Speed Graphic Ground Glass (DIY Grid lines)

[tenderobject]

Hi!

I've been playing with a user Speed Graphic lately here in Iran. It's very easy to use for my needs.
Anyway, i'm having a little problem with the ground glass. There's no grid lines that i can use for leveling or framing my shots.
Is it ok to use a pen / marker to put grid lines on the ground glass or are there any other way?

Thank you guys!

J

[brucetaylor]

A sharp pencil works too, and the lines can be removed. It was a common way to temporarily mark motion picture camera ground glass.

[Malcolm E. Sharp]

A sharp pencil on the ground side will work, and you can wash it off easily if you ever need to.

(oops, beat me to it, at least we have the same idea!)

[Jim Jones]

If you prefer permanent lines, they can be scribed into the ground side of the glass with anything with a hard sharp point. These lines will appear slightly brighter than the surrounding image. When scribing them, I tape the GG to a sheet of paper with an appropriate grid, and guide the scriber with a ruler. Using this technique on a plastic ground glass might be messier.

[tenderobject]

thank you guys! i'll try pencil first. i'll put the lines on the ground side (matte). so i need to disable the glass from the back.

[domaz]

Err careful you are scribing the actual ground glass and not the fresnel on a Speed Graphic. It's easy to scratch the fresnel.

[Jim Jones]

Err careful you are scribing the actual ground glass and not the fresnel on a Speed Graphic. It's easy to scratch the fresnel.

Thanks, good reminder if the SG has a fresnel. Older ones often don't.

[tenderobject]

thanks domaz. the fresnel is separated with the ground glass so i think i'm ok with that.

Err careful you are scribing the actual ground glass and not the fresnel on a Speed Graphic. It's easy to scratch the fresnel.

[C. D. Keth]

When I reground my groundglass finer, I added grid lines with a fine pencil. I found those lines all but disappeared when I was under the dark cloth. I came home today, washed them off, and redrew a grid with a .25mm technical drafting pen. Much better. Fine lines yet easily seen.

[tenderobject]

ohh that would nice. will try it then.

When I reground my groundglass finer, I added grid lines with a fine pencil. I found those lines all but disappeared when I was under the dark cloth. I came home today, washed them off, and redrew a grid with a .25mm technical drafting pen. Much better. Fine lines yet easily seen.