polo78
Newbie
Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum, and I hope this is the right place to ask. Also, since I'm not a native English speaker, I apologize if I fail to express myself properly.
A couple of weeks ago, while I was tidying up the attic, I found an old Voigtländer Vitoret R that hasn't been used for decades. I didn't know anything about rangefinders until I looked up the term in Wikipedia (please don't laugh), and then I decided to see if the camera was still functional. This is partly because vintage technology has always fascinated me, and because I thought that the absence of electronics would force me to learn more about exposure and lighting in general. Please notice that I'm a novice in photography: at the moment I'm just reading books and trying to take decent photos with my digital compact.
Anyway, back to the Vitoret. After a general cleaning and dust removal, I tried to focus some of the objects around the room and I realized that the RF wasn't working properly (it was impossible to get a 100% overlap in the viewfinder). So I opened the top case and gently pushed the rangefinder's sliding mirror to put it back into position, as it was slightly off axis. The RF then seemed to work properly until I closed the case, which got the mirror again into the wrong position.
Here comes the first question: how can I remove the top case completely so that I can work on the RF mirror more comfortably? Currently I can't remove it completely because the rewind knob's axle passes through it.
The second question: is it possible to detach the viewfinder so that I can clean its interior? I find it really difficult to see anything through it, as its optical elements are hazy and covered by dust and other thick particles.
Any advice? Thank you!
A couple of weeks ago, while I was tidying up the attic, I found an old Voigtländer Vitoret R that hasn't been used for decades. I didn't know anything about rangefinders until I looked up the term in Wikipedia (please don't laugh), and then I decided to see if the camera was still functional. This is partly because vintage technology has always fascinated me, and because I thought that the absence of electronics would force me to learn more about exposure and lighting in general. Please notice that I'm a novice in photography: at the moment I'm just reading books and trying to take decent photos with my digital compact.
Anyway, back to the Vitoret. After a general cleaning and dust removal, I tried to focus some of the objects around the room and I realized that the RF wasn't working properly (it was impossible to get a 100% overlap in the viewfinder). So I opened the top case and gently pushed the rangefinder's sliding mirror to put it back into position, as it was slightly off axis. The RF then seemed to work properly until I closed the case, which got the mirror again into the wrong position.
Here comes the first question: how can I remove the top case completely so that I can work on the RF mirror more comfortably? Currently I can't remove it completely because the rewind knob's axle passes through it.
The second question: is it possible to detach the viewfinder so that I can clean its interior? I find it really difficult to see anything through it, as its optical elements are hazy and covered by dust and other thick particles.
Any advice? Thank you!