Clumsy oaf...

[peripatetic]

Well I was out and about yesterday, visiting the Rodchenko exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. [Recommended] In the bathroom I leaned down to wash my hands and my ZI slipped off my shoulder and landed in the basin while I was washing my hands. It didn't really fall more than an inch or two but landed in with a bit of a clatter. No external damage and seemed no worse for a splash of water, but when I looked through the viewfinder my heart leapt - the rangefinder is now mis-aligned at infinity. It doesn't seem very far out of alignment but I certainly wouldn't be expecting to get sharp shots at f2 with it as it is.

I found this link from elsewhere on the forum...

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/forum/messages/2/9240.html?1197654241

But one thing it doesn't say is how to remove the shoe. It seems to be on fairly tight and I didn't want to have a real go at it with a screwdriver to lever it off in case I break something.

So for the moment I'm stopped down and using the DOF scale.

*slaps head repeatedly with palm*

If there is a shop in London that you would recommend I'd be happy to take it in for adjustment if they could do it on the spot. My timing is bad (of course) because I am flying off on holiday on Friday evening for 3 weeks and was hoping to use my lovely new camera a bit. I shall be packing my Canon 5D too, so it's not a crisis but I am feeling a bit down-in-the-dumps about this.

Otherwise any suggestions about fixing it myself will be happily entertained, but on balance my general preference is for this sort of thing to be done by an experienced hand.

Of course I could sent it to Germany for re-adjustment, but then I would be without it for a couple of weeks at least I'd imagine.

Advice appreciated.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Try a quick email to Robert White, and plan for a half day there and back.

 

[zuikologist]

I agree with Jon.

 

[peripatetic]

Well I sent an email to Robert White and got no reply.

I also sent one to Sendean cameras in Soho, and they replied, so I've dropped it off there and have my fingers crossed that they will do a good job.

Update:

Well they managed to turn it around for me within a day. Was quite a lot of work apparently, it wasn't just a minor adjustment to the alignment required; I had managed to actually bend something inside. It really didn't seem like I banged it that hard. Oh well there is a lot of randomness in these things. All is now well and it is nicely aligned at infinity again.

Definitely time to invest in a leather case to prevent this sort of thing happening again.

The only thing hurting is my wallet. £100 later... Still I would give Sendean a qualified recommendation off the back of this. Excellent service, very friendly, very professional. Not cheap.