Bessa R3M rangefinder adjustment - help

Jelico

Jelico

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I got a second hand Bessa R3M that is out of vertical alignment very little but enough to be annoying and as per all the instructions took the cover off, found 3 screws, the big one on the right and two small ones parallel with the back of the camera.

Problem is that according to all instructions found on the net the big screw is for adjusting vertical alignment, but screw on my camera can’t be moved clock wise (unless I break it), the other direction it goes two full rotations and is about to fall out. While I am rotating the screw nothing happens, the patch is not moving neither up or down ?? The middle screw is definitely for infinity focus ( I tried it) and the left one I can’t reach at all.

Does anybody knows what I am doing wrong….please help.
 
the net DIYS camera repairmen vary from very good amateur repair people to first timers who can barely identify a screwdriver.

some pro repairmen with no Bessa experience have damaged Bessas attempting to set RF alignment. In my opinion it is not a repair most camera owners should attempt. BTW, the alignment procedure varies from Bessa model to Bessa model, and many net instructions are wrong.

Stephen
 
CameraQuest said:
the net DIYS camera repairmen vary from very good amateur repair people to first timers who can barely identify a screwdriver.

some pro repairmen with no Bessa experience have damaged Bessas attempting to set RF alignment. In my opinion it is not a repair most camera owners should attempt. BTW, the alignment procedure varies from Bessa model to Bessa model, and many net instructions are wrong.

Stephen
Click to expand...

Stephen,
I do agree with you and if I am close to any professional repairman it would be easy, but I am in middle of Romania with the closest service in Germany where I was told that the camera should go to Japan. Of course I should carry all the expenses. Meaning it would cost me as much as buying a new one.
So…please if you can give me bit of guidance on how to solve the problem I would appreciate it very much. Thanks in advance.
 
Removing the top plate

Removing the top plate

Jelico said:
I got a second hand Bessa R3M that is out of vertical alignment very little but enough to be annoying and as per all the instructions took the cover off, found 3 screws, the big one on the right and two small ones parallel with the back of the camera.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I can't tell what's the problem. I can however confirm that you are trying to adjust the correct screw. I have done this myself. The one on the left-hand side (I haven't touched it) should be for rangefinder patch focus, the one in the middle is for horizontal adjustment at infinity, while the big one on the right-hand side is for vertical adjustment. I have done both the horizontal (at infinity) and vertical adjustment and was able to turn both scews both ways with very obvious results in the viewfinder.

I have a follow-up question:

It seems I need to adjust the horizontal alignment at close focus, it is slightly off. I have read that there is a fourth screw to do that and you need to remove the entire top plate to access it. (I've only removed the two parts of the hot shoe to access the three screws discussed above.) Did you remove the top plate? How is it done? I haven't seen any instructions for this step, and I'm somewhat hesitant to just start unscrewing things without knowing if there is something I could break. There are three screws on the back (one of them is above the viewfinder) and two on the front (close to lens mount). Do I simply remove all of them (perhaps not the viewfinder one) or is there something else? I need to finish my film, before I can check inside, perhaps there are some more screws.
 
Wallo thanks,
Do you remember how much did you rotate the big screw to get it vertically align ? Mine just makes circles and nothing happens.

I didn’t remove the top plate, that I don’t dare. But I do remember seeing somewhere on the net instructions of how its done. I guess it’s a bit complicated and you should be very careful. Unless you have a service close by I wouldn’t try to remove it.
 
Jelico said:
Do you remember how much did you rotate the big screw to get it vertically align ? Mine just makes circles and nothing happens.
Click to expand...
On my camera, the vertical misalignment was perhaps about 10% of the patch height -- usable enough to focus on a brick wall but otherwise very annoying. It required a very small adjustment on the screw, I would say certainly less than 45 degrees. I'm afraid something has come loose or broken in your camera, if you can turn it more than a full revolution and nothing happens.

Thanks for the links. Removing the top plate seems pretty complicated and time consuming. I need to think about it and see if I can live with the slight misalignment... Or perhaps I could get an older, broken unit to practise with.
 
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