Bessa R: RF Adjustment?

[mike goldberg]

Hi... What is involved in alignment of the R's range finder mechanism?
Is this something that someone handy with tools can learn to do
by himself? I have a line into a used Bessa R... a fairly decent deal,
but the RF needs alignment.
Thanks, mike

 

[Spyderman]

Not difficult at all.

You'll need to remove the hot shoe, and through some holes in the top cover you can adjust the rangefinder.

You'll need a set of precision screwdrivers - philips as well as flat, and a toothpick to pick the hot-shoe cover (inside the hot shoe).

When you buy the camera, let me know, and I'll try to describe the procedure more clearly and more detailed.

 

[rxmd]

Hi... What is involved in alignment of the R's range finder mechanism? Is this something that someone handy with tools can learn to do
by himself?

It's not difficult. Horizontal alignment can be a little fiddly, vertical alignment is very easy. Besides Ondřej's instructions there is a thread at photo.net (link) with information and pictures on the procedure.

 

[c.poulton]

Philipp

Thanks for the heads up with the link. Would you or Spyderman know if this applies for the R3a as well. After a recent flight with a heavy turbulance, my R3a got knocked around in the overhead locker and now the verticle alignment is a little off. :bang:

 

[mike goldberg]

Thanks guys; this is important info.

Some guys say their Bessa R RF's are generally OK...
And, others complain about the RF's, easily going off.

It's amazing; there seem to be more posts & correspondence
on the Bessa R, than on any other single CV product.
Most users really like them. For me, a good used R opens
a wide range of lens possibilities, WITHOUT expensive Adapters
Ciao, mike

 

[dcsang]

If you do a search here, there's a post, I believe in the R-D1 forum, with photos explaining exactly what you need to do to align the RF on any Bessa.

Remember.. search is your friend 🙂

Dave

 

[Spyderman]

Here is the thread at P.net:
http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001NhD

The procedure after you remove the hot-shoe is here:
http://www.textklick.demon.co.uk/r2align.html
This article also mentions that it is possible to adjust close focus separately (similar to FSU RF close focus adjustment...)

I would recommend not loosening the main screw. With some force you can move the black part even without loosening the screw. If you loosen it, and then try to retighten - you'll misadjust it again...