Help re r/f alignment

[mc_vancouver]

I just rec'd a new R3M. It's nice, but with either my 35/1.7 or my 50/1.5 (both using the screw mount to M adapter) I find that infinity on the rangefinder is actually a slight turn back from infinity mark on lens. How serious is this, should I send it back, or is it something to do with tolerances on the screw to M mount adapter, which is tightly fitted to lens and camera and is a Voigtlander 50/75. Thanks.

 

[photogdave]

Where did you get it?
I know a gentleman who had the same problem with a camera ordered from CameraQuest and when he tried to explain the RF was unaligned he was pretty much yelled at and told that he didn't know a thing about rangefinders.
Said gentleman returned the camera for a refund.
If you bought it from Leo's they will return it to the Canadian supplier and have it either fixed or replaced.

 

[SalmanA]

I just rec'd a new R3M. It's nice, but with either my 35/1.7 or my 50/1.5 (both using the screw mount to M adapter) I find that infinity on the rangefinder is actually a slight turn back from infinity mark on lens. How serious is this, should I send it back, or is it something to do with tolerances on the screw to M mount adapter, which is tightly fitted to lens and camera and is a Voigtlander 50/75. Thanks.

How far off in the distance are you focusing to test for infinity focus? This is mainly out of curiosity as I'd like see how my R2A behaves.

 

[dcsang]

I've fixed an out of whack alignment on an R3A in the past - it's pretty simple but you have to have steady hands and some patience.. if you search RFF you'll find a few articles ... one even has instructions and photos on how to do it yourself.

That being said; if you did just get the R3M.. i'd send it back if the RF is out of alingment.

Dave

 

[mc_vancouver]

Thanks fellas. First off, I only noticed it because I had aimed at the distant mountains, so distance definitely equals my definition of infinity. Secondly, how much off is it: I would say just the slightest turn back toward near focus will bring the images together in the r/f, so its not a big amount, but I'm going to see some results shortly, through a 20x loupe, and I"ll report back then. And no, I didn't get it from Stephen Gandy, although I cannot imagine him yelling at a buyer unless said buyer was being obnoxious or abusive: in all my dealings with CameraQuest, and several confusing orders in which I backtracked and changed my mind, he has been nothing but polite and understanding. Finally, to the "Crazy Canuck" who wrote above "...I've fixed an out of whack alignment on an R3A in the past - it's pretty simple but you have to have steady hands and some patience.. if you search RFF you'll find a few articles ... one even has instructions and photos on how to do it yourself..." I'm going to search for it, but if you have the instructions on hand or can deliver them or their URL to me I would certainly appreciate it. I bought the camera (sorry, Stephen) from Rich Pinto in New York, and he, too, was great to deal with, very prompt replies and excellent service. I'd hate to have to return the camera, because it means dealing two more times with Canada and US Customs, which means two more opportunities for them to **** around with the camera. Free trade indeed.

 

[clintock]

To me the hardest part is getting the toothpick under the shoe cover. The plastic toothpick in a swiss army knife works very well..
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18901&highlight=r3a+alignment

 

[mc_vancouver]

R3M alignment how to...sort of

R3M alignment how to...sort of

This Excel spreadsheet was just emailed to me by Rich Pinto of PhotoVillage. It's obviously written by a Japanese technician, and some of it, I have to say, is not quite as clearly described as I would like, but you'll get the idea. Even though the file extension is TXT you must open it in Excel to read it!

 

[jlw]

Another question: Who made your screw-to-M adapter? The only ones I've found that are consistently within spec are the old Leitz-branded ones (but beware of forgeries reading "LEICA" in all block capital letters!)

With third-party adapters, I've gotten some that are OK and quite a few that are off. All mine have been too thick, whereas it would have to be too thin to produce the effect you describe. Still, if you can borrow a Leitz-brand adapter or an M-mount lens, it might be worth checking this before you start in with the toothpicks.

 

[sebastel]

i just adjusted the RF (using as reference the RFF thread already mentioned) of my R-D1 (which should be almost the same as on the R3A) and i can tell, it is quite sensitive ...
so, i am not that astonished to see that unaligned RF patches seem to be almost common.

finally, i can tell that adjusting is acceptably easy once you find those screws (bolts?) to turn. do it softly and control often.

somehow the M6 rangefinder is more stable ... (honi soit qui mal y pense)
🙂
sebastian

 

[mc_vancouver]

Well, I took my heart in my hands, or whatever the expression is, anyway, I pulled off the flash/accessory shoe spring, which is what applies pressure to whatever you slide into the shoe, but not with scotch tape as the excel file suggests, because I couldn't get it to work that way, but by gently, gently prying it from the front (lens side) of the shoe, and then pulling it out.

Then I used a jeweller's Philips head screwdriver to undo the four tiny screws, being careful not to let any of them fall into the camera!

That allowed me to pull off the accessory shoe cover. Now, down in the hole on the right side is a larger grey screw and below that a very small and hard to reach silver screw. The silver one is what adjusts infinity for the rangefinder. I'm not saying it was easy: first, to reach the screw (tiny slot head); then, to make a minute adjustment one way or the other, and then look through the viewfinder, see if the image lined up at infinity, then back to the screw again, and so on. I got quite frustrated but finally have arrived at what I think is a pretty good alignment.

Putting the covers back on is very easy, just make sure you carefully press down the front spring clips before sliding the spring cover back in place.

One other thing about my Bessa R3M: the actual rectangle of the rangefinder is somewhat crooked, but I'm not going to get upset about it. If I'd wanted the perfection of a Leica, I would have bought a Leica...or, I would have, if I had the money, which I didn't. The R3M is a darn nice camera and I'm having fun with it.

 

[simon1973]

hi mc_vancouver,one question,does the little screw you have adjusted is for horizontal and the large screw on the right ( a little acclivitous) is for vertical?

 

[ferider]

Don't forget to apply lock-tite or nail polish. Once you touch those
screws they tend to drift over a few days ...

Roland.

 

[rxmd]

This Excel spreadsheet was just emailed to me by Rich Pinto of PhotoVillage. It's obviously written by a Japanese technician, and some of it, I have to say, is not quite as clearly described as I would like, but you'll get the idea.

As it is, the file looks pretty incomprehensible (and I have adjusted Bessa rangefinders already, even assuming that there have been changes along the line...) It looks like there either should be some graphics that got lost at some point, or the author uses a couple of strange symbols. (For example, I wouldn't know what screw to turn when he speaks of the ° adjustment screw.) Either way I wouldn't recommend this document as the sole source of information for a DIY repair attempt.

Philipp

 

[mc_vancouver]

I agree the excel file isn't great, but I managed to figure it out by trial and error. That said, if you have the choice of doing it yourself vs going to a shop and getting it done, I'd recommend the shop. But it can be done. When I adjusted my R3M I made a tiny scratch behind the top plate of the accessory/flash cover, which I guess wouldn't have been made if a trained tech had removed the cover!