Bessa L - Should I be worried?

[EzraKilogram]

I've had the CV15 for quite some time with a CQ adapter for use on my R3A. I just recently acquired a Bessa L, my first LTM camera. When I first mounted the heliar, I noticed that it doesn't seem to screw in all the way. That is, the white dot is not perfectly at the "top". You can tell at a glance that it is very slightly off because of the petal hood, too. It's not much, maybe 2-3 degrees of rotation.

My question is, is this normal for LTM or should I investigate further? It seems fine, and the lens is definitely solidly engaged, but I haven't passed a roll through yet.

 

[Ducky]

The white dot on my CV 25mm is just past top-dead-center on my Bessa L. Since the lens is not coupled I assume it is OK. I'll be following the post.

 

[stupid leica]

Adam, don't worry- it's "just a bessa". Silly camera doesn't even have a finder 😛

 

[Leigh Youdale]

No Worries, Mate!

No Worries, Mate!

I'd noticed the same thing on a couple of my LTM CV lenses with M adaptors and being a natural fussy arse I also wondered. Being an engineer I like things to be PRECISE. Well, whatever. In the greater scheme of things it hasn't made a jot of difference to my images.

 

[EzraKilogram]

Adam, don't worry- it's "just a bessa". Silly camera doesn't even have a finder 😛

I'll just set it to hyperfocal and throw it at the subject.

 

[Rayt]

All of my lenses line up a few degrees off center on my Leitz LTM bodies. I don't mean to spread fairy tales if this is untrue but I understand this is so you can see the distance marker on the viewfinder.

 

[kossi008]

Don't worry. On my Bessa R, even different lenses align differently when screwed in, but so far, I have not seen any adverse effects on focus...

 

[Spyderman]

Different lenses tend to screw differently in different bodies. That's fact about LTM.

With most lenses it does not make any problems, but with the 15/4.5 it might because of the petal integrated hood.

Test for your self and if the hood indeed intrudes in the view of the lens, most CV lenses have mounts that can be screwed in 3 different positions. (There are 3 possible holes for each screw that holds the mount to the lens body on the back of the mount). On 15/4.5 the 2 lines closest to the focus index dot, which seem to be a part of the DOF scale, are in fact not a part of the DOF scale, but rather show how far the alternative positions for the screws are. If one of the lines is closer to the 12-o-clock position than the middle dot, then you might consider repositioning the mount.

BTW: Canon lenses mount with "top of the lens" off-center intentionally - so that you could see the scale through the viewfinder.

 

[rxmd]

Or you could just saw off the integrated hood with an angle grinder 😎

 

[biomed]

This matter pops up quite a bit. I noticed the same misalignment with my 15/4.5 and 50/2.5. The threaded lens mount is attached to the lens barrel with four small screws. For each screw there are three threaded holes in the lens barrel. It is a simple matter to remove the four screws and the threaded lens mount and remount it using the set of four holes on the lens barrel that will position lens correctly on the camera body. There is an illustrated step by step procedure on another RFF thread. I will see if I can find it.

 

[biomed]

This is not what I was lookingfor, but check here. I think the photo is from ferider.

 

[0bli0]

no need to worry - but it's easy to fix. if it's off a little, you can ignore it. if it's off a lot, you can see a bit of vignetting on the sides in opposite corners.

it's a great lens on the 'L - just watch those fingers and elbows!

 

[gho]

I would also say, don't worry too much about it. I do experience this slight "misalignment" also with different LTM lenses, bodys and adapters. There is no difference in the final image, at least for me. If you want to be sure, just make some test shots with the apperture wide open, but I guess you will have plenty of depth of field with that Heliar. Have fun!