Adjustment tool for Mamiya

[MP Guy]

I have seen a lot of Ebay auctions for a tool to adjust the focus on the M7. Since I just purchased an M7, shold I be concerend about the camera losing its ability tp focu properly? Or is this just some kind of scam on ebay. Your experience with this camera and any comments on the focus would be really appreciated.

JT

 

[jdos2]

Scam... Hmmm. Interesting. I guess it depends on your definition of that word.

My rangefinder went out on my 7 when I was in Lisbon. Bad news- it was the first time with the 150mm as well, a lens known to be sensitive to any variation.

I said to heck with it, bought a 4 Euro screwdriver set from Aki and had at my rangefinder.

It's very easy to adjust. That little plastic cap on the back of the body (and if you have a used one, it's probably got little notches from someone else doing the adjustment) covers the adjustment. There are two little flat tip screws. Pop the cap open, and pay the 3$ it'll cost for the right sized jewlers screwdriver. Use it on the RAISED screw (on the bottom/right) for infinity adjustment, as the farther recessed one does the vertical adjustment. Mamiya puts the procedure on their website, by the way, their recommendation is to NOT do it yourself but the reason for that is thin- you CAN hurt the rangefinder by twisting the vertical adjustment a half turn turn, but if you are that far off, your rangefinder is BROKEN.

If you make little adjustments, you'll eventually get the rangefinder exactly on. Takes 15 minutes, if things are off quite a bit (like mine was- and it didn't "become that way," by the way, I just put the 150mm lens on it and suddenly noticed that it would focus past infinity, then pu the 80 on and it did the same thing!). If you make adjustments larger than 16th of a turn of the screw, you are probably going way too far- it's sensitive! Turn the lens from infinity to close focus every time you do the adjustment.

Don't waste your money- buy more film. Take your time to do the adjustment if you even suspect that there's a problem. Use something far away- a km if you can, but after about 400m, it doesn't matter much. The adjustment doesn't require a tripod, though it might help, I did it completely hand-held and it still only took 15 minutes to get everything to just line up in both the vertical and horizontal planes of the rangefinder. After I did it, there was no doubt it was right at infinity.

 

[Steve Hamley]

Jorge,

I have a somewhat different experience. I noticed that my rangefinder images did not coincide at distances of 2-3 miles, so I focused on something really at infinity - the moon, at 238,000 miles. The rangefinder images did coincide for the moon.

Now I have a question - do I need to adjust the rangefinder or not? To answer the question, I put the 150mm lens on the camera, set up a subject with depth at 6 feet (the minimum focus for the 150mm), and shot wide open noting my focus point. I actually used my father who held up a stick next to his eye. After inspecting the developed transparencies, I determined that the focus was perfect.

My advice is to check the focus wide open at the shortest focus distance with a subject that has depth of detail. If it isn't a problem here, it will not be a problem anywhere else IMO.

Now, can you get the rangefinder out of adjustment. You bet! Dropping the camera is a good way, and I once took my Leica M6 on a 3,600 mile Harley ride. That did it too.

Thanks!

Steve

 

[fcg]

m7 rf adjustments

m7 rf adjustments

j;
i have no problems. with the m7 mamiya; and 3 lenses. that the rf is ajustable is a good sign- better then if it was glued in place.
now;
id heard that the m6 was less robust then the m3 in the rf adjustment-
but no problems have appeared.i did have rust on the excpement gear-but that was a camera which had many trips in snow and rain;and trunk;
in any event sherry k. fixed up my leica gear;and its well worth the cost .
the screwdrivers by wiha are the best i have used -they are german and very precise.
fcg

 

[vgoklani]

JD,

Can you post the link from Mamiya's website so I can download the instructions. Also, did you just do the calibration at infinity? How did you handle the closeup distances?

Thanks!

-V-

 

[jdos2]

http://www.macuserforums.com/webx?128@130.FVQqabQgdJM^13@.ee71cc5

That's the Mamiya Forum Site.

It's not as hard as all that, trust me.

There's NO "rate" adjustment- the cams are in the lenses, so if all your lenses line up at infinity, they will close focus, too, or that's been my experience.

If most of your lenses line up at infinity, but there's one that doesn't, the matter can be dealt with in hand, as it were, but that's something I've not tried.

My calibration was done strictly at infinity, using rooftop antennas a km away. 15 minutes, and it didn't go out for the rest of the time I owned the camera.

Oh! And I didn't use a thread locking compound. Devil to them if I can help it, the adjustment hadn't gone out for the previous year and some and the threads are obviously tight, so I didn't worry about it, and not wrongly so.

If your rangefinder needs adjustment, try to figure out why. Mine seemingly went out the instant I attached the 150mm lens when I was on vacation, the test roll with the 150mm at home never did anything to the rangefinder. From thoughts posted here and other places, the rangefinder on the 7 seems to drift a bit as a natural part of owning the camera.

 

[fcg]

well; i concur with no threadlockers-if there is adjustment to be made;then gluing the mechanism would seem to be a bad solution -
-can we conclude that within the factory specs there is the possibility of rf variables;
-and that possibly the rf can be gotten out of whack- by just that; a bang or whack;which we might not notice.if we are traveling; that can occur.
--if this mechanism is fragile wouldnt it occur more often.
imconcluding that - few of these situations seem to be reported; so its rare; or at least unusual & infrequent.
fcg

 

[konpikoulas]

I have removed the plastic cap at the back of the top plate of mam 7ii but I don't see any screws to adjust the rangefinder! Can you please help me? I am going on a trip for the weekend but the lens on my mam 7ii shows 3 meters when I focus at the end of the livingroom at 7 meters!

 

[jan normandale]

Joe

seems to me I remember reading something about the fact that there is a deliberate "play" in the focus of the 150 and that you can focus past the infinity position. Something to do with the ability to provide "insurance" for cameras lenses that are subject to expansion due to heat or the sun. You might want to check this before initiation of "corrective surgery"

Jan