Take Beautiful Pictures with a 4x5 Ground Glass Focusing Screen
Anyone who's even slightly interested in photography can tell you that this art is a lot more complicated than just pointing a camera at something and pressing a button. One of the many accessories that can help take your pictures to the next level is a focusing screen, but not just any focusing screen will do. Find an inexpensive 4x5 ground glass focusing screen on eBay to help your camera take the perfect shots.
What does a ground glass focusing screen do?Simply put, a ground glass focusing screen is a small sheet of glass, in this case, 4 inches by 5 inches, with one side of the glass being roughed to make it slightly translucent. This diffuses the light as it passes through the glass into the camera, allowing the photographer to preview the image they will take upside down and adjust the lens more precisely. The fact that images are projected upside down is a psychological trick used in many art endeavors, essentially forcing the artist to see their subject as something not recognizable to better observe the individual details as opposed to the less detailed whole.
How do you use a ground glass focusing screen?To use a focus screen, a photographer installs it into the back of a camera inside a rig, at which point the image seen in the glass will be what is seen by the camera's lens upside down. Given the sensitive nature of the ground glass focusing screen, it is often necessary for the photographer to place a dark cloth over the screen and their head as they work. From there, they can adjust the camera's focus manually by changing position and opening or closing the aperture to better frame their image and tweak the composition before finally taking the picture. Despite what you may see in the focusing screen, the finished image will not appear upside down.
What kind of cameras can use ground glass focusing screens?There are a few types of cameras that can make use of 4x5 ground glass focusing screens. Many new and vintage options are available on eBay. They can include:
- System cameras - A system camera is a camera that has interchangeable parts for building upon a static "system" for taking pictures. One such part would be a focusing screen.
- Motion picture cameras - Not just limited to still images, motion picture cameras can also make use of focusing screens for composing shots before things go into motion.