Would a new GG help my MPP Mk7 + 75/5.6?

[engl]

I'm currently using a MPP Mk7 camera, 50 year old Technika III clone. I've been using it with a Fujinon NW-125/5.6, and today I bought myself a Fujinon SWD 75/5.6.

Already with the 125, I felt that the ground glass was rather dim, more so than the GG I had on my Crown Graphic (but I never tested them side by side). Now with the 75, the problem is worse, it is difficult to compose without seeing the whole frame at once, I have to move my head around. Using only the focusing hood instead of a dark cloth is hopeless, only the center is visible. The ground glass also seems rather coarse and more transparent than I'd expect, but I do not have much to compare to.

Would a new ground glass improve brightness, or would I need a fresnel to see any real difference?

[memorris]

This i due to the lens coverage. The lens does not cover the area when wide open but as you move your head around you can see different parts of the overall scene. You can stop the lens down some, buy a lens with better coverage (if there is one), learn to deal with it, or give up shooting that wide. I had a 90mm lens that did the same thing. I sold the lens and started using a 115mm lens with much better coverage. Not I also have a 300mm lens that covers 11X16 and use it on the 8X10. It is nice to have a wide lens that covers so well.

[Bob Salomon]

Yes a new gg AND a fresnel will make a tremendous difference over a 50 year old gg.

[engl]

Thank you for your replies.

A lens with more coverage (and thus better wide open coverage) might help, but there are pretty much no such ~75mm lenses except the very expensive XL lenses. I will try stopping down to F8 and see if the more even (but lower) brightness helps.

I think I'm going to try ordering a new ground glass from Steve Hopf, he seems well regarded here. I'm not yet sure if I want a fresnel, I'm worried about loosing ability to focus well, and it seems I'd need to find a specific wide-angle fresnel.

[Jack Dahlgren]

Thank you for your replies.

A lens with more coverage (and thus better wide open coverage) might help, but there are pretty much no such ~75mm lenses except the very expensive XL lenses. I will try stopping down to F8 and see if the more even (but lower) brightness helps.

I think I'm going to try ordering a new ground glass from Steve Hopf, he seems well regarded here. I'm not yet sure if I want a fresnel, I'm worried about loosing ability to focus well, and it seems I'd need to find a specific wide-angle fresnel.

Coverage is not so much the issue as is simple geometry. With the lens 75mm away from the glass (at infinity focus) the light rays near the edge of the glass are not in the direction of your eye nearly as much as they would be with a longer lens so the image is much dimmer. A fresnel can bend the light back towards your eye and will help. You need to decide if you want one which helps more with wide angle or one for general use. It is going to be a trade-off if you use multiple lenses, but I think any fresnel will help.

[engl]

I got a bit carried away by the low prices here in Tokyo and now I'm the owner of a Symmar-S MC 210/5.6 and a Nikkor SW 65/4. I will sell the SWD 75/5.6. It was fully usable on a flat board on my MPP Mk7, but it was far from ideal. Big rear element that needed mounting by removing the GG, inability to exploit the 200mm IC, and the lens was not 100% rigid sitting unlocked on the rear tracks extended outside the body.

Anyway, if I get a wide angle fresnel in order to use with the 65mm, how will it affect the 125mm and 210mm lenses I own? Will it be darker than not using a fresnel at all?