Fuji GS645 rangefinder alignment fix?

[Justin Viiret]

Hi everyone,

(I've scoured the 'net for this one, can't find any documentation on how to do it!)

I've just got my Fuji GS645 rangefinder (that's the first of the GS series, the one with the folding bellows and 75/3.4 lens) back from repairs -- it had a broken shutter linkage, which a friend of mine was kind enough to fix for me.

It opens up and fires beautifully this time... except it's arrived with the rangefinder patch alignment out of whack in the other axis (i.e., not the axis that shifts when you focus). Does anyone know whether this is comparatively easy to adjust? Is there a screw somewhere I can tighten? 🙂

I'll give my friend a call tomorrow and post what he says, too, if there's nobody out there that's had to do this...

Many thanks,
Justin.

 

[Bobfrance]

Can't help I'm afraid, but I'd be interested to know how to do it - just in case.

I've recently bought a GS645 and I absolutely love it. Have fun with yours!

Bob.

 

[Meleica]

Justin

that camera is prone to many failures ( bellows, winding linkage, shutter linkage and alignment issues ). Much of it has to do with trying to close the camera w/o bringing the lens to infinity focus... If your plan is to use long term, I'd send it to Frank Marshman at CameraWiz - a respected repairman for these cameras. 1-800-471-8133

See my Fuji 645 page
http://antiquecameras.net/fuji645cameras.html


Good luck,
Dan

 

[Justin Viiret]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I reckon I'll have a go at it myself, having spoken to my repairer today to see how it works. He actually said he'd adjusted this before it left -- so it's likely the camera got a bit of a bump while in the mail from Adelaide to Sydney.

So, there is an adjustment screw for the GS645 that will let you change the RF's vertical alignment. It's under the top plate -- to get at it, you need to lift the rewind lever off, then unscrew the three screws holding the top plate on (one on the back, one on each side). Then lift the top plate off, and there's apparently an adjustment screw towards the front of the camera.

I'm going to finish my current roll of film and give it a go -- I'll try and take some photos and post them here for archiving. 🙂

 

[x-ray]

The lens on that camera is a superb piece of glass. I had one for a few years and loved everything but sending it to the shop every 6 months. Unfortunately the stories are true about reliability.

 

[Justin Viiret]

OK, so I did the deed and took the top plate off the Fuji GS645 tonight. It's straightforward enough. First, you need something to help you remove the screw holding the winding lever down (that's directly on the lever, *not* the shutter button -- I rather inelegantly taped it up with thick tape and used some pliers, but a rubber ring of the right size or something similar will do the trick and won't scratch the camera.

Then, take the three very small screws around the top plate out, and the whole top plate will just lift off. There's a pair of wires going to the flash hotshoe that you need to be careful with: just let it hang by them and be careful not to tug on them too hard. The lens should stay folded up while you remove the top plate, but you can open it up afterwards.

To adjust the rangefinder's vertical alignment, there's a large adjustment screw on the front of the camera, just next to the viewfinder window. All you need to do is try turning it a little (just a fraction, it's quite sensitive) and check the results through the viewfinder, holding the top plate out of the way. It's a little ridiculous, but it's not difficult.

Hope this is useful for someone in the future!

 

[sepiareverb]

Call Frank Marshman- number in Meleica's post.

 

[rich815]

Glad you got it sorted out. I saw one of those not long ago but upon reading on the reliability issues decided to forgo. After all how many Fuji RF cameras do I need? (I have the GW6900III and GA645 already!). The glass on that one is supposedly right up there with all the rest in the line. Post some images when you have time!

 

[skibeerr]

Today I repaired the alignment on my Fuji GS645.

The way it is described here is wrong!

The big screw next to the viewfinder window only holds the frameline/paralax window.

I did it the following way:

-Camera closed.

-remove the flat screw above the winding lever, best done with a rubber ball which you press on the flat screw. Remove the lever.

- remove the three screws (phillips) left right and rear middle.

-now the whole top slides upward, mind the hot shoe contacts

-put the camera on a tripod and open it. The top can rest cross wise next to the rangefinder mechanism.

-Facing the rear of the camera, on the top of the right hand side of the RF mechanism you see two holes.

The one on the lens side (front) is for the rangefinder calibration, the rear one controls the vertical alignment.

You can adjust the vertical alignment while looking thru the viewfinder and meanwhile turning the screw (flat)

-Assemble the top,

-Done!

 

[brainwood]

Skilbeerr

Thanks for posting the information . I have just followed your instructions and re adjusted the RF on my GS 645. I have just had it Cla'd but after returning it 5 times for various faults and finally having a working camera I didn't want to take it back yet again !. The last fault was an out of adjustment RF and they had told they had done it but it was about 20 cm out at 2 m. Your simple instructions now have the RF correctly corresponding to the lens scale.

I was surprised how easy it was to do

Thanks

Chris

 

[Dante_Stella]

Just a couple of quick notes on this -

1. You need to actually take the screwdriver out of the vertical adjustment screw and work the focusing to make sure that the vertical alignment is "settled." Any weight on that screw, including a small driver, will influence results. Vertical alignment also influences horizontal (as is the case with pretty much all RFs).

Horizontal adjustment is quite sensitive. Don't be fooled by the Philips-type head - this takes a blade screwdriver.

Dante