Hasselblad focusing screen.....is this bad???

[TooManyShots]

I just bought a Hasselblad centerspot micro prism focusing screen from ebay...$23 with $16 ebay bucks. It only costs me $6. My question is that are the scratches on it THAT bad???

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222198003381

Or you have been using one with much worst condition?

 

[frank]

No problem.

 

[bdial]

Not so bad for having paid 6 bucks. But, I'd agree that the scratches are pretty bad, and would drive me nuts after a bit using it.
My most recent body that I bought came with a screen in slightly better shape, and I replaced it as soon as I could with with a clean one.
The plastic on these is pretty delicate, scratches happen almost from looking at them. All that said, I'd say you got your money's worth, and it won't affect the pictures.

 

[Slixtiesix]

They are not bad as long as they do not bother you! The screen in my Rolleiflex T looks much worse but I never bothered. They do not hinder focusing. I would bother however if a screen of my more expensive cameras had a scratch, but I see it as a non-issue for just 6 bucks.

 

[TooManyShots]

Not so bad for having paid 6 bucks. But, I'd agree that the scratches are pretty bad, and would drive me nuts after a bit using it.
My most recent body that I bought came with a screen in slightly better shape, and I replaced it as soon as I could with with a clean one.
The plastic on these is pretty delicate, scratches happen almost from looking at them. All that said, I'd say you got your money's worth, and it won't affect the pictures.

Yeah, I know it won't show up in the shot but sometimes scratches and lines can interfere with your composition and how you look at the shot. I hope the larger center prism would be more useful than some of the knockoffs from China or Ukraine. To the point that I don't need to use the flip down magnifier. Maybe the scratches won't be noticeable using it in the real world shooting environment.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Fine scratches can be polished out with a soft liquid automotive polish. I have done this with Canon, Hassie and Pentax 67 screens. Carnauba wax that dries must be avoided as it will ingrain itself into the miniscule grooves. Spray-on polish is best, then finish with a microfibre cloth. This is done for all of my camera restorations requiring removal of irritating things like scratches visible on focusing screens.

 

[itsdoable]

The 42250 was one of my favourite screens, and I had one with bad scratches on the micro-prism dome - which is quite common as the surface was plastic, and the micro-prism dome protruded above the surface, so if the screen was ever placed face down on a table, it would scratch. It was very usable (for many years) but always a bit annoying. I eventually replaced it with an un-scratched one I found at a reasonable price, and then later with a brighter acute matte split+prism screen.

 

[TooManyShots]

Good news. I applied some automobile headlight compound and to polish it with some pec pad lens tissues. 10 minutes later, I can say the top part is about 75% restored. The prism area is completely scratch free. Nice. Unfortunately, there are some scratches by the underside fresnel area. I know damages there are permanent. Too bad, I still need the flip up the magnifier to focus but much easier now. The screen brighter than the split screen I had before..it appears to be a knockoff.

 

[Luis-F-S]

What do you want for $6! Use the darn thing!

 

[JPD]

Is that the one you bought? It says $26.59 in the auction?

 

[TooManyShots]

Well, is $20ish something but I used $16 ebay bucks towards it. Technically, I only paid $6 for it....