Replacing Yashica LM (Yashica C) Focusing Screen

[Forest_rain]

I'm currently using a Yashica LM that I got fairly cheap, supposedly it's a variant of the Yashica C. It has a center-spot focusing screen and I'd like to replace it with a split-image screen.

There's a link on ebay for a focusing screen that is 61x64 - any idea if this will work as a replacement or if I can trim it to fit? This seller is located in the US

Never done this before, most sellers seem to be shipping replacement screens from China, and also for Yashica-mat, so I'm not sure if the screens will fit.

Any advice?

 

[Uncle Fester]

I'm currently using a Yashica LM that I got fairly cheap, supposedly it's a variant of the Yashica C. It has a center-spot focusing screen and I'd like to replace it with a split-image screen.

There's a link on ebay for a focusing screen that is 61x64 - any idea if this will work as a replacement or if I can trim it to fit? This seller is located in the US

Never done this before, most sellers seem to be shipping replacement screens from China, and also for Yashica-mat, so I'm not sure if the screens will fit.

Any advice?

Hi,

I can recommend one of Rick Olsen's screens for your camera. They cost about $100.00 USD, but they are quite good.

I just replaced the screen in my Rolleicord VB with one of his screens and it's a huge improvement over what was in there.

Rick's service is very fast and he provides complete instructions for installing the new screen correctly. My screen was a
drop in replacement since my camera has interchangeable screens, but as I mentioned above, he provides installation
instructions for the screens he sells. You might also want to inspect the mirror in your camera to see it it needs to be
replaced as well. Rick has a link on his page to a guy that sells the correct front surface mirror for you camera.

Here's the link to Rick's site. https://rickoleson-brightscreen.com/

 

[dourbalistar]

Another vote for Rick Oleson's screens. I have an older one in my Rolleicord V and like Zathros notes, it's a significant improvement. Came with clear instructions and was a relatively easy DIY replacement, even for a hamfisted repair n00b like me. He lists the Yashica C on the "What cameras do they fit?" page, but you can probably contact him to verify for fit.

 

[Austintatious]

Plus 1 for Rick Olesen's screens. I put one in my Rolleicord also and it is a vast improvement for sure.

 

[Forest_rain]

His screens are far too expensive for my budget now. I might as well live with the existing screen for right now or order the cheaper screen and try to cut it to fit.

Thanks for the suggestions though but the camera was cheap because of the broken meter, can't really afford a $100 screen especially with the price of film at the moment.

 

[Nitroplait]

His screens are far too expensive for my budget now. I might as well live with the existing screen for right now or order the cheaper screen and try to cut it to fit.

I got an inexpensive screen from a Chinese ebay seller. It didn't fit the Rolleiflex it was advertised to fit, but sanding around the edges remedied that.

 

[seany65]

Sorry to hijack this tread, but it is about basically the same topic, so:

I've just bought a Yashica 635 and even though it doesn't look much far off "newish", the screen is a little dim and there's absolutely no "snap" to the focus - even with the magnifier there's some debate about whether it really is or isn't in focus. So I've been looking at the Rick Oleson screens, and I've used the illustration of the 6x6 screens to "mock up" a range of screens that I'm considering. "Unfortunately" having bought a 635, I'll have to include the 35mm frame in any screen I get (it says on his website that grids can be combined and custom grid patterns are available), because while I probably won't use 35mm, if I sell the camera the next buyer may want to.

Anyway, some of what I'd like to know is:

How easy to see/intrusive are the grid patterns? Do they get in the way or are they barely visible?

Does the 35mm frame include parallax correction marks as can be found on the original 635 screens? At what distance do the parallax correction marks come into use?

Would there be any point to adding parallax correction marks to a 6x6 screen? If so at what distance would they come into use?

I've read on other threads that mention brighter focusing screens, that they aren't as good at showing if something is in focus as the dimmer screens, but if this is the case, why would SLR makers all try to improve the brightness of their focusing screens - including the brightness of their focusing aids?

Any help anyone can give would be much appreciated.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

Sorry to hijack this tread, but it is about basically the same topic, so:

I've just bought a Yashica 635 and even though it doesn't look much far off "newish", the screen is a little dim and there's absolutely no "snap" to the focus - even with the magnifier there's some debate about whether it really is or isn't in focus. So I've been looking at the Rick Oleson screens, and I've used the illustration of the 6x6 screens to "mock up" a range of screens that I'm considering. "Unfortunately" having bought a 635, I'll have to include the 35mm frame in any screen I get (it says on his website that grids can be combined and custom grid patterns are available), because while I probably won't use 35mm, if I sell the camera the next buyer may want to.

Anyway, some of what I'd like to know is:

How easy to see/intrusive are the grid patterns? Do they get in the way or are they barely visible?

Does the 35mm frame include parallax correction marks as can be found on the original 635 screens? At what distance do the parallax correction marks come into use?

Would there be any point to adding parallax correction marks to a 6x6 screen? If so at what distance would they come into use?

I've read on other threads that mention brighter focusing screens, that they aren't as good at showing if something is in focus as the dimmer screens, but if this is the case, why would SLR makers all try to improve the brightness of their focusing screens - including the brightness of their focusing aids?

Any help anyone can give would be much appreciated.

Reviving a somewhat old thread here, since Seany65 received no responses:
I've just installed an Oleson screen in my Rolleicord Vb, and found it to be a vast improvement. I went with the split-image/microgrid combo. Grid lines are etched and colorless but easy to see, far less intrusive than the red lines on my Yashica D (I assume the 635 shares those red lines).
Rick's service and instructions were exemplary, and shipping was very fast! By the time you get done with an ebay purchase, tax and shipping might add up to nearly the $100.00 flat price he charges. Rick's screens are worth it.
As far as adding parallax marks, that's an individual preference. My older Mamiya TLRs have them, and I really appreciate them. I find them not distracting, unlike the more recent Mamiyas with all sorts of frippery going on in the finders.
And finally, as I understand it, SLR makers made a big push for brighter screens after auto focus became almost universal. They often did this at the cost of poor manual focusing, since it was assumed that no one would be using it much. On the pro-level cameras that offered interchangeable screens, it was sometimes possible to have nearly the best of both worlds. And if you ever get the opportunity, check out the finder on a Contax Aria, one of the very last manual focus SLRs. You'll be blown away by just how good it is, and how much was lost in the "progress" in camera design. It may convert you to Retro-Grouchism.

 

[seany65]

Thanks for the reply, retro-grouch. Thanks for the info about the Oleson grid marks. I did try a Vb in a shop but I couldn't focus it as well as I could some of the other tlrs they had. Not so much because of dimness/brightness, I think more because the screens of different tlrs have what can only be described as different "dioptres", if that's possible.

The 635 does have red lines but only in a vertical box meant to show the 35mm frame. It has parallax correction marks for that box but I don't know at what distance they'd come into play, it doesn't say in the manual. I didn't keep the 635 as I found quite a bit of fungus inside the rear of the taking lens.

About the price of the Olseon screens, do you mean he charges $100 with tax and shipping adding another $100?

 

[Retro-Grouch]

The $100.00 price is for everything, screen and shipping. He doesn't charge tax, but might if you live in the same state. What's great is that you can order his screens in whatever configuration of grid lines, focusing aids, whatever, or totally blank. The cost stays the same. It's all explained clearly on the website.
As far as parallax correction, my Mamiyas have two parallax correction lines. The first comes into play at about six feet with the 80mm lens; the second is for when you get much closer, which is kinda dumb, since at that point you should really be using a SLR.
Too bad about the 635. In some ways, I find my Yashica D far more user-friendly than the Rolleicord. Not built to Rollei standards, of course (and few cameras are), but a great camera in its own right.