Focus Screen Grid Design

[Sdrubansky]

Hello

Just curious to know how many out there prefer gridded focus screens as opposed
to plain ground glass - with or without fresnel.
What kind of grid does your screen have? What would be your ideal design?

I find my grid (1cm squares w/ 6x7 & 6x9 marks) helps me with balancing composition and evaluating available space.

Also:
Does anybody have usable grid designs (PDF, jpg etc.) to have etched onto a glass,
or even printed on acetate?

According to some old threads there use to be some on a 'satin snow' website.
(now offline)

Thanks,
Matteo

[Jack Dahlgren]

Hello

Just curious to know how many out there prefer gridded focus screens as opposed
to plain ground glass - with or without fresnel.
What kind of grid does your screen have? What would be your ideal design?

I find my grid (1cm squares w/ 6x7 & 6x9 marks) helps me with balancing composition and evaluating available space.

Also:
Does anybody have usable grid designs (PDF, jpg etc.) to have etched onto a glass,
or even printed on acetate?

According to some old threads there use to be some on a 'satin snow' website.
(now offline)

Thanks,
Matteo

I find too many marks distracting. 1" would be better for me than 1cm. 3cm by 3cm would be good.

[jan labij]

My B&J comm vue has the grid----I don't know if I'm going to like it though, (I've never had a view camera that had gridlines before this one, hope it's not a distraction.)

[William Barnett-Lewis]

If you wish, here's a link where the satin snow grids can be found:
http://web.archive.org/web/200612311...downloads.html

[Sdrubansky]

Thank you William.

M

[Doremus Scudder]

I really find a gridded ground glass helpful when shooting architecturals and city-scapes. They help me get the vertical and horizontal lines where I want them. Sure, the bubble levels help to get the verticals close, but even then the camera often needs a little finer adjustments to get them exactly parallel. As for parallel horizontals, the levels help none at all, so the grid on the ground glass is the only guide.

That said, I often use a ground glass without a pattern for landscape shooting. I have a couple for several cameras and switch them (or cameras) depending on the need.

My preference is for a 2-3 cm grid pattern.

Best,

Doremus Scudder

[Jim Jones]

I prefer a grid for the reasons cited by Doremus. A grid lightly scribed into a ground glass with a needle or ball point pen that no longer writes is unobtrusive when not used.

[timparkin]

No grid at all here and I'm using a maxwell screen - I find the lack of grid really refreshing and allows me to concentrate on compositional structure. Use the bubble levels for alignment (unless obviously wierd) and have tiny marks in the margin to show centre and assymetric axes (on ebony 45su)

[dave_whatever]

My shen hao screen has a grid by default but i've just ordered a plain screen, same reasons as Tim says above. Similarly I hate a cluttered or gridded viewfinder on an SLR.

[ki6mf]

I have a Shen Hao and it has a grid screen and also has markings in the center for 6X7 and 6X9 roll film.

I would like to have a custom screen made up with grid divided in thirds plus a diagonals marked with the golden mean 1.61 per section as opposed to the rule of thirds 1.67 per section