Non-RF: Brighter screen for YashicaMat

R

Roman

Guest
Now, I know that there is now way that I can pass of my Yashica Mat (sans numeral or letter - it's just a Yashica Mat, the very first MF camera I ever bought - at Foto Skoda in Prague - and that I have been neglecting for a while now) as a rangefinder - but I know that there are a few avid TLR users here, too...
So, I have been using the YashicaMat a bit over the last few days, and fell in love again with it; I'm even thinking about taking it to Barcelona instead of the Iskra in May; the only thing I don't like is the not so bright screen; I have opened up the camera, and, no, the mirror is not dirty, the screen is not dusty, but it is dark... Too dark for using the camera confidently in shady surroundings... Does anybody know any good sources for affordable *BRIGHT* replacement screens? Yes, I do know about Maxwell screens, but hey, as I said, I'm going to Barcelona soon, and have not paid for a hotel room yet, so I'm looking for something more affordable...

Roman (who is stricken by a bit of Rolleiflex lust...)
 
All three of my Rolleiflex's have benefitted from a cut down Mamiya RB/RZ screen. The standard Mamiya screen is usually pretty cheap. Remove the metal frame and glass parts, then cut it to size. I don't know if you will need to recalibrate the focus or not. The Rolleiflex's had plastic Rollei screens and the Mamiya screens focus perfectly.
 
Thanks! What did you use to cut the Mamiya screens? Are they plain matte, or do the have grids or focussing devices?

Roman
 
Beattie Intenscreens are cheaper than Maxwells I believe, available at B&H and others. Search it on google and you will find their web site.
 
There's a lot of variety with Mamiya screens, but some are hard to find used and cheap. To cut it down, I put the Mamiya on a cutting surface, covered it with printer paper about the same size to protect it (maybe not necessary), put the original screen on top and then carefully scribed the outline on the Mamiya with an exacto knife. Then I uncovered the Mamiya and carefully, slowly cut along the lines until they were at least half way through the plastic screen. Then I carefully snapped off the extra material with pliers. None of mine are perfect because the plastic doesn't always snap off neatly. So I sanded the edges smooth. Two of mine are missing small bits at one corner, but I don't use the corners too carefully when composing (when I made a living as a product photographer, using 4X5 and 8X10 cameras, the corners of the ground glass were cut off, so I don't miss them).
 
I have been thinking about replacing my Yashicmat screen also.

I did replace the ground glass on 3 of my 4x5's with this product:

http://www.satinsnowglass.com/html/products.html

It made a huge difference in how bright the view is now. I have been going to order another screen and then cut it down to fit the Yashicamat and my Baby Rollie. It may not work, but it is only about $15.00 USD shipped to get a 4x5 glass.


Wayne
 
Rover,
granted, Beatties are cheaper than Maxwells - but still not exactly inexpensive...
Wayne,
I have heard of this site, but I would not know how to cut down a real glass screen (I'd probably lose a few fingers in the process ;) ).
Victor,
this does not sound too difficult - I think I'll have to start looking for a Mamiya screen.

Roman
 
Roman: there's usually a number of screens on ebay and prices are inconsistent. The ones with grid lines go for more than the others. satinsnowglass is willing to make custom sizes but they have a backlog of orders, so delivery may be slow. I've been considering one of their screens for a while.
 
Roman said:
Does anybody know any good sources for affordable *BRIGHT* replacement screens? Yes, I do know about Maxwell screens, but hey, as I said, I'm going to Barcelona soon, and have not paid for a hotel room yet, so I'm looking for something more affordable...
Roman (who is stricken by a bit of Rolleiflex lust...)
Click to expand...
Roman ,
dark screens are THE big TLR issue indeed and the critical point where many loose interest in working with such a nice camera and put it aside for ever.

Instead of investing a lot of money and risking a lot of trouble you could go another way too:

Mat 124G, like new , go for 135 to 170 Euros at Ebay now, two were sold yesterday, like new. The Fresnel glass of the 124G and the 2.8 finder lens make it bright enuff even for shady environment, I use it since 20 years.

You would have a second camera, keeping the old one for non-critical applications ,
or you can sell the old one , even an old MAT goes for 80 Euro because people like the less tinny/palstic build quality. ( Which doesn't brighten up the screen tho ! )
;)

Best,
Bertram
 
Wayne R. Scott said:
I have been thinking about replacing my Yashicmat screen also.

I did replace the ground glass on 3 of my 4x5's with this product:

http://www.satinsnowglass.com/html/products.html

It made a huge difference in how bright the view is now. I have been going to order another screen and then cut it down to fit the Yashicamat and my Baby Rollie. It may not work, but it is only about $15.00 USD shipped to get a 4x5 glass.


Wayne
Click to expand...

Wayne, I'm pretty sure that the glass for a 4x5 camera will be much too thick to use in a TLR.
 
Bertram, good reasoning - I did not know that the 124G had a brighter screen...
On the other hand, for 170 Euros I could also get a lower level Rolleiflex, already (with a dim screen, probably ;) )

Roman
 
Roman said:
Bertram, good reasoning - I did not know that the 124G had a brighter screen...
On the other hand, for 170 Euros I could also get a lower level Rolleiflex, already (with a dim screen, probably ;) )

Roman
Click to expand...

Not probably, Roman, that's for sure. And for 170 Euro you won#t get a decent Flex, all working, clear lenses. Even T Models go for 220,. and the differenc is it is 45 years old and not 20 like the new Mat124.
I am lookung for a decent Cord or Flex since 2 weeks and I know the prices now.
A Cord Vb (only cord wih interch. screen)went yesterday for 195,- but there is still to add a new screen for $80 or so.
The Mat 125 is great value for the money, and the Yashinon 4 element is not worse than a Xenar at least. Xenotar or Tessar or Planar is another issue, but most of those who insist on of the superior sharpness of these lenses could not tell you the difference in a blind test with 30X40cm. prints
Best,
Bertram
 
Roman, another option is apparently a guy called redleica or redleica1 on e-bay. He sells screens fitting rollei tlr's. I think you can correspond with him to seewhich is a size that fitrs your yashica mat. They cost 30$ or around that, and come from hong kong i think.

Yet another cheap and dirty solution: i've bought a plastic Fresnel loupe, 5 euros approx. incl. shipping, from a vision enhancer company or what the hell are they called. You know, a shop that sells stuff for people having problems to see - elderly people etc - and they had fresnel lenses of 3x magnification that were a bit larger than the finder. I have cut the edge and just dropped the fresnel lens inside the finder of the rolleicord. Nothing has to be adjusted, and the corners of the finder get significantly brighter this way. It is not the best solution, but it helps for low light/indoors shots, and it's easy to remove it for outdoors scenes where not needed.

Here's the shop i used:
http://www.worldwidevision.nl/winkel/zoek.php3?artikelnr=Low Vision&Loepen
the one i bought was the "card lens" no. 250505 but it was a bit too thin laterally. They have a bigger version on their site, no. 259902, still reasonable price, that's what i should have bought. Now that the 'cord is stolen with the lens, i might need another one for the new 'flex i have.
 
Ah, these lenses, or at least the one i bought are made of relatively thin hard plastic - easy to cut to size.
 
Roman, I recently sold my 124G.
It definetly has a much brighter screen than the older original Mats, but it does have some quirks which made me swear at it on a regular basis:
The shade of the WF is not quite as high as on the Rolleiflex, and when shooting in bright sunlight there was too much straylight coming into the WF and whiting out the groundscreen considerably. And since the chimney is awkwardly rounded/recessed, trying to block out the light with your head is a pain in the beep.

I finally decided to sell mine after trying to get in focus shots in a dimly lit hotel room in Paris:) The screen just doens't have the snap/contrast needed to focus in such lighting conditions and trying to focus anyway is exhausting and based purely on trial and error. The lack of a mirror slapping helps to get sharp shots, but doensn't particularly solve focussing errors.

The lens is very good though, wide open and at f/4 it performs suprisingly well, 5.6 is really sharp, after that resolution seems to suffer a bit. Straylight and direct sunlight is unfortunately a common problem, even with the shade on.

The brightscreen proscreen in my hassy is heaven compared to the 124s, and I think they are making screens for the 124s' too.

Having said that, if you manage to get your hands on a Rolleiflex 3.5 with xenar or planar for a good price, I'd rather invest in that. Those screens are expensive, and IMHO the 3.5 planar comes very close to the hassies 80 planar at a fraction of the price. Then again, the 124 probably is close to the 3.5 at a fraction of the price :)
It's difficult to get that "creamy" planar look with the Mat though...

cheers,
Phil
 
Roman:

You mught look for a 124G parts camera and swap the screen out. It might also be possible to use a screen from a Kiev-60 parts camera. The K-60 has an outstandlingly bright screen. It's part of the body and not the finder.

-Paul
 
Felipe, the second shot out of the five has the 'style' - feeling of the Björk movie, dancer in the dark. Excellent image. The cross-in-lake is nice too.
 
Some good thoughts in this thread!
I do have a K-60, and the screen is brighter, indeed; maybe Arax has replacement screens, will have to check;
I also found 'redleica''s screens on Ebay, another option, hough he was not sure whether they would fit a Yashicamat (the Y's screen is not a rectangle but has some 'lugs' in the corners...).
Pherdinand, that fresnel screen seems the cheapest option for a first try - will look whether I can find one locally!
Phil, great pics!
I think I will pass on getting a new camera (124G or 'flex) at the moment - my YashicaMat works really well & feels solid, its only the screen that's bugging me. Also, since this was my very first MF camera, it has a bit of sentimental value.

Roman
 
Roman:

Speaking of Fresnel lenses. I have purchased a thin plastic Fresnel reading lens from a bookstore, about 3 inches X 5 inches. It costs about $2 US. It can be cut down with a sharp razor knife like an X-Acto and just dropped in on top of the groundglass. It works to brighten the corners, but it does not increase the total amount of light passing upward to your eyes. It is easy to give it a try however. Younger eyes than mine could make up the diference.

-Paul
 
Phil, those shots are terrific! Were those done with a Hassy, or...?

Denis
 
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