Mamiya C330s focusing screen

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Jimmy Martin - 21 Dec 2005 16:40 GMT

I will get a 55mm lens for the C330s and wanted to know if I need the
special wide angle focusing screen for it. And if I do, what does this
screen do differently than the standard screen?

Jimbo

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R.W. Behan - 21 Dec 2005 16:51 GMT

Jimbo--
I used a 55mm lens on a C330 for years and never changed screens. (Have
since sold the outfit.) I didn't even know there WAS a special screen.
Try the lens with the normal screen first, anyway, before you buy a special
one.

Dick (RB67 driver now)

>I will get a 55mm lens for the C330s and wanted to know if I need the
>special wide angle focusing screen for it. And if I do, what does this
>screen do differently than the standard screen?
>
> Jimbo

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Peter Chant - 22 Dec 2005 01:31 GMT

> Jimbo--
> I used a 55mm lens on a C330 for years and never changed screens. (Have
> since sold the outfit.) I didn't even know there WAS a special screen.
> Try the lens with the normal screen first, anyway, before you buy a
> special one.

I wonder, is it something to do with the paralax / exposure compensation
scale on the left hand side of the screen?

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R.W. Behan - 22 Dec 2005 02:25 GMT

>> Jimbo--
>> I used a 55mm lens on a C330 for years and never changed screens. (Have
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> I wonder, is it something to do with the paralax / exposure compensation
> scale on the left hand side of the screen?

Peter, could be. I sold my 330 about 5 years ago, and don't recall. I do
remember, I think, a small arm or lever that stuck into the side of the
viewing area at varying distances from the bottom of the screen, according
to the focal length of the lens in use. It would rise and fall with the
focusing mechanism, and if you placed anything in the image below that line,
it would not show up on the negative. No, I don't recall ANY difficulty
using the normal focussing screen with the 55mm lens--or any of the others,
for that matter.

Best,

Dick

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Martin Jangowski - 22 Dec 2005 07:54 GMT

>> Jimbo--
>> I used a 55mm lens on a C330 for years and never changed screens. (Have
>> since sold the outfit.) I didn't even know there WAS a special screen.
>> Try the lens with the normal screen first, anyway, before you buy a
>> special one.

> I wonder, is it something to do with the paralax / exposure compensation
> scale on the left hand side of the screen?

Yep. The differences between a normal screen and the WA screen for the
Mamiya C cameras are the markings for parallax and exposure
compensation. I have this screen and have yet to use it... I guess I
will need it when the normal screen wears out ;-)

Martin

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Peter Chant - 22 Dec 2005 08:39 GMT

> Yep. The differences between a normal screen and the WA screen for the
> Mamiya C cameras are the markings for parallax and exposure
> compensation. I have this screen and have yet to use it... I guess I
> will need it when the normal screen wears out ;-)

Apparently if you are careful and only use gentle eye movements when looking
at them they last a lot longer...

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Vincent Becker - 22 Dec 2005 08:51 GMT

Jimmy Martin a écrit :

> I will get a 55mm lens for the C330s and wanted to know if I need the
> special wide angle focusing screen for it. And if I do, what does this
> screen do differently than the standard screen?

As said below, the wide angle screen changes only the parallax marks. It
is indeed not a replacement screen, but an addition that goes on top of
the standard screen. It is a clear screen with only the parralax marks
painted on it.

I nevertheless highly recommend changing the C330 screen. The Mamiya one
is very dim and you will have strong vignetting in the viewfinder with
the 55mm (but not on the shot, the 55 is a delight). I bought a Beattie
Intenscreen from B&H (about $150) with a split-image rangefinder and it
is really night and day compared tio the Mamiya screen. I measured a
gain of 2.5 stops (that is 6 to 7 times more light) in the viewfinder's
brightness, making it much more comfortable to use and focus,
particularly in low light.

Regards,

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Jimmy Martin - 22 Dec 2005 16:41 GMT

> Jimmy Martin a écrit :
>> I will get a 55mm lens for the C330s and wanted to know if I need the
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> Regards,

> As said below, the wide angle screen changes only the parallax marks. It
> is indeed not a replacement screen, but an addition that goes on top of
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Regards,

Thanks for the info. I thought the original C330 screen was very dim but the
Beattie screens were high price. I would have already bought a Beattie if I
knew it really brightened up the viewfinder. Now though it seems to do just
what I was hoping. A +2.5 stops would be worth the $150. The C330 is really
going to be fun to shoot with now.

Jimbo

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Vincent Becker - 22 Dec 2005 18:55 GMT

> Thanks for the info. I thought the original C330 screen was very dim but the
> Beattie screens were high price. I would have already bought a Beattie if I
> knew it really brightened up the viewfinder.

Well, I took the chance ;-) It is really, really worth it. I've heard
very good coments on Maxwell screens too, but from overseas (France) the
Beattie seemed more convenient to buy.

> The C330 is really
> going to be fun to shoot with now.

It is indeed much more fun with a bright screen!

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Peter Chant - 22 Dec 2005 19:50 GMT

> is really night and day compared tio the Mamiya screen. I measured a
> gain of 2.5 stops (that is 6 to 7 times more light) in the viewfinder's
> brightness, making it much more comfortable to use and focus,
> particularly in low light.

Lack of practice and skill here. How are you using your C330 in anything
approaching low light? I usually don't have a tripod and I note that
compared to 35mm the slightest hint of a wide aperture lends to very
shallow depth of field.

Is there something I'm missing?

Pete

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Vincent Becker - 22 Dec 2005 22:29 GMT

> Lack of practice and skill here. How are you using your C330 in anything
> approaching low light?

first, with another screen ;-) And usually with a monopod, or simply put
on anything stable (a wall, a chair...) Or with high-speed film (400
ISO, or more). I shot my niece when she was bon with 3600 ISO Ilford and
the f/2,8 80mm with nothing else than a very dim hospital light. The
shots are very pleasant. The DOF problem remains though, but you adapt
your picture to it.

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Peter Chant - 22 Dec 2005 23:18 GMT

>> Lack of practice and skill here. How are you using your C330 in anything
>> approaching low light?
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> shots are very pleasant. The DOF problem remains though, but you adapt
> your picture to it.

Interesting. Its not that I don't appreciate how DOF works, but I never
seem to harness that knowledge. In 35mm I always have to much and in 6x6 I
always seem to be on the edge of not enough!

Hmm, in your above example would 35mm with a faster lens have allowed for a
slower film to be used? Perhaps I ought to try something like Delta 3200
and see what I get.

Pete

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Vincent Becker - 23 Dec 2005 02:10 GMT

> Interesting. Its not that I don't appreciate how DOF works, but I never
> seem to harness that knowledge. In 35mm I always have to much and in 6x6 I
> always seem to be on the edge of not enough!

I just love shallow DOF :-)

> Hmm, in your above example would 35mm with a faster lens have allowed for a
> slower film to be used?

I could have used my 35mm with a 1600 ISO film and a f/2 lens, that
would have been equivalent, but the grain would have been much more
visible. The interst of the MF setting is to allow the use of very fast
film with about as much grain as a 400 ISO in 35mm.

> Perhaps I ought to try something like Delta 3200
> and see what I get.

A little tricky to develop (don't hesitate to develop it longer thant
said on the box) but interesting in certain special situatinos where
flash is forbidden. In a newborn hospital room for example.

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