Ground glass replacement

[pchong]

Hi all…I had a small accident, dropped by Sinar GG carrier, and broke the glass. I have taped it together, and it works…but I want to replace it.

234886

I have looked though the archives, and followed up on the recommendations…but all the recommended suppliers seem to have gone out of business. Snow, Maxwell don’t seem to be available anymore. And Maxwell was expensive…cost about what I paid for my Sinar X, would be out of my affordability range anyway. Perhaps the Rick Oleson one, which apparently is still available...at least the site works.

Any other recommendations for a replacement? Anyone used and can recommend one of the Chinese makers on eBay? Like those made by Proscope with frosted glass, cut corners, and marked with grids and the asymmetrical swing/tilt lines for the Sinar. Priced at about $35. Are they any good? I measured my broken GG and the dimensions look proper, including the 2mm thickness.

Appreciate recommendations. Thanks.

[Peter De Smidt]

The Proscope sounds like a good deal. Otherwise, make your own.

[Bernice Loui]

Replace the broken GG with an OEM Sinar GG. The ruling and dotted lines on the GG indicate the swing/tilt axis. Without these dotted lines using the asymmetrical swing/tilts on the Sinar X becomes iffy.

The supply of OEM Sinar GG is long gone due to demand from folks ... breaking the GG..

To get another OEM Sinar GG, find a good used Sinar rear frame with GG or rear standard with GG. Sinar used the same GG across their camera offerings. Long as the GG has the dotted lines and the clipped corners are used to verify lens coverage of the image area. GG from a good used Sinar rear will be a direct replacement. They do appear on eBay and ...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/374388096195?hash=item572b44fcc3:g:R6kAAOSwbLtjjMtb&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoKjuCKlDkUqvqAFENGV7MdrjYjJw0bwyKgLfR6MU7A4kl%2B7aN798DaGKq%2B9io573A6umuEZZ5i3q9ahxesyxwfz6SAHXsNTOEg8fBrnIbhEPMa1TtAwRh2HieUfn1tvxdGZGi7pG4XD1IBou5ZU6zUEnPlLxpwnNcMqBoYxCRt%2Fg2CgH6BcgRftQUkwyx5Awf29zw0q1F0%2B48gXB9bb8Y8I%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_7YrIG8YQ


https://www.ebay.com/itm/155106039812?hash=item241d0a5804:g:03cAAOSwm8Fi7MOU&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoB%2BKiyefV%2FDXfO48t%2Fup5lFwZKn5a1VJZixkU7gxCDUshtd195S%2B1EhXr8JuESZVaU1CklCBIzfvM7RZlnBn5zIDN1gx7EYZlWlS7LInxak%2FJYmYtAwKsPCmD7Qv5OrtCEjqtjaRhGYEScWa%2FNowJJogbf%2B0SOV%2BC%2BRLZuPOR0uhhFsTae%2FaNQDtKQfYyUcc7NZSmgiaUUVuNoIvXiY1XBs%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8LLzIG8YQ


~DO NOT try washing the OEM Sinar GG with water.. this will literally float the printed screen off the GG.. Brush it off gently, then install.~

Do get or make a GG protector if the camera is transported to prevent this from happening again.. This is not a lot more than a board of thin plywood or fiber board cut to fit the rear GG frame exterior. The board is held on by the lock slide used to secure accessories like the reflex viewer, bellows or etc..

Bernice



Hi all…I had a small accident, dropped by Sinar GG carrier, and broke the glass. I have taped it together, and it works…but I want to replace it.

234886

I have looked though the archives, and followed up on the recommendations…but all the recommended suppliers seem to have gone out of business. Snow, Maxwell don’t seem to be available anymore. And Maxwell was expensive…cost about what I paid for my Sinar X, would be out of my affordability range anyway. Perhaps the Rick Oleson one, which apparently is still available...at least the site works.

Any other recommendations for a replacement? Anyone used and can recommend one of the Chinese makers on eBay? Like those made by Proscope with frosted glass, cut corners, and marked with grids and the asymmetrical swing/tilt lines for the Sinar. Priced at about $35. Are they any good? I measured my broken GG and the dimensions look proper, including the 2mm thickness.

Appreciate recommendations. Thanks.

[Peter De Smidt]

If you have a blank ground glass and want to add Sinar use lines, use a pencil to make the Sinar lines on the ground glass side of a ground glass. I used dashed lines. Take some measurements from your broken screen. It's not hard.

[Joseph Kashi]

A light and effective ground glass protector can be made from a suitably sized sheet of the plastic cardboard often used for inexpensive political signs. It's rigid and pretty tough. Amazon also sells packs of it, though more expensively than the cost to sign shops.

[pchong]

Thanks for the suggestions for a ground glass protector. I have a Sinar plastic fresnel glass which I keep over the glass for protection. Good enough as a protector? I am not sure. I broke the glass because I dropped the holder to the concrete floor while attempting to switch from landscape to portrait orientation. Yea, butter fingers. The fresnel was on the back then, and the glass broke anyway. Water under the bridge...and I will consider a protector with the new glass.

I am tempted to make my own ground glass...B.S. Kumar whom I bought a lens and a lens board from told me that large format is also about DIY, while he was encouraging me to mount the lens on the board myself. Which I did, and am glad I did. So I agree...but I am also tempted to just buy a replacement as they are not very expensive (safe the Maxwell). The maker of Fasquel 8x10 camera offers an unmarked, hand ground glass with clipped corners for a very reasonable price, as do the Chinese makers. More or less the same price, but Fasquel will not mark the glass with lines, and the Chinese ones are pre-ruled. I might just buy one of those. And still attempt to DIY.

Thanks for all the responses. Appreciate it.

[Daniel Unkefer]

I own a lot of 4x5 Sinars, if it were me, I'd replace with OEM original Sinar glass. One and done

If you drop the screen carrier onto a concrete floor, having a plastic protector will not do you much good, as you have already found out.

[Tin Can]

Not all 4X5 or larger GG are the same size

and will not fit

[pchong]

Yes, thanks. Am aware of that...hopefully this is mitigated by the custom for Sinar 4x5 glass by both the mentioned suppliers. Of course, mileage may vary.


Not all 4X5 or larger GG are the same size

and will not fit

[RaphaelGoutte]

Hey, Raphaël from Fasquel. Let me know if you need a custom size ground glass. Winter time means a lot of time in the workshop so it will be a pleasure to make you a custom ground glass!

Take care,
Raphaël

[Jim Noel]

I'm with Kumar - Make Your Own. I haven't bought a replacement ground glass in the last 70+ years during which I have owned and used a large number of LF cameras up to 7x17.

[Pedro_fiz]

Richard Oleson is a very good choice

[Tin Can]

I think they are FUN to make

wait

I know they are fun and easy!


I'm with Kumar - Make Your Own. I haven't bought a replacement ground glass in the last 70+ years during which I have owned and used a large number of LF cameras up to 7x17.

[pchong]

Thanks Raphael for replying here. But I really do need the rulings…so as you only supply unmarked glass, have to see if I want to mark the lines myself.

On the DIY route…did some digging, found an old thread here…which led to this link:

https://www.dokasphotos.com/techniques/ground_glass/

Hmm…tempting.

[RaphaelGoutte]

As a matter of fact we actually do offer grid on our ground glass and cameras :)

Best of luck with making your own, I've stopped going to gym after spendind my days grinding some glass...

Warmly,
Raphaël

[Tin Can]

I buy grit here

https://gotgrit.com/index.php?cPath=2_7

https://gotgrit.com/

[lassethomas]

I’ve bought several from this seller on the big auction site.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284947071104

He also cuts in custom sizes and corners.
Packed in plywood cases and worked well for me

[lantau]

Have you tried finding an original Sinar? I bought a new old stock Sinar GG on the bay for my F2 in 2020. At €79 +€6 shipping it wasn't cheap. But it likely wasn't cheaper to replace when the camera was a current model.

The camera came with a plastic integrated fresnel GG. I couldn't focus with a loupe because of the fresnel lines. The Sinar GG is perfect. Even with my 75/4.5 Nikkor it is bright enough.

[zbvision]

Yes, thanks. Am aware of that...hopefully this is mitigated by the custom for Sinar 4x5 glass by both the mentioned suppliers. Of course, mileage may vary.

Hey Peter, might be worth it to check out this link for OEM Sinar GG: https://www.ebay.com/itm/374388096195?hash=item572b44fcc3:g:R6kAAOSwbLtjjMtb

Best of luck,

Zachary

[pchong]

Thanks Zachery, but seller does not ship to Singapore.