Ground glass questions

[Dann Corbit]

It seems that the satin snow ground glass is no longer available.
I saw a product in the new products for super bright ground glass, but I saw no resolutions in the thread it if was good or not.
All the ground glass questions seem old.

I am wondering what people recomend for the best ground glass for a 4x5 camera. Is there a trusted vendor who creates exceptional ground glass?
I have 2 Calumets, with one more on order, but I don't think the brand matters, as far as I can tell.

Second, I see that some ground glasses have clipped corners. I remember reading once that there is value in that, but I forget what it does for you to have the corners clipped. What is the advantage to clipping the corners of the ground glass?

I also see that people use Fresnel lenses with their ground glass. Are there ground glass Fresnel lenses (which is to say, the ground glass itself is a fresnel lens)?

[Tin Can]

I vastly prefer my DIY GG, as they are so easy and cheap to make

I prefer cut corners even on vented cameras

Useful for peeping at aperture

Also ventilates better in sealed cameras, pushing and pulling less dust inside

IF I want Fresnel, I use the old people book readers on top of the outside of a GG temporarily

but! some OE GG from the past are really good, like KMV which is a coating, not a scratch up

I have 50's OE Linhof 4X5 I don't like, it is very coarse, yet still testing...

[lenicolas]

It I see that some ground glasses have clipped corners. I remember reading once that there is value in that, but I forget what it does for you to have the corners clipped. What is the advantage to clipping the corners of the ground glass?

Once you have focused, dialed in your movements, and stopped the aperture down, you peep through the corners into the lens. If you can see the whole aperture circle (or pentagon or hexagon etc depending on the number of aperture blades) through the lens, means you are within the image circle. If part of the aperture is « bitten » by the edge of the lens, you should stop down the lens further to avoid heavy vignette.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

What manufacturers for ground glass for 4x5. I need to replace mine on my Chamonix (getting scratched up from using and hoping I can find a brighter one. It has the separate fresnel sheet on it as well that is separate from the glass. Also fresnel sheets as well.

[Bob Salomon]

What manufacturers for ground glass for 4x5. I need to replace mine on my Chamonix (getting scratched up from using and hoping I can find a brighter one. It has the separate fresnel sheet on it as well that is separate from the glass. Also fresnel sheets as well.

Are you trying to say that you have a ground glass plus a separate fresnel plus one of the cheap fresnel sheets?

That simply isn’t the correct way to set up a camera if that is how you did it.

And how did your screen get scratched?

[Tin Can]

Be aware that 4x5 GG Dims may vary slightly and some won't fit a tiny bit smaller space

[Steven Ruttenberg]

The frosted portion is glass, the Fresnel lens is plastic and the outer piece is plastic

[Kevin Crisp]

If you really want "exceptional" gg, then the Maxwell product is hard to beat. But it is relatively expensive.

I never minded clipped corners.

[grat]

I haven't had any complaints about the brightness of the stock Chamonix sandwich (45N-1, with the clear circle in the middle of the fresnel). Have you talked to Hugo about a replacement?

Although I don't know how you've beat up your GG. That takes work. :)

[Steven Ruttenberg]

The outer layer is just plastic. Sliding you eye loupe around scratches it fairly easily.

I am currently polishing it with Nova system.

I like the set up, no problem. Just seeing if it can be better.

[shutterbug guy]

Does anyone have any experience with https://youngcameracompany.com/?

[Dann Corbit]

Does anyone have any experience with https://youngcameracompany.com/?

They put lots of ads on ebay. It seems strange to me that the ground glass held in the hand rarely matches the description of what they are selling.
If the corners are clipped, if there is a reticule, if it is 8x10, the pictures all show the same square 4x5 simple ground glass.

Price is good, though, at $25 for 4x5 (I did not price any of the others).
Being a cowardly sort, I will wait until someone else tries it and reports back

[lenicolas]

I ordered a GG from France on eBay :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4x5-Ground-Glass-10-2x12-7cm-HANDMADE-custom-sizes-and-thickness-available-/254191295742?pageci=1c079047-3edc-4ffe-82ee-1675b5a09566

Ordered it mostly because I wanted to try a GG without any grids or 120 film guides. If it’s any brighter than what I’m using now it will be a nice surprise.
Should be here this week, or maybe next week. I’ll report if I find any improvement over the stock Chamonix GG.

[Tin Can]

Some GG can be reground to remove marks, lines, doodles and more

but not all


I ordered a GG from France on eBay :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4x5-Ground-Glass-10-2x12-7cm-HANDMADE-custom-sizes-and-thickness-available-/254191295742?pageci=1c079047-3edc-4ffe-82ee-1675b5a09566

Ordered it mostly because I wanted to try a GG without any grids or 120 film guides. If it’s any brighter than what I’m using now it will be a nice surprise.
Should be here this week, or maybe next week. I’ll report if I find any improvement over the stock Chamonix GG.

[grat]

The outer layer is just plastic. Sliding you eye loupe around scratches it fairly easily.

I haven't had that issue, but my particular loupe has a rounded edge that I keep clean. I thought you meant you had scratched up the ground glass itself (which is on the far side of the sandwich from you), hence my confusion.