Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
There have been more than a few instances of the amazing ZM finders having their etched framelines a little tilted. In the opinion of Zeiss, the finders work perfectly on ZM Ikon cameras but are not meant for Leicas which is why they are tilted. No.
So, I started with a ZM 25/28 viewfinder that had framelines listing about two degrees starboard giving the image in-camera an opposite two degree port list.
(For you non-mariners, that's a two degree right or clockwise tilt in the finder.
)
I took a very thin razor (from a double-edged safety razor for shaving) and slowly worked my way around the edge of the front cover glass. This is held in place with a dark gray adhesive that remains gummy. It's probably lamp-black impregnated rubber cement. Removed the cover glass, cleaned it and set it aside.
After I got that removed, I took the foot of the finder off (in my case I had a stripped and very difficult to remove screw that I had to etch with a scratch awl to be able to remove with a sharp screwdriver.) The screw towards the front of the finder is probably locked in with threadlocker or adhesive from the Zeiss factory so use a very sharp screwdriver.
Once the foot is off you'll see there is a grub screw in the mount underneath.
Remove the grub screw. Don't worry, everything in the finder should be in tight so there shouldn't be anything that falls out but take care anyway.
Remove the eyepiece and set it aside.
Next the optics module of the finder will slide out but it takes a gentle rap against something firm, non metal and not able to scratch the front element. It should slide out with some work.
Then we have this:
Looking at the rear of the optics module the element with etched framelines is simply held in place with a retaining ring that is, in turn, held fast with a dab of adhesive in the slot, top and bottom.
This can simply be scraped out, cleaned off and the rear element will easily slide off in its retaining ring.
Align the framelines according to the top of the finder. NOTE that the top and bottom of the etched framelines are not straight, they form a very slight hexagon as the top and bottom framelines are ever so slightly arranged in a peak and valley, respectively. This accounts for a very small amount of distortion and corrects for it in the viewer's eye.
Once that is lined up, a small dab of nail polish can be added to the slot to hold the rear element fast. I chose not to add any adhesive since the rear element retaining ring was snug and shouldn't drift.
After that, the finder can be reassembled. Optics in the shell. Screw in grub screw. Replace eyepiece.
Make sure everything is clean and dust free.
The front glass is coated on both sides and does not serve an optical purpose so don't worry about flipping it over. After it's clean it will slide out of the finder shell so I sealed mine up with a bit of nail polish on the edges and a tiny dab on each of the supporting corners.
Cleaned the polish off.
Replaced the foot on the finder and it's done.
Now if you're mechanically inclined, this is an easy job. If not, it can be an expensive experiment but luckily there's little to break or lose. Took me about 1.5 hours to disassemble, clean, and reassemble.
No more Zeiss saying that nothing is wrong with the finder and it is operator or camera error.
Thanks all,
Phil Forrest
So, I started with a ZM 25/28 viewfinder that had framelines listing about two degrees starboard giving the image in-camera an opposite two degree port list.
(For you non-mariners, that's a two degree right or clockwise tilt in the finder.
)I took a very thin razor (from a double-edged safety razor for shaving) and slowly worked my way around the edge of the front cover glass. This is held in place with a dark gray adhesive that remains gummy. It's probably lamp-black impregnated rubber cement. Removed the cover glass, cleaned it and set it aside.
After I got that removed, I took the foot of the finder off (in my case I had a stripped and very difficult to remove screw that I had to etch with a scratch awl to be able to remove with a sharp screwdriver.) The screw towards the front of the finder is probably locked in with threadlocker or adhesive from the Zeiss factory so use a very sharp screwdriver.
Once the foot is off you'll see there is a grub screw in the mount underneath.
Remove the grub screw. Don't worry, everything in the finder should be in tight so there shouldn't be anything that falls out but take care anyway.
Remove the eyepiece and set it aside.
Next the optics module of the finder will slide out but it takes a gentle rap against something firm, non metal and not able to scratch the front element. It should slide out with some work.
Then we have this:
Looking at the rear of the optics module the element with etched framelines is simply held in place with a retaining ring that is, in turn, held fast with a dab of adhesive in the slot, top and bottom.
This can simply be scraped out, cleaned off and the rear element will easily slide off in its retaining ring.
Align the framelines according to the top of the finder. NOTE that the top and bottom of the etched framelines are not straight, they form a very slight hexagon as the top and bottom framelines are ever so slightly arranged in a peak and valley, respectively. This accounts for a very small amount of distortion and corrects for it in the viewer's eye.
Once that is lined up, a small dab of nail polish can be added to the slot to hold the rear element fast. I chose not to add any adhesive since the rear element retaining ring was snug and shouldn't drift.
After that, the finder can be reassembled. Optics in the shell. Screw in grub screw. Replace eyepiece.
Make sure everything is clean and dust free.
The front glass is coated on both sides and does not serve an optical purpose so don't worry about flipping it over. After it's clean it will slide out of the finder shell so I sealed mine up with a bit of nail polish on the edges and a tiny dab on each of the supporting corners.
Cleaned the polish off.
Replaced the foot on the finder and it's done.
Now if you're mechanically inclined, this is an easy job. If not, it can be an expensive experiment but luckily there's little to break or lose. Took me about 1.5 hours to disassemble, clean, and reassemble.
No more Zeiss saying that nothing is wrong with the finder and it is operator or camera error.
Thanks all,
Phil Forrest
didjiman
Richard Man
Thank you! I shalle link it to my blog
kokoshawnuff
Alex
Pretty impressive. Too bad I sold my ZM finder and replaced with the $750 Leica one, this could have saved me some money.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
You're all welcome!
I was thinking of selling all my WA finders and going for the 21-28 Leica finder which I've heard is excellent but have never had a chance to peer through. I got spoiled by the absolutely stunning view through the Zeiss finders that I wasn't content to just live with the frameline tilt because Zeiss refused to repair it because there was nothing wrong with it in their view.
Phil Forrest
I was thinking of selling all my WA finders and going for the 21-28 Leica finder which I've heard is excellent but have never had a chance to peer through. I got spoiled by the absolutely stunning view through the Zeiss finders that I wasn't content to just live with the frameline tilt because Zeiss refused to repair it because there was nothing wrong with it in their view.
Phil Forrest
didjiman
Richard Man
In their "defense," they don't claim to not wanting to fix it, but just that it simply "cannot be a problem." I guess because of their exceedingly high QA or whatever (insert bad jokes here).
MikeHoughton
Newbie
It is really necessary for us to know some DIY repairs. AT least there is no need for us to spend money to hire someone for fixing some broken things.
Locksmith Mableton
Locksmith Mableton