Maxwell Ground Glass for Ebony

[Sideshow Bob]

I emailed Bill Maxwell asking about a ground glass for my Ebony and he gave me two options (see portion of email below). As you can see, these are very expensive but I hate the factory GG so I was wondering if the cost is worth it. He offers the Ultra Brilliant and the Brilliant Matte, does anyone have experience with both?

Thanks for your input.
Mr.Gale

From Bill Maxwell:

“My HI-LUX Ultra Brilliant 4.7 screen is more than ten times brighter than my standard HI-LUX Brilliant Matte 4.7 screen (which is already much brighter and higher clarity compared to your current Ebony screen). It is intended to help with photography before dawn; after dusk; under the forest canopy; night shots; ambient lit interiors; ambient lit interior portraits; macro; very slow viewing apertures; or any situation where you need more light. Of course it works in daylight as well. If you don't do photography in any of those situations listed, it may not be worth the extra money.

I have the screen available with a special cover glass which has a grid pattern (thin black lines, 12.7mm spacing) combined with the asymmetrical tilt lines (thin blue lines, 70mm spacing). The cost of this combination for my HI-LUX Brilliant Matte 4.7 screen is $305.00. The cost of this combination for my HI-LUX Ultra Brilliant 4.7 screen is $405.00.”

[Henry Ambrose]

Yes, buy one.

I replaced my Ebony screen with his regular screen for wide angles - its a huge improvement.

[Brian Ellis]

Wow, when I bought mine the price was $240. You might consider the BossScreen as an excellent screen at a much lower cost. I've used the BosScreen on three or four different cameras and never had any problems. It isn't technically a "bright screen" but it spreads the image out evenly across the entire screen so it appears to be brighter. And not using a Fresnel means it doesn't suffer from some of the Fresnel problems. I think the Maxwell is the best screen I've ever used but the BosScreens were very close seconds. If they're still selling for the prices I paid - about $150 - the cost difference might be worth it to you.

[Sideshow Bob]

Thanks Brian, I have the a BosScreen and it is okay but I don't think much better than the stock GG. I guess I'm spoiled, for years I used a Linhof TK with their Super Screen (or whatever they call it) and it was several times brighter than ether of these two.

Gale

[Drew Wiley]

I replaced the Ebony glass with a Satin Snow and love it, even for moderate wide-angle use. However, I learned on this forum that Satin Snow is no longer available.
It cost me less than $20. But I'm one of those people who hate using fresnels.

[Sideshow Bob]

Only because I have gotten use to them, Fresnels don't bother me. What does bother me is not having a bright image during the time of day that I like to photograph. I guess I should break down and call Bill.

Gale