Has anybody adjusted the RF on the ZI themselves?

mfogiel

mfogiel

Veteran
Local time
5:18 AM
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
4,671
Location
Monaco
View My Gallery
I am in the middle of the RF adjustment crusade: after technician's intervention almost all my bodies are misfocusing 🙁...

I have found a shot of how to adjust the ZI rangefinder, but I cannot find a way how to remove the hotshoe first. Has anybody got a tip?
Thanks
Marek
 
wizofz2k
Great piece of work! I have 2 questions:
- have you discovered how to adjust the vertical alignment?
- why do you have to go back and forth from 1m to infinity while adjusting? I adjusted the Bessa R3A simply by placing a Nikon focusing screen at the film plane, focusing carefully on a vertical thin line target at 1 meter, and then adjusting the RF screw, so that the RF coincided exactly - when I subsequently checked the infinity alignment it was perfect...
 
mfogiel said:
wizofz2k
Great piece of work! I have 2 questions:
- have you discovered how to adjust the vertical alignment?
- why do you have to go back and forth from 1m to infinity while adjusting? I adjusted the Bessa R3A simply by placing a Nikon focusing screen at the film plane, focusing carefully on a vertical thin line target at 1 meter, and then adjusting the RF screw, so that the RF coincided exactly - when I subsequently checked the infinity alignment it was perfect...
Click to expand...


Thanks! Hopefully it'll be of use for someone as mad as I am! 🙂

1- No I have not. I haven't yet been able to take the whole top cover off. There is scant material on this online and I use the ZM a lot: don't have much time to have it sitting in a bench while I fiddle around... 😱 Same reason why I'm not sending it in to Zeiss: it'll take too long and I love this camera!
I do know if I jiggle the screw base instead of turning the screw, the frame will move diagonally. The frame on mine is almost perfect: checked it with a focus screen on the film plane pointed at a picture frame in the wall, with all the lenses I own. One thing I noticed: the frame covers slightly less than the real film area in all cases. Kinda like the SLR "90%" coverage. Good to give a little margin for cropping. Think of it as: "the outside edges of the frames define the actual image area in the film". The actual image is a bit larger than that but close enough for most purposes.

2- The adjust screw is only visible in my camera when the lens is focused to nearest distance. Otherwise it advances to the front of the camera and becomes impossible to reach through the small opening. This might be only my camera, haven't been able to check others. Don't know what the Bessa looks like but from photos I've seen, it's a considerably different adjust mechanism from the ZM.


Please everyone, be aware of my disclaimers: I don't want anyone not prepared or able to do this type of thing to start fiddling with their cameras thinking it's an easy-peasy. It ain't! Don't touch anything unless you're really willing to experiment and have the right gear and work area to do it!
And please, please, please: if it's under warranty, send it in! It's what the warranty is for, use it!

HTH
 
- have you discovered how to adjust the vertical alignment?
Click to expand...

If I may add to the description on
http://wizofoz2k.deviantart.com/journal/19384642/
There is a screw that can be seen by looking carefully through the triangular opening on image 12 ( not actually visible on that image). It has the same shape as the one for horizontal adjustment but is smaller. This is the one used for vertical adjustment.
Again, all the caution and the disclaimers emphasized by wizofz2k apply to the vertical adjustment.

Zoran
 
Good job everyone!! I asked the same question one year ago and at that time nobody could tell me how to do it...
 
wizofz2k and jjovin, top people. I will keep the procedure on file for when I need it. (I have adjusted my Mamiya 7 OK) The vertical adjustment on my ZM is slightly out - I can live with it. If the horizontal goes as well, I will adjust it. Cheers again.
 
Caution, Caution!!!

Caution, Caution!!!

I would just like to add that extreme caution should be exercised here. If you have done this thing successfully before or you are a fine Swiss watch repairman then proceed. Otherwise you are highly likely to end up with a much higher repair bill than you bargained for. Rangefinders are quite delicate and the right tools must be used for a successful end result.
Zoran
 
jjovin said:
If I may add to the description on
http://wizofoz2k.deviantart.com/journal/19384642/
There is a screw that can be seen by looking carefully through the triangular opening on image 12 ( not actually visible on that image). It has the same shape as the one for horizontal adjustment but is smaller. This is the one used for vertical adjustment.
Again, all the caution and the disclaimers emphasized by wizofz2k apply to the vertical adjustment.

Zoran
Click to expand...

Thanks, Zoran! Yes, I saw that screw as well. Not knowing what it was for, I wasn't willing to start touching it. In mine, the vertical adjust had a Philips (cross) head, while the big one for framing is the traditional slot head.

For the folks who are thinking of trying this camera: do!

It's got an amazing viewfinder, much better than anything else I've ever seen. The eyepiece thread in the viewfinder is the same as the old Nikon manual cameras - FE, FM and I do believe the same as the Bessas: I use Bessa correction lenses for the ZM and also manual focus Nikons and they all work fine.

Meter is so-so with its weird pattern but I've learned to live with it. Or rather: mostly without... 🙄

Battery life is reasonable but do recall it's an all-electric camera: once the juice goes, all goes except the flash synch speed. I keep a replacement set with me all the time and go through one every 8 months or so. Like I said: I use this camera a lot! 😱

Frame range is perfect: 28-35-50-85. In practice I've found 90mm lenses fit nicely within the 85 frame due to the 90% (a-la slr) fill factor I mentioned before! Certainly my Minolta 90/4 (ex CLE) works perfectly and fills the 85 frame quite well. Dunno what would happen with a voigtlander 75 for example but someone might be able to fill-in that gap? Wild guess: I'd say outside the 50mm frame would be just perfect for that one.

Couldn't be more happy with it. It's opened the wide world of Leica mount lenses for me, at a reasonable entry point (got mine 2nd-hand) and with an excellent and flexible viewfinder to boot.

Now, off to find a well-priced Hexar body to pair with it... 😀
 
wizofz2k said:
Thanks, Zoran! Yes, I saw that screw as well. Not knowing what it was for, I wasn't willing to start touching it. In mine, the vertical adjust had a Philips (cross) head, while the big one for framing is the traditional slot head.
Click to expand...

Not the Philips head one. I believe the Philips head one attaches the circuit board to the main body. The vertical adjustment screw is deeper in and further to the left (through the triangular opening) and is also a slot head screw but smaller than the horizontal adjustment one. Like I said in my previous message, unless you can repair fine Swiss watches or are absolutely sure of your skills, you are better off sending the camera to Zeiss for repair.
 
jjovin said:
Like I said in my previous message, unless you can repair fine Swiss watches or are absolutely sure of your skills, you are better off sending the camera to Zeiss for repair.
Click to expand...

Out of interest. I have removed the flash hot shoe without issue, and can see the vertical adjustment screw easily. I don't have a screw driver to fit but will pop out today and buy one. Obviously applying too much downward pressure on the screw head would be dim, as would not noting where it was to start with so that worst comes to worst you can just leave it as it was. Now I can't repair fine swiss watches, but have no problems with motorbikes and cars..

Is there something I don't know about that can wreak havoc in the assembly or should just being careful be fine? Sorry if this sounds sarcastic, it's not meant to be, but there is a lot of warnings in this thread for what appears to be the turning of a screw.

Thanks in advance,

Ted.
 
i had 3 canon p bodies that required the occasional tweek, my advice is when turning the screw turn in in verrrrrrrrrrrry tiny increments and keep checking the adjustment with a lens. i was lucky and found a screwdriver that was perfect for the job.
 
Last edited:
tedwin said:
Is there something I don't know about that can wreak havoc in the assembly or should just being careful be fine? Sorry if this sounds sarcastic, it's not meant to be, but there is a lot of warnings in this thread for what appears to be the turning of a screw.

Thanks in advance,

Ted.
Click to expand...

The screw is in a position that is hard to fit a screw driver on its head perfectly. The mechanism appears to be very delicate (like a Swiss watch (or Japanese if you prefer)) and all the warnings are meant to emphasize that a wrong amount of pressure would very likely damage the mechanism. You may notice that a tiny amount of pressure on that screw will move the frame lines up and down since the whole assembly seems to move.
 
The flat head screw on the left, through the triangular opening alters the infinity focus. I don't have a screw driver to fit the small cross headed screw (didn't think to buy one..) but assume that its probably the vertical alignment... wizofz2k I will give it a go, can I just confirm that it was the black cross headed screw located towards the back of the camera body that altered your vertical alignment?

Ted.
 
tedwin said:
The flat head screw on the left, through the triangular opening alters the infinity focus. I don't have a screw driver to fit the small cross headed screw (didn't think to buy one..) but assume that its probably the vertical alignment... wizofz2k I will give it a go, can I just confirm that it was the black cross headed screw located towards the back of the camera body that altered your vertical alignment?
Click to expand...


See? This is why I keep saying: stay away from these adjustments if you are not at all sure what you doing.😡

I never said I altered the vertical alignment. Please read what I and Zoran said, carefully and paying attention. It's written very clearly what each adjustment does and how, but you got to read it and understand.

Sorry if this sounds terse but I don't want anyone doing this lightly and then claiming they didn't understand when things go wrong.
This is NOT a course in camera repairs. It is only for folks who have an engineering background and have done this sort of work before, on something harmless.
 
Last edited:
i am only going to do mine when it really needs it. With the Mamiya 7 screws, the advice was a very small tweak has an efect on the alignment. It turned out (excuse the pun) that I turned the Mamiya 7 adjustment screw by ~1/16th of a turn or less (i.e 22.5 degrees or less) and that was enough. Go carefully folks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom