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James Rose
17-May-2009, 14:15
I just purchased a Wista 45 sp and find it very hard to focus on the ground glass. It is not tack sharp and is grainy using a toyo lupe!! My zone XI was much sharper with the standard ground glass. The Wista has a Fresnel screen, is this the difference. Thanks Jim

Mark Sawyer
17-May-2009, 15:21
Pull it off and see! It might be, but you may also have a coarsely-ground primary screen. It's definitely the fresnel or the gg, though... Personally, I never liked fresnel screens because of the lines, but others swear by them.

Gem Singer
17-May-2009, 15:30
You had a Zone eleven? I thought they quit after Zone six.

Joking aside, it sounds like something is amiss with your camera's focusing screen.

Perhaps the former owner replaced the ground glass improperly. Perhaps the Fresnel was not installed properly. Have it checked by a competent repair person.

The Wista SP should focus just as easily and sharply, with a Toyo loupe, as your former camera.

IanG
18-May-2009, 03:13
My Wista 54DX has a combination screen (fitted as standard), the screen & fresnel are one piece of material so can't be separated, there's an additional sheet with the grid but this does nothing more than add protection.

Of all the 5x4's I've used over the years I've found the Wista screen by far the easiest to focus but then I rarely use a loupe and would agree that a plain screen can appear sharper although less bright.

Ian

ignatiusjk
19-May-2009, 15:50
From my expierence fresnal screens suck. Learn to use the camera without the fresnal and you'll be better off. I have a Wista and use a regular 4x5 screen with no problems.