Arrangement of Fresnel screen and ground glass on metal Wista SP

[newt_on_swings]

I did a good amount of searching but I am still not sure whats the right order that they are supposed to be in. It also seems that my camera has had its glass replaced at some point, as it was loose and badly shimmed with cardboard strips. I have read that my wista is supposed to have a combination fresnel and ground glass screen with a clear glass protector. My back has that combination wista marked fresnel screen, but with a gridded ground glass sheet behind it instead of a clear protector. This ground glass piece isnt marked wista and has 3mm of clearance on both the left and right sides that requires shimming or it floats loose.

Ok so when I got the camera, the concentric circles of the Fresnel pointed toward the lens, the ground glass sheet sat behind it, with the ground glass against the ground glass of the fresnel(back of the fresnel). In this arrangement, the name wista is not displayed properly when looking their the viewing hood.

If you flip the fresnel, with the rings pointing back and the person viewing, and the ground glass toward the lens, the name wista can be read correctly.

Which way should the fresnel go? which way should that other sheet of ground glass face? Right now I have the fresnel pointing back at viewer, and ground glass against the fresnel.

does anyone have a stock wista to compare this against? the information im finding online is all over the place. thanks a bunch!

[AJ Edmondson]

The "Wista" on the screen should be displayed in the correct orientation when viewed from the back. With regard to the protective glass, this (as a Wista item) is available as a separate item and is not expensive. It can be ordered from B&H (as well as other Wista dealers)... just in case you don't like the current "shimmed" protector.

Joel

[newt_on_swings]

Update: thanks i pointed the fresnel side inward so that the wista was located on the bottom left hand corner and readable. But it didnt work with the extra gridded ground glass on top. I discovered the piece of ground glass is same dimensions as the fresnel and thats why it didnt sit correctly in the frame without shimming it with spacers. The glass back is supposed to be slightly larger in the frame.

So i just took out the ground glass, and cut a relatively thick clear sheet of overhead transparency film to size and placed it over the fresnel surface to protect it. I reshimmed the edges with thin wood spacers. With this setup i was able to focus easily but i still have to test with film and see if this is ok.

I found a link for the glass on bh and will get a piece. Its about $50 plus tax for the grid line version.

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