Did my Hasselblad come with an Acute Matte screen?

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Norkusa

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Bought a 500c/m kit on a whim a few weeks ago after falling in love with it at a local camera shop. Came with lots of goodies but one thing I'm not sure about is the screen. At first I thought it was an old non-Acute Hasselblad screen but I think it might be and Acute-Matte #42165 screen. Bad cell phone pic is the best I can do at the moment, but the screen does not have any crescent "D" shapes carved into the bezel. The crosshairs are a very thin and a faint grey color + I can feel texture to them when I run my fingers over the bottom of the screen. Does this mean it's an Acute Mate? Planing on buying a PME prisim soon, so I'd like to know if I need to buy one that's calibrated for AM screens.

Also, the screen is a little dirty. What is the best way to clean them? I've heard if you try to spray them with liquid, it can easily get trapped between the screens and make things even worse.
 

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Xmas

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Bought a 500c/m kit on a whim a few weeks ago after falling in love with it at a local camera shop. Came with lots of goodies but one thing I'm not sure about is the screen. At first I thought it was an old non-Acute Hasselblad screen but I think it might be and Acute-Matte #42165 screen. Bad cell phone pic is the best I can do at the moment, but the screen does not have any crescent "D" shapes carved into the bezel. The crosshairs are a very thin and a faint grey color + I can feel texture to them when I run my fingers over the bottom of the screen. Does this mean it's an Acute Mate? Planing on buying a PME prisim soon, so I'd like to know if I need to buy one that's calibrated for AM screens.

Also, the screen is a little dirty. What is the best way to clean them? I've heard if you try to spray them with liquid, it can easily get trapped between the screens and make things even worse.

Don't try to clean screens.
If you can focus easily don't change screens.
Get a plain prism without meter.
If you must have a meter on camera get the little meter knob.
 

frank

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I have a non-metered 45 degree Hasselblad prism that I'd gladly trade for a metered one. :cool:
 

canuhead

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The metered prisms are verrrrry nice. Fairly accurate as well. No need for my non metered 45 anymore
 

bdial

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Best way to clean the screen is don't. Even a soft brush will leave scratches.
If you must, try a squeeze-bulb blower.

If the screen doesn't have the cut outs, it's probably not an acute-matte.
You can get a tech to calibrate a PME meter prism for a standard screen. That may or May not be cheaper than the AM.
 

Sirius Glass

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Don't try to clean screens.
If you can focus easily don't change screens.
Get a plain prism without meter.
If you must have a meter on camera get the little meter knob.

Why? Why?? Why???
I have a PME 45 degree prism with a meter. The meter is very accurate and is well worth the money. I have only had it since 2007 and I found it both useful and accurate. There is a knob for the film speed and the largest lens aperture.
 
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Norkusa

Norkusa

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If the screen doesn't have the cut outs, it's probably not an acute-matte.

I've read somewhere that the AM screens with the "D" cut-outs didn't come out until the early 90's and that the non-"D" AM screens were in production long before that, which is the one I think I have here.
 

jeffreyg

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I have a 1996 Hasselblad catalog. It shows four Accute-Matte screens with one the 42203 being for the 203FE and its metering system. One is the 42165 which is compatible with all of their lenses and viewfinders, the 42167 (205) for the205FCC/TCC has the same characteristics as the 42165 plus a 6mm ring for the spot metering system and the 42170 with a grid and split-image rangefinder. My guess is you have the 42165 and can use that. There were four others that are not Accute-Matte with two being rangefinders and one the 42250 having a grid and microprism and the the 42200 being plain glass.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/
 

RalphLambrecht

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never spray onto anything for cleaning;spray on a soft clean tissue insteadand then use it to clean;I just brush or blow my screens to remove dust.The less tou touch them,the better.scratches from cleaning on lenses and screens are rather common..Every seller claims that theu don't interfer with picture quality but every buyer would rather not have them of course:cool:
 

jeffbennett

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I cannot tell from the photo for certain which screen you have, but there was an Acute-matte screen prior to the Acute-matte D. I am pretty sure that is what came on my 503CXi. It was a very bright screen but did not have the D cutout. In terms of brightness, it was almost indistinguishable from a plain matte Maxwell screen.
 

frank

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Doesn't really matter what the screen is, as long as you're happy with its performance. :smile:
 

Xmas

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The critical thing is can you focus with confidence in the lowest light level you are likely to use.
Some of the screens are difficult for me.
 
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Norkusa

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Well I do a lot of low light shooting. I can focus with this screen I have but if I could get a brighter one, that would make things much easier for me.
 

Xmas

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The centre spot is for focusing...
The fall off towards the corners depends on the Fresnel part.
They are independent my current cm screen is bright but horrible at judging focus with, the fixed one on the 500c was dim but easy to focus with in poor light.
One day I'll visit the blad shop... And get one I can focus with easier.
 
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Norkusa

Norkusa

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Here are some better photos of the screen, top & bottom. Can anyone tell if this is an Acute Matte? It really looks like a #42165 AM screen to me:
 

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itsdoable

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It looks like an Acute Matte 42165 to me. Hold it up to a bright point of light (light bulb at a distance), you should see coloured rainbow prismatic pattern through it. If not, it is pre-Acute matte. Typically, the center cross lines are etched on the Acute Matte screens, and painted in black on the pre-acute matte screens, but there are some exceptions.
 

Chris Livsey

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You should be aware, as mentioned above, there are two types of Acute Matte screens. The original was brighter than the standard screens,but there were complaints it was harder to focus. They brought out the D variant, (both designed by Minolta) the one with two cut outs that look like a D, these were easier to focus (allegedly) but not just quite as bright. They also corrected, to some extent, the excessive vignetting of the first series.
It is not the case that a brighter screen is easier to focus. It is easier to see and compose the subject if in subdued light but the focus is dependant on contrast and a very bright screen, as in the first issue of Acute screens, coupled with photographers not being used to them, reduced contrast and made focusing harder, for some. This type of screen, because it does not diffuse the image as much as ground glass also has a higher degree of vignetting in the corners with longer lenses. The plane of the image is also less well defined in the Acute Matte screen type and that can lead to error.Be careful what you wish for.
You can of course "calibrate" your meter by adjusting the iso you set, you mention buying a metering prism calibrated to the screen. All PME3, 5, 45 and 90 are already so calibrated.
It does look like a 42165, as stated above and correctly on the cross types "etched" and painted, but also bear in mind it could be a third party screen by Beattie or Maxwell which also are unmarked. There was also a plain screen with cross and fresnel made in the Acute-Matte era for photomicrography work, due to the vignetting I alluded to earlier, the 42200.
If not an Acute Matte earlier screens with crosses were 42161, 4285 (1979 with a thinner cross), 42165 was 1989. Although obviously screens can be swopped the date of your camera may be of use in dating, your screen does not show marks of multiple holder clips. Just to be complete, though I doubt that, the D screen is 42204.
Never rely on a S/H box to identify BTW. People bought a new screen and placed the old one in the box, that then gets sold years later perhaps as the original "new" screen type!! Many people have bought D screens that were not that way.

This is not an example but there was for a very short time, and therefore for completest collectors collectible forcing them to be valued more highly, an optofiber/ optifibre screen. A slice of a bundle of optical glass fibres. It does not have a reference cross. It was prone to dark spots, like dead pixels, where a fibre had failed.

Finally!! You may find a "chimney" finder is better. This maintains a vertical angle of view on the screen, the optimum angle, with magnification and low light loss. I have never measured it but prism finders will rob you of some light just because of the optical path, if brightness is very important to you because of subject matter.

BTW this is all presented as personal opinion and not fact.
 
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Norkusa

Norkusa

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Thanks a lot for all that info, Chris. Answered all my questions about AM screens and then some. :smile:

I looked at the screen outdoors in bright sunlight and *I did* see a colored rainbow prismatic pattern through it, so this most likely is a 42165 screen based on the info in this thread and other sources I've read.

Although I've only shot a few rolls with the camera so far, I haven't had many problems viewing or focusing with it. I'll stick with this screen for now and maybe I'll move up to a split prism screen, since I'm usually better at focusing with those.
 

Chris Livsey

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Thanks a lot for all that info, Chris. Answered all my questions about AM screens and then some. :smile:

No problem it is good for others that search on these things. I have to say I have not found a single source that gathers all this together, if only they had seen fit to put the part numbers on the edge!!

Personally, and is personal, I find a split screen on the 'blad, and I am a split screen in 35mm fan, only useful for around 80mm lenses 120mm and higher and 50mm and smaller tend to black out too easily and you can spend ages getting an angle to see the effect. A grid screen with no focussing aid is my preference but at the moment I am on 42217 grid and split screen Acute Matte D. (Accurate enough for a P20 back :whistling: )

Good luck with the camera they are great tools and the screens are probably the worst/most complicated things to sort out!!
 
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