Satin Snow Ground Glass

After a two month wait, my Satin Snow focusing screen arrived. It's no
brighter than the original shen-hao screen, but makes for a low cost
replacement or backup. I'm calling Bill Maxwell tomorrow. I'd rather not
spend the $200+, but I don't like struggling to see my composition.

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com

After a two month wait, my Satin Snow focusing screen arrived. It's no
brighter than the original shen-hao screen, but makes for a low cost
replacement or backup. I'm calling Bill Maxwell tomorrow. I'd rather not
spend the $200+, but I don't like struggling to see my composition.

I had a few problems with Satin Snow. Without going into the boring details,
my impression is that the owner is basically a good guy who wants to do
right but is getting flooded with more orders than he can properly handle so
things occasionally go wrong.

I recently bought a Maxwell screen for my Master Technika. It's an
outstanding screen and I'm very pleased with it. I think I've had every
imaginable form of viewing screen on my various large format cameras - plain
ground glass, a Beattie Intenscreen, the Fresnels that were on my Ebony
cameras and on my Tachihara, and three or four BosScreens. Until using the
Maxwell screen I thought the BosScreens were the best. I still think
BosScreens are very good but for a combination of excellent brightness even
with wide angle lenses (80mm in my case) and ease of focus (no noticeable
lines like the ones you usually get when using a loupe with a Fresnel) I'd
give the edge to Maxwell over the BosScreen (and it isn't even close
between the Maxwell and anything else I've used). I think you'll be very
happy with yours.

"Matt Clara" wrote in message
...
After a two month wait, my Satin Snow focusing screen arrived. It's no
brighter than the original shen-hao screen, but makes for a low cost
replacement or backup. I'm calling Bill Maxwell tomorrow. I'd rather not
spend the $200+, but I don't like struggling to see my composition.

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com

As a LF (4x5, 5x7, 8x10 and 11x14) user I was looking for a better focus
screen for my 4x5 Special Deardorff Gridded GG---The Maxwell Hi Lux screen
is the top on my list of screens---It is the best I've used by far but then
I've never used a BossScreen yet and likely never will.. I was so impressed
with Bill Maxwells'
screens that I I have one on my 8x10 Deardorff as well (Not the same screen
as the 4x5 Hi-Lux though!!) and replaced the Beattie IntenScreen on my 4x5
Linhof Master Tech.--What an improvement over the super grainy and Hot-Spot
throwing Beattie model. I also had the original Linhof focus screen (Sorry
Bob Soloman--I don't know which screen it was but it sucked big time!!!) but
was un-impressed by it. The Maxwell is my favorite by far!! With the Linhof
I routinely just use my 2-pc right angle viewer for composition and focus as
the Maxwell screen is that bright and almost grainless--that sure makes a
big improvement for 4x5 focus!
My 2 cts.
Joe Burke

I also bought a Satin Snow to replace the GG on my Canham. I was
disappointed.

I actually put the Canham and Satin Snow GGs on a light table and measured
the light levels with my Pentax Digital Spotmeter. The Canham was 1 good
1/2 stop brighter.

The Satin Snow went back into its package and is now a backup in case my
Canham GG ever breaks.


"Matt Clara" wrote in message
...
After a two month wait, my Satin Snow focusing screen arrived. It's no
brighter than the original shen-hao screen, but makes for a low cost
replacement or backup. I'm calling Bill Maxwell tomorrow. I'd rather not
spend the $200+, but I don't like struggling to see my composition.

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com

"Stealth" wrote in message
news:%E1Zd.81590$FM3.7198@fed1read02...
I also bought a Satin Snow to replace the GG on my Canham.
I was disappointed.

I actually put the Canham and Satin Snow GGs on a light
table and measured the light levels with my Pentax Digital
Spotmeter. The Canham was 1 good 1/2 stop brighter.

The Satin Snow went back into its package and is now a
backup in case my Canham GG ever breaks.


"Matt Clara" wrote in message
...
After a two month wait, my Satin Snow focusing screen
arrived. It's no brighter than the original shen-hao
screen, but makes for a low cost replacement or backup.
I'm calling Bill Maxwell tomorrow. I'd rather not spend
the $200+, but I don't like struggling to see my
composition.

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com


The light table test is not valid for the brightness of
the image from a lens. It is probably showing that the Satin
Snow screen is more diffusing than the Canham. A diffuse
ground glass will show an image which is more uniform in
brightness from center to corners but the center brightness
will be lower than a less diffuse screen. There is only a
certain amount of light available and the differences in
visual brightness have to do with its distribution. A screen
which is somewhat dimmer but is uniform may _appear_ to be
brighter than one which has a hot-spot in the center.
Fresnel field lenses and other similar focusing devices,
actually focus the light from the GG toward your eye. These
are indeed brighter but, again, there is only a certain
amount of light available, so there is a sweet spot where
your eye has to be to see the bright and uniform image. When
lens movements are used on a view camera a Fresnel or other
field lens will make the image darker. The same may be true
when using a wide angle lens. The focal length of the
Fresnel must be such as to focus the light from the lens
into your eye. Most of these are intended to be used with a
"normal" focal length lens. The difference is not so much
with longer lenses but when a wide angle lens is used it can
look dimmer in the corners than would a plain GG. SLR
cameras often have a selection of ground glass for the
finder to match various ranges of focal lengths.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

A screen
which is somewhat dimmer but is uniform may _appear_ to be
brighter than one which has a hot-spot in the center.

That is the principle on which the BosScreen is based.

"Richard Knoppow" wrote in message
...

"Stealth" wrote in message
news:%E1Zd.81590$FM3.7198@fed1read02...
I also bought a Satin Snow to replace the GG on my Canham.
I was disappointed.

I actually put the Canham and Satin Snow GGs on a light
table and measured the light levels with my Pentax Digital
Spotmeter. The Canham was 1 good 1/2 stop brighter.

The Satin Snow went back into its package and is now a
backup in case my Canham GG ever breaks.


"Matt Clara" wrote in message
...
After a two month wait, my Satin Snow focusing screen
arrived. It's no brighter than the original shen-hao
screen, but makes for a low cost replacement or backup.
I'm calling Bill Maxwell tomorrow. I'd rather not spend
the $200+, but I don't like struggling to see my
composition.

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com


The light table test is not valid for the brightness of
the image from a lens. It is probably showing that the Satin
Snow screen is more diffusing than the Canham. A diffuse
ground glass will show an image which is more uniform in
brightness from center to corners but the center brightness
will be lower than a less diffuse screen. There is only a
certain amount of light available and the differences in
visual brightness have to do with its distribution. A screen
which is somewhat dimmer but is uniform may _appear_ to be
brighter than one which has a hot-spot in the center.
Fresnel field lenses and other similar focusing devices,
actually focus the light from the GG toward your eye. These
are indeed brighter but, again, there is only a certain
amount of light available, so there is a sweet spot where
your eye has to be to see the bright and uniform image. When
lens movements are used on a view camera a Fresnel or other
field lens will make the image darker. The same may be true
when using a wide angle lens. The focal length of the
Fresnel must be such as to focus the light from the lens
into your eye. Most of these are intended to be used with a
"normal" focal length lens. The difference is not so much
with longer lenses but when a wide angle lens is used it can
look dimmer in the corners than would a plain GG. SLR
cameras often have a selection of ground glass for the
finder to match various ranges of focal lengths.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

In article EU3Zd.2806$hA3.1950@trnddc09,
"Shelley" wrote:

That is the principle on which the BosScreen is based.

Wow 66 lines of unsnipped quotation for a single line response.

Wow one line of useless drivel.

"Inaccessible" wrote in message
news
In article EU3Zd.2806$hA3.1950@trnddc09,
"Shelley" wrote:

That is the principle on which the BosScreen is based.

Wow 66 lines of unsnipped quotation for a single line response.

Does Bill Maxwell have a website? I Googled him but nothing came up.
PM

"Matt Clara" wrote in message
...
After a two month wait, my Satin Snow focusing screen arrived. It's no
brighter than the original shen-hao screen, but makes for a low cost
replacement or backup. I'm calling Bill Maxwell tomorrow. I'd rather not
spend the $200+, but I don't like struggling to see my composition.

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com

In article ,
"P. Meschter" wrote:

Does Bill Maxwell have a website? I Googled him but nothing came up.
PM

"Matt Clara" wrote in message
...
After a two month wait, my Satin Snow focusing screen arrived. It's no
brighter than the original shen-hao screen, but makes for a low cost
replacement or backup. I'm calling Bill Maxwell tomorrow. I'd rather not
spend the $200+, but I don't like struggling to see my composition.

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com



Its on Matt's Website here- http://www.mattclara.com/maxwell

--
LF Website @ http://members.verizon.net/~gregoryblank

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President,
or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong,
is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable
to the American public."--Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918