ground glass / fresnel suggestions for Horseman FA

[Raymond L. Fenio]

I recently purchased a Horseman FA. I plan on using a 6x12 roll film holder as well as 4x5. The camera is in good shape but the ground glass has a piece broken out from the upper right corner and there is no fresnel lens. I need to replace the glass. My question is what is the best solution? Is a glass such as Satin Snow a good choice? How necessary is the fresnel? Is a good fresnel worth the money? Any suggestions appreciated.

[Capocheny]

Hi Ray,

Consider getting a SatinSnow from Dave. His website is:

http://www.satinsnowglass.com/

I bought them for both my Sinar X and my Dorff 4x5/5x7... I use to use a fresnel with my X and, now, I've not used it for a long time.

The SatinSnow ground glass is a very bright screen. And, far less expensive than a fresnel!

Cheers

[Josh Z.]

I have a satin snow, and I find it a very adequate replacement piece, but unlike others, I don't see a very noticeable difference over the stock one that came with my Shen Hao. Impossible to really regret the purchase though, and now I have 2 and I'm quite happy... If you want compositional markings though, you will have to draw them on yourself. Not at all hard to do with a sharp pencil and a ruler. I'd recommend one, the only downside can be the wait...

As for the fresnel, I can't say anything about the high-end replacements such as the Beatties, but I have made a cheap version out of a reading fresnel that works exceptionally well. I do have a Horseman monorail that has one built-in though. I do think it is slightly better then the one I have made, but not all that much better. I'd highly recommend making one for yourself first and trying it out. I bought mine from Walgreens for $7, and then just cut to size with sizers. After you try it, you might find though that the width of a ring is a bit too wide and cuts into clear viewing of details under the loupe. This is true of every fresnel I have used, but seems to be slightly less with the Horseman.

As for how useful the fresnel is, I can hardly do without it. I shoot mostly wide angle, and it really helps with viewing the entire composition with a 90mm. It also helps with a 210mm, but isn't as important.

[Raymond L. Fenio]

I actually have another question about this Horseman FA. I use a reflex viewer with my Horseman VHR and find it useful. What reflex viewers seem to work best with the 4x5 FA. I notice the cambo viewers are popular. Any other suggestions of reflex viewers?

Thanks for the suggestions so far concerning the gg/fresnel question.

[John Brownlow]

The Maxwell screens are fantastic and incorporate a fresnel. About 2 stops brighter than a plain GG. Talk to Bill about your requirements and he will tell you exactly what you need and why (in considerable detail!). He will put whatever frame lines on you want, or you can do what I did and print out your own frame lines on an acetate sheet and slip this between the GG and the plain glass protector which comes with a Maxwell screen.

Typically with a reflex viewer and wider lenses you will still have a hotspot because you can't move your eye around like you can when using a dark cloth.

Bill's details:
www.mattclara.com/maxwell/index2.html

[Robert A. Zeichner]

If your Horseman FA has no Fresnel, you need to understand that this camera was designed to use a Fresnel and without it, it is critical that you remove the shims between the GG and the mounting pads so that GG/film plane coincidence will be maintained. the FA should have a couple of clips on the inside of the back that float the Fresnel in front of the GG. When the Fresnel is in place, you need the shims. If you remove the Fresnel, remove the shims as well.

[Brian Ellis]

I've used almost every type and brand there is - BosScreen (3 on 4x5, 1 on 8x10), Satin Snow (well there were a few problems with that one and I never really got it to fit right but I was able to look through it), original equipment Fresnels on two Ebony cameras and on a Tachihara, Linhof Super Screen, Maxwell, Beattie screen, and various plain ground glasses. The BosScreen and the Maxwell screen were head and shoulders above the others. As between them I prefer the Maxwell but the BosScreen works well too.

The BosScreen isn't a Fresenl so it doesn't really brighten the image. However, it does spread the image out evenly across the screen so gives the effect of being brighter. The BosScreen isn't a Fresnel so it doesn't have the downsides usually found in Fresnels, i.e. no "black hole" effect with wide angle lenses, no need to keep your head perfectly on axis to properly view the image, and everything "pops" into focus without the annoying lines found when using a loupe with all Fresnels I've used except the Maxwell. BosScreens use a wax layer in between the two pieces of glass and others have reported problems with the max melting in extreme heat or developing little points in extreme cold though I never experienced a melting problem in Florida (I don't photograph in extreme cold so I don't know about that potential problem). The BosScreen is more expensive ($150 or so for 4x5) but well worth it IMHO.

The Maxwell screen is a Fresnel but I don't get the "black hole" effect with my widest lens (80mm), the image is very bright, the Fresnel lines are barely discernable and then only if you look for them, and it doesn't have any problems in heat or cold. IMHO it's the best screen there is but it is even more expensive (about $250) than the BosScreen.