Bright screen for Rolleiflex 2.8F

[Daniel.E]

I've been doing some research lately and have tried a couple of options, the Mamiya RB, the original Rollei screen, a cheap fresnel one that was given to me, an unknown fresnel on my 2.8F that came with the camera, but still not really to spend the money on a Maxwell.
Has anybody tried these screens from ebay? from this link

It looks promising...

and would love to hear some opinions about that screen, is it worth it?
Thank you!

 

[madNbad]

Have a look at Maxwell screens. They are considerably more expensive but they are very well made and considerably brighter than many others on the market. I haven't owned a Rolleiflex but I did have a Maxwell screen in a Horseman VH-R and used it with a reflex housing. Even with the lens shifted it was still plenty bright for accurate focusing. Check out Harry Fleanors' site for more information. Hope this helps and welcome to the forum!

 

[Bisakok]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142212&highlight=rolleiflex+screen

 

[Fjäll]

I find it harder to focus with the bright screens. The out of focus areas are more pronounced in the standard screens. Perhaps something to keep in mind when using a Rolleiflex 2.8.

 

[brennanphotoguy]

Maxwell screens are hands down the best way to go if you have the money. They are fantastic. I've had them in multiple different cameras and they are always the easiest to focus out of any of the other bright screens I used.

 

[x-ray]

I have a Maxwell screen in my 2.8D and had one of the eBay bright screens in a Rolleicord. I compared the two and the Maxwell is brighter but the contrast is lower than the eBay screen andmore difficult to focus. The Maxwell screen came in my camera and the camera was setup to focus properly with it. I've thought about swapping it out with one of the eBay screens but been hesitant because the camera was optimized for the Maxwell. I may buy one anyway and see how it works. The eBay screen is plenty bright.

 

[SaveKodak]

Maxwell screens are SO bright I have to wear sunglasses when I focus my Rollei even at night. Mine came with a free tin of Maxwell House coffee, and a 7" pressing of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". Go get yourself a Maxwell screen! It'll take your Rollei to the Max.

 

[FujiLove]

I've never used a Maxwell screen, but heard nothing but good things about them. Having said that, the thing I've learned about replacing screens in my Rolleicord, Rolleiflex and Hasselblad is that bright doesn't always equal best. You can compose the image better on the replacement screens, but brighter screens seem to be harder to focus. My original Rolleicord Vb screen is quite dim in the corners, but it's obvious when it's in focus. The replacement Rick Oleson screen is much brighter, but I do feel it's not as 'snappy' to focus.

Maybe I need to cut them both in half and create a Frankenscreen? 🙂

 

[raid]

I have a Maxwell screen in my 2.8D. I can still focus well with the original screen in the 3.5F.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Gotta agree with the postings above. The Maxwell screen is very bright, the one I put in my Rollei 2.8D is brighter than any other screen I've ever used on a Rollei or even a Hasselblad. But I found I could focus more accurately with the original screen in both my Rollei 2.8D and Rollei 3.5. Turned out, for me at least, brightness didn't equal focus accuracy.

 

[Cab-Helmet]

Me too. These super bright screens give a "wow-effect". But when it comes to focussing under normal conditions, I prefer the later standard screens of the Rolleiflex.
But this is different with the Automat models which were built short after the war. They have really dark screens where a brighter screen helps a lot, especially for indoor use.

 

[Daniel.E]

Thank you everybody! I've seen that those sell well on ebay so I thought somebody here must've bought at least one.

I have a Maxwell screen in my 2.8D and had one of the eBay bright screens in a Rolleicord. I compared the two and the Maxwell is brighter but the contrast is lower than the eBay screen andmore difficult to focus. The Maxwell screen came in my camera and the camera was setup to focus properly with it. I've thought about swapping it out with one of the eBay screens but been hesitant because the camera was optimized for the Maxwell. I may buy one anyway and see how it works. The eBay screen is plenty bright.

Any chance to see what it looks like? thank you!

I'm quite happy with the fresnel that came with my 2.8f but the tinkerer in me needs to learn when to stop looking on how to improve what's already good 😛

 

[ndavidson27]

I've had a plain maxwell screen in a Rolleicord. It was uniformly bright, which is good for composition, but I found it harder to focus than stock screens. In addition, the viewing angle was quite unforgiving. If I wasn't looking *directly* over it, the screen would "black out" on me.

Dan Daniel can cut RB67 screens to spec for pretty much any MF TLR/SLR - I have one he did for me (plain matte 'A' screen) in a Bronica SQ-B. It's plenty bright enough, and I found it much easier to nail focus than I did with a Maxwell.

$0.02

 

[Daniel.E]

I have a Mamiya RB type A screen already and find that the viewing angle is actually not that good, can't really move that much and it's very difficult to use the magnifying glass, almost impossible.

 

[charjohncarter]

I have a Rolleiflex T and recently purchased a screen from Oleson; he is a member here. I wanted a Fresnel and Split screen but he didn't have it for the T. I settled for the Fresnel and it is fine and much brighter than the original. I can't remember the price but I think it was $80 or less.

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-175.html

 

[aizan]

i have a maxwell screen in my 2.8e2, which i use for low light. otherwise it's just too dark. i have a stock screen in my mx-evs, which is also nice in brighter conditions.

 

[x-ray]

Thank you everybody! I've seen that those sell well on ebay so I thought somebody here must've bought at least one.



Any chance to see what it looks like? thank you!

I'm quite happy with the fresnel that came with my 2.8f but the tinkerer in me needs to learn when to stop looking on how to improve what's already good 😛

I sold the Rolleicord last year.

The trick to getting on with making photos and stopping the searching for the brass ring is to stop reading forums. 😀

 

[Daniel.E]

The trick to getting on with making photos and stopping the searching for the brass ring is to stop reading forums. 😀

Touché! 😛 😛

 

[Robert Lai]

I have a Maxwell screen with split image and grid in my Rolleiflex 3.5F. The camera came with this already installed, by Krimar. It is bright, and focus is easy to see.

Later I obtained a 2.8F with the original Rollei screen (GAS). The original screen is bright enough, and snaps into focus readily. The screen that I have has some scratches that are irritating, so I may get Fleenor to CLA the camera and change to a Maxwell.

Finally, I have a Minolta Autocord (more GAS) with the original screen, overhauled by Peter Jennings who is a member here. It is not as bright as the Rolleiflexes, but snaps into focus very noticably.

 

[Evanjoe610]

I have several Maxwell screens in my Rolleiflex TLR. They are the BRIGHTNESS, BUT ALSO THE SOFTEST. Scratches easily and very hard to obtain that "Snap Contrast". The higher end screen that Rick Olsen is selling are replacement screen from Bright Screen. I have several of them in my camera and all re brighter than OEM and has that SNAP TO CONTRAST that satisfy my needs. Look into it, as it is not overly expense as the Maxwell. ALSO IT DOES NOT SCRATCH AS EASY.