Do you consider the ground glass a lens' accessory? Problem and recommendation.

[Drew Wiley]

Yep. That 7X Peak is my favorite GG loupe. It was also sold re-branded under Horseman and Nikon labels.

[Bernice Loui]

The Horseman version.. This one has been used for decades..


Tried MANY GG loupe/magnifiers, this 7x simply works as it should..


Bernice

Yep. That 7X Peak is my favorite GG loupe. It was also sold re-branded under Horseman and Nikon labels.

[ic-racer]

the camera and the camera still has
the original Horseman groundglass, (or at least, it reads
Horseman on the ground glass).

Horseman FA originally came with a plastic ground glass/fresnel combination screen with the "Horseman" name in the lower right. Over that was a clear glass with framing marks. Did you buy your camera new?

[ic-racer]

the camera and the camera still has
the original Horseman groundglass, (or at least, it reads
Horseman on the ground glass).

Horseman FA originally came with a plastic ground glass/fresnel combination screen with the "Horseman" name in the lower right. Over that was a clear glass with framing marks. Did you buy your camera new?

[Ig Nacio]

Hi,

Thank you for your messages : )!!!

Yes my dark cloth could be better. I mean a washed purple t-shirt is quite comfortable, but perhaps not the best
option. I use it, because it is just too hot and humid around here. I'll be getting help at a shop that makes
curtains. Hopefully, I'll come up with them with a better solution.

Yes, my loupe is not a professional loupe. It is actually a cheap loupe. I bought from B&H. It is this product:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._focusing.html

Perhaps I shouldn't get a Carson loupe at all. They also offer this one:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...aft_Loupe.html

Both of the above loupes are relatively cheap, compared to the more professional ones that I see you guys
are using.

It is two years more less since I am using a Horseman 45FA. The camera was used. I didn't get it new.
I have seen other field cameras from Toyo and they seem to have a bettter fresnel-groundglass combination.
My groundglass does not seem to have, or have had any fresnel-groundglass combination at all. It looks just
like a groundglass without fresnel. It is not dark, but as opposed to the bright Toyo ones, this one on the
camera, looks quite dim. The Horseman name is in the lower right, but as mentioned before it is unfortunately
not bright. Perhaps it is a different groundglass from Horseman. This is perhaps a groundglass, but without
the fresnel, as you may have meant.

As I was looking again the B&H site to get the links to the Carson loupes, I was able to see that Toyo still sells
a groundglass. However it is for Toyo View and not Toyo Field. I don't know if it would fit the Horseman 45FA
and if it will be bright:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ng_Screen.html

Thank you again, kind regards!

[Tin Can]

Horseman was very confused about GG and Fresnel

I have all kinds of factory idiocy

You need to gaff tape that clear skirt, it's for viewing slides

I have real bad eyes, I bought the best loupe I could, it is out of production...

[Bernice Loui]

Skimping on ground glass image viewing aids is not a good idea at all. The only view between view camera lens to sheet film in the film holder is the ground glass image. How the ground glass image is assessed, viewed based on it's qualities pretty much sets what ends up on film. That said, first item of prime importance is the combo of ground glass magnifier/loupe and dark cloth. Both seemingly simply and "irrelevant" accessories, without them using a view camera to create the image on film becomes a lot less possible.

Clear bottom loupes/magnifiers allow image light on the ground glass to escape and stray ambient light to dilute the image light from the ground glass. Use a closed bottom loupe/magnifier to view the ground glass image. Simply covering those clear bottom magnifiers with black vinyl electrical tape will improve the image produced by these clear bottom magnifiers/loupes. Alternative is to get a proper ground glass loupe/magnifier with a light tight bottom. Much is focused on lens performance and all that, far less is focused in the importance of the ground glass magnifier/loupe.

Dark cloth is a simple item yet has extreme importance in viewing the ground glass image. It is what allows the ground glass image to be viewed properly, how camera movements alter the ground glass image and what happens to the ground glass image when the lens is stopped down to the image creating lens aperture. The dark cloth should be black in the inside and ideally white on the outside to reduce heat build up in sunny outdoor conditions. Might consider of these BTZS Focus Hoods:
https://viewcamerastore.com/collecti...zs-focus-hoods

Larger full aperture lenses or "Brighter" ground glass with brightening aids like a fresnel lens are often a panacea to the realities of viewing the ground glass image instead of the proper solution.

All this might appear costly, involved, excessive or ... it really depends on the value one places on their images created, resourced applied and goals with view camera image creation.


Bernice

Hi,

Thank you for your messages : )!!!

Yes my dark cloth could be better. I mean a washed purple t-shirt is quite comfortable, but perhaps not the best
option. I use it, because it is just too hot and humid around here. I'll be getting help at a shop that makes
curtains. Hopefully, I'll come up with them with a better solution.

Yes, my loupe is not a professional loupe. It is actually a cheap loupe. I bought from B&H. It is this product:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._focusing.html

Perhaps I shouldn't get a Carson loupe at all. They also offer this one:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...aft_Loupe.html

Both of the above loupes are relatively cheap, compared to the more professional ones that I see you guys
are using.

It is two years more less since I am using a Horseman 45FA. The camera was used. I didn't get it new.
I have seen other field cameras from Toyo and they seem to have a bettter fresnel-groundglass combination.
My groundglass does not seem to have, or have had any fresnel-groundglass combination at all. It looks just
like a groundglass without fresnel. It is not dark, but as opposed to the bright Toyo ones, this one on the
camera, looks quite dim. The Horseman name is in the lower right, but as mentioned before it is unfortunately
not bright. Perhaps it is a different groundglass from Horseman. This is perhaps a groundglass, but without
the fresnel, as you may have meant.

As I was looking again the B&H site to get the links to the Carson loupes, I was able to see that Toyo still sells
a groundglass. However it is for Toyo View and not Toyo Field. I don't know if it would fit the Horseman 45FA
and if it will be bright:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ng_Screen.html

Thank you again, kind regards!

[ic-racer]

The FA's focus screen is a very fine fresnel, as fine as a screen on a 35mm camera. You can look at a reflection on the back of the screen to see the fine circular lines, otherwise the fresnel is nearly invisible during composing.