Another m2 qn...

[trev2401]

sorry guys,

just got a lovely m2... looks good, works very well, in fact i've just fallen in love with it, (vs my m6)

however, this is bugging the heck out of me. The VF is clear and bright, having gone through a recent CLA, everything's spot on, and works well.

But can anyone tell me anything about this in the VF? (attached picture)
It's supposed to be common in late M2s (over 1 mil)...

I'm not a fan of returning purchases because of some itty bitty fault, and the seller's an awefully nice chap...But i hope someone here can shed some light onto the condition of the VF as shown in the pics.

thanks for your time!

 

[sweathog]

Not that I am an expert at all, but I would have a guess at that being sealant spreading.

Does it affect your use of the camera?
If not, I would keep using it.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Looks like separation in the finder to me! But its hard to tell for sure from the small photo. It it just as obvious looking from the front of the finder?

 

[MikeL]

Hi Trevor,
Is it visible from the front? A photo from the front might help us tell whether it's prism separation or something between the rear eyepiece. Are you in Berkeley?

 

[trev2401]

that's what i was worried about too, separation...
Hey mike, how's it goin... i'm still stuck in tokyo for the time being.. 🙁

and yeah, it doens't affect the use of the camera, finder's bright and chirpy... but this just bugs the crap out of me... sigh..

 

[ferider]

Hey Trevor,

I'm with Tom, looks like sealant or oil on the viewfinder piece. Should be a cheap fix, you could consider doing it yourself with the right clamp. Could be an opportunity to put in the more modern, larger (no rectangle) M6 eyepiece. Show the photo to Don or Youxin and see what say have to say.

Separation looks very different. You see it from the front ...

Best,

Roland.

 

[payasam]

If it doesn't bother you when your eye is to the finder, you might just leave it alone.

 

[bob338]

who did the CLA? if it's who i think it is, that would tell you exactly what happened...

bob

 

[normclarke]

Hi,
I'm afraid its the first stages of balsam separation. Both my M2 and M4 show this to some degree. But, and this is the reality, if you take care not to drop or jar it too much it will probably not deteriate. I have yet to see one that has got worse than your case but I have dropped an M2 and got the black field with just a small R/F patch. Peter at CRR can rework these and also Malcolm Taylor in the UK. I also believe that DAG can carry out this work.

Cheers,

normclarke.

 

[maddoc]

Looks like prism separation to me ... 🙁 Sorry to hear that ! To confirm, hold the camera with the eye-piece against a bright light source and watch through the small RF window (the left one). If you see a dark spot or area in this window, the prism are partly separated.

It can be repaired at CRR, though. The problem with the old glued prisms (M2 / M3 / very early M4) is that one hard bump can be sufficient to separate them completely ...

 

[BigSteveG]

separation in the finder. Costs a pretty penny to repair. If you didn't buy this super cheap (i.e. $1-200), you shoudl return it.

 

[trev2401]

Just wanted to say THANKS to everyone, for offering their kind words on my problem.
i'll continue to see what i can do/discuss with the seller, before either sending it back, or hopefully getting some kind of refund/service fee.
thanks to all once again