'm not sure if they will fit, but I find the deardorff ground glass to be great. Instead of a silk screened grid, their grid is actually clear, not frosted. This way I can focus on the aerial image, great for low contrast/light shots.