Is This Normal for a Rolleiflex Viewing Screen?

[stephen_mcateer]

The screen on my Rollei is dim in the corners. [See pic.]

I'm wondering if this is normal.

When I take the finder off and examine the screen, it doesn't look dirty.

Are there brighter screens / are they worth the money?

Thanks in advance.

[orsetto]

It is normal for the screen corners to be dimmer than the center when using old medium format waist level cameras with vintage ground glass focus screens. If yours seems excessively dimmer in the corners, some typical issues could be at play that you might want to have serviced by a good tech. On the very old Rollei models (and other similar cameras), the ground glass and/or fresnel plate can yellow or get grungy from age and environmental factors.

Your pic above shows the common "slightly dirty fresnel" issue, with the concentric rings seeming to have darker bands. A little of this is normal, a lot is distracting and should be checked by a tech. Older screens can have a separate fresnel plate sandwiched with a ground glass plate, more modern designs etch the fresnel pattern directly on the one-piece (typically plastic) screen. A related part that can also age out is the mirror: they can get tarnished, pick up a layer of cigarette smoke, or the silver coating can flake off.

Replacing the mirror and/or focus screen is not terribly difficult, but if you aren't already skilled at camera repair you may want to have it done by a technician. Late model Rolleis have easily removed viewing hoods and user-changeable focus screens: with these the screen is a simple drop-in piece, so all you need to do is find a screen that you like better. OTOH, the newer cameras don't usually need a new screen unless yours is unusually dirty or you just want a different version with a split image or microprism focusing aid. There are nice modern brighter genuine Rollei drop-in interchangeable screens, but they can be hard to find.

The older camera models with fixed hoods and focus screens are the ones most likely to benefit from a newer brighter screen, unfortunately replacing the screens in these can be a very fiddly and tricky procedure (changing the screen often requires tedious re-calibration of focus tracking). Most Rollei repair techs stock replacement screens, so you can send your TLR in for one-stop servicing and screen replacement/setup. Some users prefer a specific type of focus screen, they will purchase a screen directly from a screen supplier then send the screen bundled with their camera to a repair tech.

There are several types of focus screen to choose from. First you need to decide if you want a plain matte screen, or would like the addition of a central split image or microprism focus aid. Then you need to choose the screen material: standard ground glass similar to the original vintage, a more modern brighter plastic screen (from a supplier like Rick Oleson), or a custom specially-treated ultra bright screen (such as Maxwell).

Plain ground glass is still preferred by some photographers for the high focusing precision and depth of field rendering it offers when shooting outdoors in bright natural light, but it can be too dim for indoor situations. The midrange Rick Oleson screen is a popular price/performance compromise: noticeably brighter into the corners, good contrast and focus precision, and a choice of focusing aids, grid lines, etc. The ultra bright premium screens are hideously expensive and sometimes very fragile: super bright for night and indoor use, but they sacrifice a bit of "snap" and depth of field impression.

Replacement mirrors are a much simpler part with little in the way of price or perfromance variations: they're either good or cheap garbage. Any decent Rollei repair person will have a source of good replacement mirrors. Removing / replacing a TLR mirror is fairly straightforward but again, if you aren't familiar with camera repairs you could easily botch the installation. Given the current crazy prices for vintage medium format cameras, esp Rolleis, its usually best to hand the task off to a good repair shop.

Edited September 8, 2023 by orsetto

[stephen_mcateer]

Thanks very much for that detailed reply.

The mirror is clean and intact on this Rollei (It's a 3.5F Type IV).

I took the WLF off last night to inspect the focus screen — there are just a couple of tiny spring clips holding the screen in place so I think I should be able to replace it myself.

I had forgotten about Rick Oleson until you mentioned him here.

However, I saw a Chinese screen for $30 on eBay and decided to take a punt on it. There's not much lost if it turns out to be no good.

I'll go now and look at Rick Oleson's website. I think his screens were about $100, though there would be shipping and import taxes for me here in the U.K.

Anyway, I'll try to remember to update this thread with results / the Chinese screen.

Cheers.

[Niels - NHSN]

3 hours ago, stephen_mcateer said:

Thanks very much for that detailed reply.

The mirror is clean and intact on this Rollei (It's a 3.5F Type IV).

I took the WLF off last night to inspect the focus screen — there are just a couple of tiny spring clips holding the screen in place so I think I should be able to replace it myself.

I had forgotten about Rick Oleson until you mentioned him here.

However, I saw a Chinese screen for $30 on eBay and decided to take a punt on it. There's not much lost if it turns out to be no good.

I'll go now and look at Rick Oleson's website. I think his screens were about $100, though there would be shipping and import taxes for me here in the U.K.

Anyway, I'll try to remember to update this thread with results / the Chinese screen.

Cheers.

I made a similar decision when upgrading a dark original 3.5E (aka 3.5C) screen.

The Chinese screen I purchased from a reputable eBay seller was claimed to fit my model but I had to sand it down by a mm or so to make it fit.
The  screen is much brighter than the original, but I can only focus with the center split screen - the surrounding area can only be used for composing.

I did not have to adjust for infinity- that part was OK. However, the standard screen in my later (70’s) Rolleiflex T is much better.

The split image alignment on the Chinese screen is not quite as confirmative as I am otherwise used to from 35mm cameras, but it allows for faster focusing than the original dark screen.
For critical focusing the original screen is no doubt more precise.

 

[stephen_mcateer]

Thanks for that Niels. Useful information.

I'm not expecting much from the Chinese screen — if it's no good I'll put it back on eBay.

I can probably live with the existing screen on my Rollei but I'm always looking to improve things and it is a little dark round the edges.

Hopefully I won't have to sand this one I have coming from China but we shall see I suppose.

The Rick Oleson screen looks good but it's quite expensive — I'll look for other reviews on it and have a think about that one.

Cheers.

[stephen_mcateer]

10 minutes ago, Niels - NHSN said:

However, the standard screen in my later (70’s) Rolleiflex T is much better.

 

 

That's a nice camera Niels.

[orsetto]

Ah, you have the sought-after 3.5F model! Much easier to replace screens on that one, since it was designed to be user-changeable.

My experience with Chinese generic eBay screens has been disappointing. I tried a couple in my Hasselblad and one in my Mamiya TLR: as Niels noted, they are brighter but the focus accuracy wasn't good and only the central split image is of any real use. Some people seem to have better luck with them: I think they (perversely) work better in the cameras that were NOT designed to have user-changeable screens. Those cameras have lots of tiny washers and/or adjustment screws in the screen mount, requiring fussy adjustment to calibrate a new screen to the focus point of the lens/body. More tedious installation procedure than the "just pop in another screen" cameras, but all the nitpicky adjustments allow you to finely position the goofy Chinese screens for more accurate focus precision. The easy-replace cameras have a fixed position for the screen: if the replacement doesn't meet mfr specs exactly, sloppy focus accuracy can result. 

Yes, the Rick Oleson screen has gone up in price recently, but it is still a decent deal in the context of medium format screen prices. Many second-hand mfr-branded screens will cost as much or more on eBay, but often are not as bright or contrasty. Acute Mattes are pretty much the only game in town for Hasselblads with user-changeable screens: those are priced in the stratosphere ($229 for plain matte, $400 to $600 for split image). The Rick Oleson at $100 brand new, with custom grid lines available, is a pretty good value by comparison.

Oleson has been selling screens for many years, becoming the go-to source for many photographers needing an upgrade. Originally, he obtained screen materials from China: similar to but better grade than the generic stuff on eBay. A few years back, he was able to purchase rights to the screen technology used by the now-defunct BriteScreen company. BriteScreen was the most popular premium replacement screen supplier for 35mm and medium-format cameras during the 70s-80s heyday of the film era, sold in all the major camera stores. Demand began to fade in the 90s as mfrs finally began to offer brighter stock screens in their cameras, but BriteScreens were still sought after for older orphaned cameras.

So its important to note the screens offered by Oleson today are not generic: they're an evolution of what was once a premium retail product line by a respected proprietary mfr. They are more comparable to new mfr-branded screens than generic Chinese screens. Unfortunately, Oleson can only supply a bare screen: this is great for cameras that don't have a metal rim molded to the screen, but those of us with Hasselblads are out of luck. Hassy screens have a complex embedded metal frame that positions them in a drop-in screen well, as opposed to the more common pop-up camera frame that you just slide a bare screen into.

Another popular alternative for Rolleiflex TLRs is to re-purpose the nice bright late-version screens Mamiya made for their RB67 and RZ67 cameras. With a little bit of cutting down, these will fit a Rolleiflex and offer an excellent viewing/focusing experience. I traded my older Mamiya 220 and 330F TLRs for the final model 220F just to get the final Mamiya TLR screen: its hands down the best I've ever used in a 6x6 camera (better than the over-bright, obscenely-priced Hasselblad Acute Matte). As with anything recommended on web forums, the Mamiya alternative was jumped on by loads of Rollei enthusiasts as soon as it was first mentioned, so today it can be very difficult to find a brand new (or even used) Mamiya RB/RZ screen. If you do find one, the cost to purchase it and have a tech cut it down and install in your 'flex will likely exceed the cost of a pre-cut Oleson screen (in USA, anyway: in Europe it might be more cost effective to source a Mamiya screen from a Japanese eBay dealer).

Edited September 8, 2023 by orsetto

[stephen_mcateer]

@orsetto Thanks for this detailed information. Again, it's very useful. (Or should I say 'Illuminating'?)

I have a feeling the £30 I spent on the Chinese screen is probably wasted money, though I can maybe recoup some of it on eBay.

I'll have to think hard about the Oleson screen — it gets good reviews but I've spent too much on accessories recently and have to dial it back a bit for a while. Maybe I'll save it for Christmas…

The existing screen I have in the Rollei is usable in bright light, though even then seeing clearly what's in the peripheries of the frame is still a bit problematic.

I have an RZ67 and its screen is great, as you say. I wonder just how difficult it would be to cut one to fit the Rollei? (Though I noticed someone somewhere said it would be a waste of a scarce Mamiya part. Maybe they have a point.) 

Anyway, as I said, I'll try to remember to report back here with my findings on the Chinese screen.

Cheers.

 

[arthur_gottschalk]

I have a Maxwell Brightscreen in mine.  Big difference. Much better. 

[stephen_mcateer]

@arthur_gottschalk Thanks Arthur. The Maxwell screens sound good. More expensive than the Oleson ones but maybe you get what you pay for. 

Edited September 8, 2023 by stephen_mcateer
Typo

[SCL]

I tried the Britescreen but eventually got an Oleson and have been very pleased with it. It made a substantial difference, especially with my aging eyes.

[stephen_mcateer]

@SCL Thanks for that. I think I'll get an Oleson. Just a question of when.

[stephen_mcateer]

Update: I decided to go anead and get an Oleson screen.

It arrived today.

Fitting was a simple two-minute job.

I'm very happy with this new screen — where the original Rollei screen was pretty dark in the corners, this one is brighter all over, maybe by as much as a stop or even more than that.

Illumination is even across the entire area of the screen.

The variant I purchased has grid lines and a microprism centre-spot. There are many others.

The microprism seems to be good for fine focus adjustments.

Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this screen. It makes my camera much more pleasant to use.

(I'm posting a photo of the view through my Rollei's finder with the Oleson screen fitted. It didn't occur to me until it was too late to make before and after photos.)