Any experiences: Magicflex focusing screens + Rolleiflex?

Rolleifred · Aug 14, 2023

Hello everyone. I am looking to upgrade the original (dim and very scratched, with split-level finder) plastic screen on my Rolleiflex 3.5f with something more modern and snazzy, in the hope of increasing my focal hit rate.

Obviously a Maxwell screen is the dream, although the price and apparent difficulty of contacting Bill Maxwell (especially as I’m in the UK) more or less rules this out. Beattie are hard to find, and I’m somewhat intrigued by Oleson but am leaning towards the idea of a screen without focal aids.

Then I came across the screens sold at Magicflex Camera, which look potentially very promising and Maxwell-ish - but I can find very little written about them online, other than a couple of people singing their praises on Reddit, and one person on this forum who says they found it very hard to focus.

Does anyone have any experience of using these with their Rolleiflex? I’m particularly interested in what is billed as the ‘Pro ultra bright screen’, which would represent a considerable saving over a Maxwell screen - but is a lot to spend on something that very few people seem to have actually used/commented on.

Sidenote: any thoughts about switching from a screen with grid lines/split focusing to a screen with no lines or focal aids?

Thanks!

Dan Daniel · Aug 14, 2023

No Magicflex experience. I will point you to this Chinese company screen; I assume it will show up on UK ebay or be obtainable-

Bright Focusing Screen f/ Rolleiflex 2.8F 2.8E2 3.5F 3.5T ROLLEICORD VB 64*68mm | eBay

Suitable for Rolleiflex 2.8F,3.5F,3.5T,3.5E2,3.5E3,2.8E2 ROLLEICORD VB. It is Focusing Screen, Ultra bright. Pls Note: This is All-in-one screen,no need ground glass.Transmittance higher,more even edges.

www.ebay.com

I have used a couple of them, testing them out. Perfectly usable. Bright, even illumination. And no center spot, etc. For the price, you might give one a try.

Grid lines- depends on your ability to determine angles in an image. Guide lines are nice but also distracting. You can take a screen and set it up on a guide to draw your own lines if you miss them. Put them on the down side, the plain ground side, not on the fresnel side.

Split image center circle: A problem with a TLR, more so than with a camera held at eye level, is the reframing that happens after you move the camera to put the focus aid on the subject. With an eye level camera, the reframing is very slight adjustment of angle. With a TLR, floating away from your body, it is easier to sway, move the whole body, shoulders, etc. to reframe. And in doing this, focus can be thrown off. This depends on what you are shooting and how close they are. I like plain screens because I can both frame and focus at the same time; location on the screen isn't critical to checking focus, and less chance of losing focus with reframing. It's more like a view camera where you aren't going to be swinging the camera on a tripod head to center a subject and then reframe; you rough out the shot and focus wherever the subject falls on the screen.

OK, this is very personal. And I use focus aid screens also without problems.

Rolleifred · Aug 15, 2023

Hi Dan,

Thank you very much for your detailed thoughts. I definitely recognise what you describe about the split image centre circle in how I take photos, and feel like it can end up being a distraction that is potentially throwing my focus of at times. Thanks also for the recommendation of the Chinese screen - might be a good way to see how I get on with a plain screen for considerably less. The way you talk about shooting with a plain screen definitely appeals to me.

Alex Varas · Aug 15, 2023

I have one Magicflex screen and also I have tried the Chinese screen that Dan mentions.
The fresnel lines are more noticeable in the Chinese ones, both are the same for focusing but I cant say in film because I never shot that camera yet (Magicflex's one).
For focusing/brightness the best option for me is a RB67 screen cut off to the size, just because the Ikoflex's screens can't be fitted into a 3.5f

ediz7531 · Aug 21, 2023

I bought a camera from Magicflex which came with a pro ultra bright screen. I also own another rollei with a Maxwell screen.
The Magicflex screen is very nice overall and for the money I would it choose over the Maxwell screen - even though the latter is incrementally nicer.

The other screen offered by Magicflex, the cheaper version, wasn’t to my liking. A bit too coarse.

haliderollei · Sep 16, 2023

Dan Daniel said:
No Magicflex experience. I will point you to this Chinese company screen; I assume it will show up on UK ebay or be obtainable-

Bright Focusing Screen f/ Rolleiflex 2.8F 2.8E2 3.5F 3.5T ROLLEICORD VB 64*68mm | eBay

Suitable for Rolleiflex 2.8F,3.5F,3.5T,3.5E2,3.5E3,2.8E2 ROLLEICORD VB. It is Focusing Screen, Ultra bright. Pls Note: This is All-in-one screen,no need ground glass.Transmittance higher,more even edges.

www.ebay.com

I have used a couple of them, testing them out. Perfectly usable. Bright, even illumination. And no center spot, etc. For the price, you might give one a try.

Grid lines- depends on your ability to determine angles in an image. Guide lines are nice but also distracting. You can take a screen and set it up on a guide to draw your own lines if you miss them. Put them on the down side, the plain ground side, not on the fresnel side.

Split image center circle: A problem with a TLR, more so than with a camera held at eye level, is the reframing that happens after you move the camera to put the focus aid on the subject. With an eye level camera, the reframing is very slight adjustment of angle. With a TLR, floating away from your body, it is easier to sway, move the whole body, shoulders, etc. to reframe. And in doing this, focus can be thrown off. This depends on what you are shooting and how close they are. I like plain screens because I can both frame and focus at the same time; location on the screen isn't critical to checking focus, and less chance of losing focus with reframing. It's more like a view camera where you aren't going to be swinging the camera on a tripod head to center a subject and then reframe; you rough out the shot and focus wherever the subject falls on the screen.

OK, this is very personal. And I use focus aid screens also without problems.

Came to say that Alex from Magicflex camera actually buys this exact screen from this exact seller, only to re-sell the same screen 7 times the price

Dan Daniel · Sep 16, 2023

haliderollei said:
Came to say that Alex from Magicflex camera actually buys this exact screen from this exact seller, only to re-sell the same screen 7 times the price

Interesting.

I have a couple of Magicflex screens to be installed in the next few weeks. I am planning to compare them to the ones I bought.

haliderollei · Sep 17, 2023

Dan Daniel said:
Interesting.

I have a couple of Magicflex screens to be installed in the next few weeks. I am planning to compare them to the ones I bought.

He has been called out on it a few times, he says that he does "more work" to them to make them better, I don't buy that.

Alex Varas · Sep 17, 2023

haliderollei said:
He has been called out on it a few times, he says that he does "more work" to them to make them better, I don't buy that.

It makes sense if he works more on them since he has batches of “flaw screens”. How he does it’s not known by me anyway.

Rolleifred · Sep 17, 2023

Dan Daniel said:
Interesting.

I have a couple of Magicflex screens to be installed in the next few weeks. I am planning to compare them to the ones I bought.

Would be very interested to hear the results of your comparison, Dan.

maggiemay · Dec 4, 2023

Dan Daniel said:
Interesting.

I have a couple of Magicflex screens to be installed in the next few weeks. I am planning to compare them to the ones I bought.

@Dan Daniel: Did you ever end up comparing the Pro Magicflex screens to the Chinese and/or Maxwell screens? Definitely interested in your experience.

Dan Daniel · Dec 4, 2023

OK, a brief impression. Both the Magicflex and Chinese screens have a mottle pattern to them. Very similar, I wouldn't say that the Magicflex was different. Similar pattern, etc. A series of small black dots all over the screen. This is sort of like the frosted glass in bathroom windows? It serves as a bit of a focus aid- the mottling gets more blobby the further out of focus the area is. The screens have a nice snap. All in all the mottling and black dots are bit off-putting. Sure, a Maxwell is nicer. A Mamiya is nicer. An Oleson is nicer. You spends your money, you makes your choices.

Bad image, hard to photograph this kind of thing. And the fall-off to the edges is from the camera lens, not in real life. Pretty even illumination across the screen.

maggiemay · Dec 21, 2023

Dan Daniel said:
OK, a brief impression. Both the Magicflex and Chinese screens have a mottle pattern to them. Very similar, I wouldn't say that the Magicflex was different. Similar pattern, etc. A series of small black dots all over the screen. This is sort of like the frosted glass in bathroom windows? It serves as a bit of a focus aid- the mottling gets more blobby the further out of focus the area is. The screens have a nice snap. All in all the mottling and black dots are bit off-putting. Sure, a Maxwell is nicer. A Mamiya is nicer. An Oleson is nicer. You spends your money, you makes your choices.

Bad image, hard to photograph this kind of thing. And the fall-off to the edges is from the camera lens, not in real life. Pretty even illumination across the screen.

@Dan Daniel: Which ones were you testing?

It seems there are several different tiers of Magicflex screens. My understanding was that the "Pro Ultra" was similar to Maxwell, and the "Ultra" or "Pro Super" were more like some of the others. The branding definitely a bit confusing.

Thanks again for your input. For 250 euros, it's good to know what you're getting and how it compares.

Cheers!

Dan Daniel · Dec 22, 2023

I don't know which one of the magicflex screens I was testing. A customer sent it along and I didn't get precise details. It'd be great to find out but someone else will need to put out the 500 euros or so to get the 'sampler pack' from him

Melvin J Bramley · Aug 6, 2024

Waiting , holding my breath!
Just how good or bad are these cheap Chinese view screens?

Dan Daniel · Aug 7, 2024

Again, I haven't dealt with the Magicflex screens. I have no idea what quality his are, and if they are of the same design.

But for me, the $30 or so screens off of Ebay are not of interest any more. The black speckled pattern was too strong, and digging out the in-focusarea from the overall pattern was not worth it.

I still have a couple in a box so some day I'll dig one out again. And I thin kthat the same seller has higher-priced screens on Ebay; some day I might give one a try. But for now, Oleson and cut-up Mamiya screens are what I use.

Oldwino · Aug 12, 2024

I own a Rolleicord that was overhauled by Magicflex. The screen is the best I’ve used in a TLR, but I haven’t had the chance to use the Maxwell screen. It is very bright and very easy to accurately focus.
Overall, this overhauled Rolleicord is the nicest Rollei I’ve owned - it works perfectly, and looks practically new.

albireo · Aug 12, 2024

Oldwino said:
I own a Rolleicord that was overhauled by Magicflex. The screen is the best I’ve used in a TLR, but I haven’t had the chance to use the Maxwell screen. It is very bright and very easy to accurately focus.
Overall, this overhauled Rolleicord is the nicest Rollei I’ve owned - it works perfectly, and looks practically new.

Interesting - I, too, own a Rolleiflex that was overhauled by Magicflex and I completely agree with your assessment of his work on the camera. It's an incredible camera now.

However, I haven't had such a positive experience with the brightscreen he installed in it. Too bright, too many opportunities for critical focus missed for me.

I later asked me to return to me the original screen the camera came with when I purchased it. This screen, in spite of being dimmer, gets me to critical focus 100% of the time.

Any experiences: Magicflex focusing screens + Rolleiflex?

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