----- Original Message ----- From: "Marc James Small" <msmall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 12:56 PM Subject: [rollei_list] Re: my first cord > At 10:24 PM 4/27/05 -0400, Aaron Reece wrote: > >>The finder in mine is quite dim. I improvised a fresnel >>overlay from a=20 >>credit-card-sized magnifier which improves brightness a >>great deal.=20 >>It's cheap and just lays flat on the ground glass - no >>installation=20 >>required. > > > Aaron > > Why not clean the viewing lens, resilver the mirror, and > clean the viewing > screen? That will take care of the problem for the next > thirty years. > > Marc > > msmall@xxxxxxxxxxxx=20 > Cha robh b=E0s fir gun ghr=E0s fir! > > NEW FAX NUMBER: +540-343-8505 Cleaning the lens is not difficult but requires some disassembly of the camera. Check with Todd about a replacement mirror, probably cheaper and better than trying to get the old one resilvered. Also see if you can find a Rolleigrid in good condition. The Rolleigrid is a plastic Fresnel lens that drops on top of the ground glass. I think they will fit on the Rolliecord III. It makes a surprizing amount of difference. The screen is no brighter at the center but the light from the corners is focused back to your eye instead of being scattered. The more uniform brightness makes the screen appear to be much brighter. I have these on all of my Rolleis except for the Old Standard which the Rolleigrid doesn't fit. The grooves in the desk magnifier are usually too coarse to make a good field lens plus the focal length may be wrong. If you want info on cleaning the lens ask me, it can make a major difference, not so much in brightness but in contrast. It doesn't take much schmutz in a lens to destroy the contrast. I am another fan of the Rolleicord. My first "real" camera was a Rolleicord IV. That one got stolen years ago but I have another and still use it. --- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx --- Rollei List - Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx - Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Online, searchable archives are available at //www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list