Upgrading my Rollei screen - Beattie or Maxwell?+

Hi there,
I'm a new member and this is my first post. This is also the first time I enter this forum, and I'm very impressed from it.

I hope my question was not asked before in this forum. I ran a quick search and found some information but not an exact answer.

That's the story : I recently aquired (on an impulse, during a vacation in Buenos Aires) a lovely Rolleiflex. It's 3.5E, dated late 50's, no light meter and a marvelous Xenotar 75/3.5 lens.

It's my first MF experience, previously I mainly shot 35mm on my M6. During the rest of my vacation (3 more weeks) I used it like there was no tomorrow.

After returning home and viewing the results I found a few problems with it which are currently being taken care of by a local technician.

Now, I want to replace the screen and I have the following questions:

1) Beattie or Maxwell? I couldn't find any direct comparison between them. The only things I read was that the Beattie is bright but does not "pop into focus", and that the Maxwell is delicate "doesn't pop into focus as +expected". Is it true? Can anyone elaborate a bit?

2) Split screen: I don't have any experience with it. I only used auto focus and rangefinders (and split screen on my father's OM10 but that was 15 years ago). Do you prefer with or without a split screen? Is a diagonal split better than horizontal? I wear glasses and can't really see the focus on the current screen, but it's a bad screen.

OK, any help would be welcome
Assaf

Hello Assaf and congratulations on getting a nice Rollei and finding a good forum. I have the Maxwell in my 2.8F Rollei and the Beattie in my Pentax 67. I think they are both improvements over what you have and perhaps your answer should depend on whichever is less costly or more available. You will probably find fans of both and there probably isn't that much difference.

As to the split image, I really like having it though I prefer the diagonal line on the Beattie screen in my Pentax to the straight horizontal line in my Rollei. A split image can be inaccurate but only to a tiny degree. Perhaps with your glasses on when you try to do precise focusing with your magnifier popped up, you should not put your eye right down on the magnifier. Look through it from a little distance and maybe you can see the focus more precisely. Anyway that is what I do and it helps me.
Dennis

I don't have any problem with the 40+ years old screen on my Rolleiflex from the 1950's.
When looking for a replacement screen, be sure that you get a dedicated screen for your Rolleiflex as the thickness is important in some models (depending on the mounting procedure). Some models of Rolleiflex don't allow for easy replacement. That's why I'm still using the old screen and not one of my own. You get used to the not so bright focussing image.

G

I cannot answer your question directly as I'm happy with my Rollei screen, just thought I would say hello and welcome to the forum.

Dave I know your Rollei is an FX and I have one as well. When I first got it I put in a Maxwell screen because the FX screen was a little less bright. However since then I have put the Rollei stock screen back in and I like the look of it better than the maxwell. The stock FX screen is much better than the older screens and is closer to a Maxwell or Beattie.
Dennis

Welcome Assaf,

I have no experience with Beattie screens, but do have a Maxwell screen in my 3.5F and am very happy with it. I find it bright and easy to focus, it was a very large improvement over the old Rollei screen. I liked it so much that I got a 4x5 for my Sinar. Plus, if you order one from Bill Maxwell you get to chat with him on the phone if you're lucky.

Richard Wasserman

dpurdy said:

Dave I know your Rollei is an FX and I have one as well. When I first got it I put in a Maxwell screen because the FX screen was a little less bright. However since then I have put the Rollei stock screen back in and I like the look of it better than the maxwell. The stock FX screen is much better than the older screens and is closer to a Maxwell or Beattie.
Dennis

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Well thank you Dennis, that's worth knowing. I won't feel like an outcast now.

Using the instructions available online, I replaced my 3.5F screen with a Mamiya RB67 screen. A great improvement and cost was less than $20.

Thanks

Thanks you guys for the very warm welcome.
Luckily, my camera is already fixed. I gave it on Thursday, and took it today. Everything is fixed, even the focus screen is brighter and I already passed a test roll.

I saw a Beattie screen today and was amazed by the amount of light it brings, so I definitely going to upgrade the screen.

OK, many thanks to everyone
It's a great forum!

outwest said:

Using the instructions available online, I replaced my 3.5F screen with a Mamiya RB67 screen. A great improvement and cost was less than $20.

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Do you have a link for those online instructions?

Also, does anyone have any experience with the Rick Oleson screens for Rolley?

Joshua (Assaf's friend and neighbour)

Assaf said:

I saw a Beattie screen today and was amazed by the amount of light it brings, so I definitely going to upgrade the screen.

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Brightness aside, how is the focusing ease?

OK, surprisingly I was able on the Beattie also on the matte surface outside the split screen. I even found the split screen distracting.
I had a long and interesting conversation with Mr. Maxwell and I was convinced to buy his screen withouth the split.
Hope it'll come soon and that I'll be happy with it
Assaf

all conversations with Bill Maxwell are long and interesting. When I first got a screen from him he offered to take it back if I didn't like it.
Dennis

Assaf said:

OK, surprisingly I was able on the Beattie also on the matte surface outside the split screen. I even found the split screen distracting.
I had a long and interesting conversation with Mr. Maxwell and I was convinced to buy his screen withouth the split.
Hope it'll come soon and that I'll be happy with it
Assaf

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As one who has used both versions of the
Maxwell screen (with and without split) and
the Beattie screen, and a Rolleigrid on top
of a stock Rollei screen, I can say that you've
made a wise choice. The Maxwell screen
without the split, to my eye, offers the
brightest and most evenly-lit view, is the
easiest to focus, and does not black out at
the edges. The Beattie with a focusing aid
is a very close second -- it would be my
choice if the aid is important. The Maxwell
screen with the split is visibly inferior to
the other two, with more distracting Fresnel
lines and blackouts at the edges.

The Rolleigrid is a step down from all of
these screens -- better than nothing, but
not up to the Maxwell's standard.

RFXB