Rolleicord Focus Issues

[agour]

Hey!

I've been trying to restore a rolleicord art deco, on and off for a while now.

I finally got a mirror cut, and got around to trying to set the focus.

However, I can't focus the taking lens to infinity. If the camera is set to 3.5m, it is focused to infinity. When I change it to infinity setting, naturally it goes out of focus. This change moves the lens about 2mm. I doubt this distance should be shimmed, it seems far too great!

Any ideas on how I can reset the focus and get it working properly? I'm thinking there must be some adjustment in the mechanism, but I can't see it. Also when the lens is at infinity, surely the mechanism should be flush with the body?

Also, I've replace the shutter mechanism with one from a different camera. It IS the same shutter (copal 00), so the lenses just slot straight in. I've checked the mesurements, and they all seem to match perfectly. This *could* be the reason for the focus issues, but I don't think it is.

Thanks!

 

[agour]

The other issue, is that the frame counter doesn't work properly. It counts up, but its not aligned with the true frame sizes. I took the side panel off and saw some of the mechanism, but it's blocked by a metal disc which I cant seem to get off.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

I haven't had anything to do with the Art Deco Rolleicord (although I would certainly love to own one) so I cannot offer specific advice. Regarding the focus, if it is not going to be too time consuming, perhaps the fastest and easiest point to start at might be to temporarily re-install the original shutter and then re-check the focus. If the focus is then correct you have established that the replacement shutter from a different camera is in fact different dimensionally, and at least you then know what the issue is, and can move on to establishing whether or not you can adjust the error out with the new shutter installed.

If swapping shutters over is going to be a bear of a job, I suppose you could skip the above suggestion and move straight to trying to re-adjust the focus. Again I have zero experience with the Art Deco, however most Rollei TLRs adjust their infinity focus by the position of the knob relative to the infinity stop. Adjustment involves loosening the lock screw or nut, setting correct infinity and moving the position of the knob so that the markings agree with the setting. When done carefully and correctly this should ensure close focus is also correct but, obviously, focus must be carefully checked at both ends of the range as slight errors at infinity may translate into significant deviations at minimum focus distance.

Sorry I can't be more specific to your model, but I hope this general information gets you started in the right direction.
Regards
Brett

 

[agour]

I swapped the lenses back into the original shutter. Same problem!

I can't see a locknut or screw at all, perhaps I have to delve into the camera to get to it. I'll have a play around and see what happens!

 

[agour]

Also, the viewing lens and taking lens aren't at the same setting! The viewing lens is set to infinity, at the infinity setting! If I can get the taking lens to work first, Ill worry about the viewing one after

 

[agour]

I missed a spacer out when I was putting it back together, DOH! Problem seems to be solved now! (Although I still haven't fixed the film number mechanism)

 

[agour]

I was wrong about the counter too! I was reading the 6x9 numbers in the red window ._.

Anyway, everything is pretty much in order now! The only issue is that the taking lens is still VERY slightly off focus. Infinity is just before the marker, and I can't figure out how to change it.

I tried getting into the camera to adjust the knob, to no avail! I can deal with it I guess, if I hard stop at infinity I'll just need to close the aperture to allow for the errors. Ill shoot some film through it and see what happens!