Can lenses affect the rangefinder??

[Oscar Rubio]

HI, i have a recent purchased Bessa R with an Industar 61, the rangefinder doesn´t focuss to infinity at all and the vertical is missalligned too. Is a camera problem or lenses can afect?? the industar is not in very well shape i have never use it. the seller tells me that the camera was ok... bu i know the allignement problem with the Bessa R.

 

[funkaoshi]

It's probably the lens. I think the Russian bodies that these lenses were supposed to fit on have the film plane further back (or forward) than typical Leica mount bodies. You should just scale focus.

 

[Oscar Rubio]

i thought that that only happens with the 35mm jupiter12!!!
how i scale focus???

 

[oscroft]

The lens can't affect the rangefinder vertical alignment - if that's out I can't see how the fault can be anywhere but with the camera.

Also, while it's true that Russian lenses were adjusted slightly differently from the Leica standard (which is what the Bessa uses), it will be unnoticeable most of the time - you should only really see it when focused close up and with wider apertures - and it will show as the resulting photograph being blurred rather than anything in the rangefinder.

What exactly is the symptom of it not focusing to infinity - is it that the rangefinder split image won't line up, or that the results look blurred when you get them developed?

 

[Oscar Rubio]

hi Alan, i have not develop a roll yet because i have since today, i fired a roll this afternoon and i hope to develop it tomorrow or past. as i supposed it maybe is a rangefinder allignement problem...

 

[oscroft]

hi Alan, i have not develop a roll yet because i have since today, i fired a roll this afternoon and i hope to develop it tomorrow or past. as i supposed it maybe is a rangefinder allignement problem.

Ah, OK, so the problem you saw was that it wouldn't align at infinity in the rangefinder. That could be either the lens or the body - you would really need to try another lens on it be sure (but if you have a problem with vertical alignment too, then I think that has to be a fault with the body).

 

[bmattock]

HI, i have a recent purchased Bessa R with an Industar 61, the rangefinder doesn´t focuss to infinity at all and the vertical is missalligned too. Is a camera problem or lenses can afect?? the industar is not in very well shape i have never use it. the seller tells me that the camera was ok... bu i know the allignement problem with the Bessa R.

The Industar 61 is designed for the Russian copies of Leica cameras and have the same depth-of-focus distance as all Leica LTM (screw mount) clone cameras. The advice to the contrary is incorrect.

There was a Russian M39 SLR camera that was not a rangefinder and did not have the same depth-of-focus distance as an LTM camera, but lenses for that camera should also not have a rangefinder 'collar' that moves in an out to make the rangefinder patch move as you adjust the focus.

Does the rangefinder patch move at all when you adjust focus?

If it moves, but does not go to 'infinity' then I would suggest that either your lens has been taken apart and put back together incorrectly, or your rangefinder is out of whack in your camera.

Since your vertical alignment is out of whack as well, that makes me suspect the camera and not the lens. However, both could be at fault, so it may not be just one thing.

Under the KISS principle, however, I'd start with the camera. Get it adjusted properly with a known-good lens.

Your camera and lens SHOULD work together properly. In fact, that's a rather nice-sounding combination.

 

[Oscar Rubio]

yes, i suppoust that the solution is to test it with another lens and if it not works well try to allign the rangefinder manually...
I move The rangefinder patch when i focuss but sometimes it dissapears, and to infinity is full missalligned!

 

[bmattock]

yes, i suppoust that the solution is to test it with another lens and if it not works well try to allign the rangefinder manually...
I move The rangefinder patch when i focuss but sometimes it dissapears, and to infinity is full missalligned!

If it were not also vertically misaligned (as you stated), then I would suspect that the lens had been disassembled and put back together incorrectly. That's fairly easy to do, I've done it myself.

However, even a lens assembled incorrectly should not affect the VERTICAL alignment. If that is also off, then I believe the camera is the culprit and not the lens.

Since you just got the camera and lens combination and have never seen them work correctly, we can't be sure which is the problem.

I think checking with a known-good lens if you can find one to borrow for a moment from someone else would be a good first step.

 

[Oscar Rubio]

ok thanks! i will test it with a new lens, and if it doesn´t works, i will send it to alling!!!
is dificult to alling by myself???

 

[bmattock]

ok thanks! i will test it with a new lens, and if it doesn´t works, i will send it to alling!!!
is dificult to alling by myself???

I have never tried to align my Bessa R, so I do not know how difficult it is. I have aligned other (fixed lens) rangefinders and it generally wasn't too difficult once I figured out where the adjustments were.

 

[januaryman]

As has already been said, if the alignment is off vertically and horizontally, the problem is almost certainly with the Bessa. I have a Canon P with that problem. DAG will do it for about 40-50 bucks, I understand. I'm going for an entire CLA and sending the Canon off to Mark Hama.

 

[lZr]

Oscar, look for a good Philps screwdriver, one that you will keep safe forever. Alignment for Bessa R is simple with good screwdriver.
Good luck