Rolleiflex focus screen comparison test

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Dan Daniel

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I realized that I am sitting on four Rolleiflexes at the moment, all with different focus screens in them. And a spare hood assembly that I could put an original ground glass screen in and swap out easily. So what the heck.... This question comes up all the time, so maybe this will be of help to people.

My conclusion? The Maxwell Hi-Lux screen is my favorite screen, and this test didn't change my mind. The Mamiya screen, bought new on Ebay for $35, gives the Maxwell Split/Micro a decent run for its money. The Jinfinance(Oleson?) screen is a great upgrade from the stock ground glass but nowhere near as nice as the Maxwells or Mamiya (you can't see it here, but the Jinfinance screen has a much rougher fresnel pattern and ground glass pattern, and focusing away from the split has none of the crispness of the better screens). And the original ground glass? Well, I used them without a hitch when I was in my 20s, and I understand people liking their snap and feel, but they are not for me.

The screens:
Maxwell 'Hi-Lux' (plain screen, no grid)
Maxwell Split/microprism (no grid)
Mamiya RB67 'Type A'
Jinfinance (Oleson?) (split image) (*see note below)
Original Rollei ground glass

Method: I choose a corner of the laundry room that had a decent range of light and shadow. I set up a Sony RX100 digital camera on a table. The Sony was put in MANUAL mode so that it wouldn't be adjusting away differences in brightness. I had the camera somewhat high up because putting it close to the screen caused serious vignetting of the screen image.Focus was set manually on the first Rollei's screen image.

I set each camera in place based on the Sony's LCD grid. Did a rough manual focus of the Rollei. Took image.

Image below is a compilation of five shots. NO adjustments to the files. Cropped and combined in Photoshop.

Ok, the compilation:

13929553138_0a1f7535bf_c.jpg
(larger version- https://www.flickr.com/photos/18067251@N04/13929553138/in/photostream/)

One flaw in my method was to set the manual exposure based on the Maxwell Split/Micro screen. I believe that the Hi-Lux is a brighter screen overall, and the problem in the above images is that it is slightly blown out from overexposure. Ideally I would redo the test.... yeah, right.... not today.

And a record shot of the overall scene. Shadows opened up in Photoshop-

14136236603_7108c8db5b_z.jpg

* NOTE: Jinfinance is a seller on Ebay. He offers fresnel screens with a split image center. The screens are sized for Hasselblad or Bronica; they need to be trimmed to fit older Rolleis. The reason I question if these are the same screens that Rick Oleson sells is because there was a time when Jinfinance only had 45 degree splts. And Oleson was in the same position. Then Jinfinance got back 90 degree splits. And Oleson had them back in stock around the same time. The design and overall brightness that I see for Oleson screens on the internet appear very similar to the Jinfinance screens that I have put in a dozen cameras, so I think they may get their screens from the same place.
 

erikg

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Timely! (for me as I'm looking for a new screen now) I'm not sure where to get a Maxwell screen, everything I've found online seems old. Thanks for this.
 

ToddB

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Are these difficult to install?

Todd
 

jeffbennett

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Are these difficult to install?

Todd

If you have a Rollei with the removable hood (ie, 3.5 or 2.8 E2 or F, Rolleiflex T, Rolleicord Vb and maybe one or two others that I have forgotten), it is very simple to lift the existing screen, pull it out of it's frame and insert a new screen. My understanding is that, because of the design of the screen frame and hood, adjustment of focus should not be necessary in most cases.

In the case of the Rolleis with the fixed hoods, you can do the install yourself, but it is slightly more involved. I did it once on an MX-EVS version, and it was not difficult. You take out four screws to lift the hood, then get the screen free of a couple of retaining clips and install the new screen. I got lucky on that one and did not need to readjust the focus to align taking and viewing lenses, but I have the impression that you often do on the fixed hood models. Rick Oleson does supply a good set of instructions with his screens if you want to take on the project yourself. I have installed two of his without any complications. I have also had several Maxwell screens installed, and I always had that done by a tech in combination with a CLA.
 

dehk

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And I thought my stock one is already plenty bright (at least for me). Wow.
 

jeffbennett

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Where did you get the Maxwell screen?

I have had several Maxwell screens provided by Krikor Maralian when he was doing other work on the cameras. He typically has the screens in stock or can get them quickly. One of my current Rolleis has a Maxwell screen that was provided by Harry Fleenor when the prior owner had the camera overhauled.
 
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Dan Daniel

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