tomperson
Member
Hi all!!!
Less than a month ago I bought a Bessa R3A from B&H. The camera is lovely, but as many people has already experienced, it came with an off rangefinder patch (infinity focus and vertical position out of alignment). I'm so frustrated with having a brand new camera with the rf patch off. And it was bought in the US (B&H) but I live in south america, so it's a royal pain sending it back to get it fixed.
So, I investigated on this, and came accross Arran Salerno's instructions for rangefinder adjustment http://www.arransalerno.com/blog/2008/08/01/bessa-rangefinder-calibration/.
They are definitely the best out there.
I managed to get the cover off. I wouldn't have imagined the adjustment screws were so deep inside the body, though. The thing is, I wasn't able to fix the infinity focus (it's quite off), as the screw was so tight, and I'm worried about breaking something inside as i've read on many places that the whole mechanism should be handled delicately.
I have a couple of questions. Do you know which movement (clockwise, counterclockwise) moves the patch to the left or right? How much is it necessary to move the screw to actually see a difference? (1/4 of a turn, 1/8 of a turn, etc). What size screwdriver are you using to move the infinity focus screw? How "delicate" do I have to be? I mean, i haven't been able to move the patch so either I'm being too delicate, or the screw is too tight or something like that.
Any input will be highly appreciated.-
Thanks.
Less than a month ago I bought a Bessa R3A from B&H. The camera is lovely, but as many people has already experienced, it came with an off rangefinder patch (infinity focus and vertical position out of alignment). I'm so frustrated with having a brand new camera with the rf patch off. And it was bought in the US (B&H) but I live in south america, so it's a royal pain sending it back to get it fixed.
So, I investigated on this, and came accross Arran Salerno's instructions for rangefinder adjustment http://www.arransalerno.com/blog/2008/08/01/bessa-rangefinder-calibration/.
They are definitely the best out there.
I managed to get the cover off. I wouldn't have imagined the adjustment screws were so deep inside the body, though. The thing is, I wasn't able to fix the infinity focus (it's quite off), as the screw was so tight, and I'm worried about breaking something inside as i've read on many places that the whole mechanism should be handled delicately.
I have a couple of questions. Do you know which movement (clockwise, counterclockwise) moves the patch to the left or right? How much is it necessary to move the screw to actually see a difference? (1/4 of a turn, 1/8 of a turn, etc). What size screwdriver are you using to move the infinity focus screw? How "delicate" do I have to be? I mean, i haven't been able to move the patch so either I'm being too delicate, or the screw is too tight or something like that.
Any input will be highly appreciated.-
Thanks.
payasam
a.k.a. Mukul Dube
Useful. Thank you. You might try to remove the duplicate post, though, or ask a moderator to do that.
jock wallace
Newbie
this is my first post , though i have been browsing for a while.
my r3a rangefinder was off too, but i fixed it myself with the help of the link..thanks
colin
my r3a rangefinder was off too, but i fixed it myself with the help of the link..thanks
colin
payasam
a.k.a. Mukul Dube
Was the adjustment screw not easy to turn, Colin? They always have been in the cameras (no Bessa yet) I have used.
Welcome to RFF.
Welcome to RFF.
3.0
Member
I know this is an old thread but I just wanted to add my experience adjusting the R3M. I followed the above links instructions and I had a lot of trouble at a few points.
I initially wanted to do an adjustment because my vertical lines don't match perfectly, my R2A doesn't either so maybe it's normal, but I wanted to see what I could do anyway.
The largest screw that's to the right is for the vertical patch. Turning left moves the patch up, turning left moves it down. 1 full rotation moves the patch a small amount, but I could not make the vertical patch perfect. When the screw is tightened completely twisting to the right, the patch is still a bit off. Twisting to left moves it even more off.
The center screw is incredibly small and very hard to see, this screw is immensely sensitive. A 1/4 turn will move the patch quite a bit. Turning right moves the patch left, turning left moves the patch right. It took me quite a while to get it perfectly aligned to infinity.
I've never been able to find the 3rd screw on the left side, which apparently is for adjusting the sharpness of the patch. Maybe it's there maybe it's not, it's so far in I can't find it.
I initially wanted to do an adjustment because my vertical lines don't match perfectly, my R2A doesn't either so maybe it's normal, but I wanted to see what I could do anyway.
The largest screw that's to the right is for the vertical patch. Turning left moves the patch up, turning left moves it down. 1 full rotation moves the patch a small amount, but I could not make the vertical patch perfect. When the screw is tightened completely twisting to the right, the patch is still a bit off. Twisting to left moves it even more off.
The center screw is incredibly small and very hard to see, this screw is immensely sensitive. A 1/4 turn will move the patch quite a bit. Turning right moves the patch left, turning left moves the patch right. It took me quite a while to get it perfectly aligned to infinity.
I've never been able to find the 3rd screw on the left side, which apparently is for adjusting the sharpness of the patch. Maybe it's there maybe it's not, it's so far in I can't find it.