Hasselblad focusing screen replacement

Andreac76 · Sep 23, 2024

Hi
I’m going to send my Hassleblad 500c to maintenance, I’ve the classic focusing screen and I find quite hard to focus with. On line I’ve found very different prices and some of them very cheap. I like the split screen help when focusing but I’m thinking that spending 50 box in the screen isn’t a good idea.. isn’t it?

Thanks for every suggestion

Andrea

Sirius Glass · Sep 23, 2024

Welcome to Photrio!

The Acute Matte D is a very good screen but a split-image screen with surrounding micro prism is the easiest to focus.

Andreac76 · Sep 23, 2024

thank you for your reply
The ones on eBay at 50$ could be better (easier to focus with) than the original? Will be the first time than a 10 fold cheaper thing is better!

RalphLambrecht · Sep 23, 2024

Andreac76 said:
Hi
I’m going to send my Hassleblad 500c to maintenance, I’ve the classic focusing screen and I find quite hard to focus with. On line I’ve found very different prices and some of them very cheap. I like the split screen help when focusing but I’m thinking that spending 50 box in the screen isn’t a good idea.. isn’t it?

Thanks for every suggestion

Andrea

I bought a few dirt-cheap focusing screens out of China. They are very dim, but the split-screen focusing works surprisingly well.

thisisyourlife · Sep 29, 2024

Replacement Focusing Screen

Upgraded Focusing Screens for vintage TLR, and SLR cameras. Best sellers - Rolleiflex, Rolleicord, Yashica, Mamiya, Hasselblad, Bronica, and Pentax cameras.

bright-screen.com

These screens are awesome! Multiple configurations and price is great.

Philippe-Georges · Sep 30, 2024

Left the Acute Matte and right the 'old' Ground Glass (with the DIY marks for super slide), both with a split screen.
The Acute Matte, a Minolta product, is clearly the clearest ( but absurdly expensive), although the split screen's diameter is somewhat smaler.

chuckroast · Sep 30, 2024

wopr said:
Replacement Focusing Screen

Upgraded Focusing Screens for vintage TLR, and SLR cameras. Best sellers - Rolleiflex, Rolleicord, Yashica, Mamiya, Hasselblad, Bronica, and Pentax cameras.

bright-screen.com

These screens are awesome! Multiple configurations and price is great.

Yup. I just installed one on my 500C/M with an older screen. Works great - noticeably brighter.

Alan9940 · Sep 30, 2024

If you're thinking about going for an Acute Matte screen, make sure that's what you're getting. Hasselblad made a version just before the Acute Matte (can't remember the exact name, but it was something like Bright Matte) that IMO was not nearly as good. I found the lack of contrast along fine lines and edges made it VERY difficult to focus. The AM, on the other hand, makes it easy to lock proper focus; this opinion based on my CF lenses from 50mm to 250mm on my 500C/M.

AnselMortensen · Sep 30, 2024

Beware of buying one on ebay.
Sellers don't always know what they have, and well...when you replace your dim screen, you put the old screen in the new screen's package, right?

itsdoable · Sep 30, 2024

Philippe-Georges said:
Left the Acute Matte and right the 'old' Ground Glass (with the DIY marks for super slide), both with a split screen.
The Acute Matte, a Minolta product, is clearly the clearest ( but absurdly expensive), although the split screen's diameter is somewhat smaler.

View attachment 379789

Hasselblad Acute Matte screens have a notch in the metal frame to indicate that, I don't see a notch on yours. It certainly looks like one though - if you hold it up to a distant point source light (ie: lamp on the other side of the room) you should see rainbow diffraction patterns from the Acute Matte prismatic surface.

mshchem · Sep 30, 2024

The genuine Acute Matte screens are amazing.

MTGseattle · Sep 30, 2024

if one looks through the Hasselblad literature, there is a part number associated with the various focusing screens. Are the screens themselves marked at all somewhere on the frame?

Philippe-Georges · Oct 1, 2024

itsdoable said:
Hasselblad Acute Matte screens have a notch in the metal frame to indicate that, I don't see a notch on yours. It certainly looks like one though - if you hold it up to a distant point source light (ie: lamp on the other side of the room) you should see rainbow diffraction patterns from the Acute Matte prismatic surface.

The notch is there to indicate that it is a 2nd generation Acute Matte, mine is a very 1st.
If the rainbow can't be seen here, is perhaps due to the hastily picture taken with a (simple-) iPhone?

But be reassured, it IS an Acute Matte (although not a 'D' which was a more recent version) at least it is what I payed for when it was marketed in the early 1990s...

Philippe-Georges · Oct 1, 2024

Alan9940 said:
If you're thinking about going for an Acute Matte screen, make sure that's what you're getting. Hasselblad made a version just before the Acute Matte (can't remember the exact name, but it was something like Bright Matte) that IMO was not nearly as good. I found the lack of contrast along fine lines and edges made it VERY difficult to focus. The AM, on the other hand, makes it easy to lock proper focus; this opinion based on my CF lenses from 50mm to 250mm on my 500C/M.

Hasselblad made a special Ground Glass (screen) for dim situations like (long-) telé lenses (with a focal doubler), macro photography and microscope application.
And yes it wasn't an Acute Matte, I have one but I can't recall the ref. number, and it is very good in these situations perhaps better than an AM...

btaylor · Oct 1, 2024

AnselMortensen said:
Beware of buying one on ebay.
Sellers don't always know what they have, and well...when you replace your dim screen, you put the old screen in the new screen's package, right?

Yea, that happened to me. I found one has to look very carefully at any eBay listings to be sure it’s actually the Acute Matte you’re looking for.
I needed something better for my 500 c/m because I was blowing focus with the stock screen. I ended up with the Acute Matte and another genuine screen that preceded it but works well too. I wasn’t aware of the Rock Oleson Bright Screen for Hasselblad at the time- I have a couple in my Rolleis and like them a lot. The micro prism works great for me.

Philippe-Georges · Oct 1, 2024

Here they are the more brighter non AM screens, compared to the old original one:
From left to right: standard, 42234, 42250.

Hasselblad focusing screen replacement

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