Posted by Henry on February 12, 2001 at 17:13:55:
In Reply to: Brighter Ground Glass-Century Graphic posted by Chuck Pere on February 07, 2001 at 11:23:53:: My Century has the factory ground glass. I
: understand that no fresnel was offered on the
: Century. Does anyone have any recommendations
: for a brighter ground glass for this camera?
: Chuck
Chuck, There was an Ektalite Screen (fresnel) for the 2x3. Used ones crop up now and again. They make the screen more uniformly bright but focussing is perhaps more difficult. There are two links from graflex.org containing very interesting discussions on various aspects of fresnels, pro and con. I bought an Ektalite Screen from Robert Pins in NJ (201-784-1444---get on his mailing list, he offers Graflex stuff), but wasn't happy with the results as it does not lie in the same plane of focus as the film. Two suggestions from the graflex.org links: coat the groundglass (lens) side of your present groundglass with Armorall Protectant OR Vaseline; wipe (polish) it off with a soft cloth. Enough residue remains on the groundglass surface to increase the light transmission factor (although you'll notice a "hot spot" which follows your eye around as you move your loupe over the glass). You can always remove the goop if you don't like the results. I tried it with Vaseline and it does work! And a heck of a lot cheaper (like "0") than a Beattie Intenscreen at $220!!