How many have non-vertically aligned rangefinder?

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vsolanoy

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I was just curious, how many of you have rangefinders that are not vertically aligned.

I'm new to RF cameras and just got an R3A and the rangefinder isn't vertically aligned by a hair or two. It hasn't impacted any photos on my test roll that I can determine and is mostly annoying. Is this normal behavior for RF cameras? I played with a Leica M6TTL at a camera store a couple weeks ago and that rangefinder was not vertically aligned either...

Should I have the rangefinder aligned?

I'm not going to send it via mail -- I'm guessing the box got knocked around during shipping. I found a place in San Francisco (relatively local for me) that will do it for $60.

With that, anyone have any experience with Action Camera Repair in San Francisco? (http://www.camerarepair-sf.com) If I do get the rangefinder re-aligned, that's where I'm going to have it done...
 
If it hasn't really affected your accuracy, I see no reason to have it adjusted. Only if it is annoying you to such a degree that it is hampering your photography, would I take it in and have it adjusted. FWIW, I've received and shipped cameras without having the rangefinder misaligned as a consequence of shipping. Obviously if the carrier kicks it around like a football, that doesn't help ;-) But normal shipping should be fine. If you really want it done right, might I suggest sending DAG (Don Goldberg) an email asking what an adjustment will cost. He is one of the most highly respected Leica experts and is most responsive to emails. If he is not substantially more than the local camera shop, I'd send it to him just to be on the safe side. good luck
 
A vertical mis-alignment won't technically have an effect, as it's the horizontal that moves with focus.

But:

Mt R was very, very slightly out. It didn't bother me, until I used a Fed3 in which the RF was bang on. Then it bugged me.

So I got it sorted (today, actually).

On a recommendation from daveozzz I took it to Joe at JP in Edinburgh. Very cheerful chap (makes a change for a guy working with cameras in this town) who did it quick and cheap.
 
Do it!

Do it!

Victor,

I had the same small misalignment with my R3A. It caused me to miss focus when shooting wide open, since the Nokton 1,4 have really short DOF. Also, when it was dusk I found it very difficult to determine focus, and since that is when I open up the lens focus error was on every second picture. 🙁

You will find several threads here on how to do it, just search a bit. It's easy and the only risk you are taking in my mind is scarping some paint of the hot shoe.

Post again with questions if you decide to do it, we are many here to help you 🙂

Anders
 
I HATE MISALIGNED RANGEFINDERS!

I have corrected this on a Nikon SP, Nikon S2, a Canon 7, Canon IIf, and two Retina IIIS cameras plus a few others. Some are really miserable to correct, but I have been lucky so far.
 
Thank you all for your responses. Joe, I read about your Canon P, my condolences.

I read through some of the information on re-aligning the vertical on the R3A - I don't know if I'm comfortable yanking the hot-shoe off. I think I will have it done.

Anders, I am experiencing the same problems when focusing with the lens wide open - hit-or-miss focusing at f1.4, which is why I'm thinking of re-aligning the veritcal. Having the vertical mis-aligned makes it difficult in low light situations, which is where the problems come up - no problems with more than adequate lighting.

I will probably make a trip to San Francisco (I live in San Jose, California) to drop the camera off. I've read a couple of favorable reviews of this place, and given the art of repairing classic (or classic-type) cameras appears to be fading (there are no camera repair shops that I can locate in the Silicon Valley), I will at least check them out.

Thanks all!
 
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Good idea

Good idea

Ok, Victor that sounds like a good idea!

A LONG story, skip it but for the "point" if you want 😛 : When I first corrected the alignment I focused against a star. This tip I read somewhere, that infinity was a good idea to meassure against. It worked OK, but the next evening, after work, when I checked it didn't align again (!). I realigned it against a calendar on the wall, with so-so good results. Finally in the weekend, I put it on a tripod in bright daylight and focused on some plant leaves 5 meters away, adjusting alignment as i looked thru the finder. I also had the funny idea to shake the camera after each adjustment. Since then it has worked absolutely perfect.

The alignment seams to look OK in one moment, but the next day not. Except for errors in trying to do this in low light, I THINK (completely unproffesional) that the rangefinder might need a small bump or two just to really settle. The adjustment screw requires only a very small turn to make a visiable change in the finder.

The "point" to this LONG story is that it can be a good idea to have enough time during your visit in San Francisco to use the camera, and still have time to have the repairman recheck it. But then again a good repairman, that you seam to have, would do a better job than me to start with 😀
Anders
 
When I first started using my R3A I thought I had this problem, but my M3 had it too. Turns out it can appear this way if you are pointing down at something when focusing....
 
True

True

That's true. If the object you are focusing on is not flat facing the camera and parallell to the film plane, you will only have a very small corridor or spot of "focus" i.e if you focus on a football.
 
My local repairing technician told me that most/all RFs would have the chances in vertical mis-alignment. It always happens in old/antique RFs due to the changes of time and temperature. Usually it doesn't affect the accurcy of focusing.
 
A Zorki 4 I received this week is quite misaligned. I've only run one roll through it so far, so I'm not at all familiar/comfortable with the camera in general, but I'm thinking for now I'll just live with. Once I get used the camera, if it starts to bug me, I'll seek possible fixes later.
 
CVBLZ4 said:
A Zorki 4 I received this week is quite misaligned. I've only run one roll through it so far, so I'm not at all familiar/comfortable with the camera in general, but I'm thinking for now I'll just live with. Once I get used the camera, if it starts to bug me, I'll seek possible fixes later.
Click to expand...

Maybe this is a good idea -- the camera is new. Maybe things need to settle a little bit before I have the adjustment made.

unsharp, how long did you have the camera before re-aligning it?

Victor
 
first day

first day

It was misaligned when I received it. I bought it here at the RFF, and the seller did not have this problem. Therefore it was vibrated out of alignment during transport to me (by post truck/train thru Europe). As someone have pointed out, the screw is spring loaded, and this can cause vibrations to rotate the screw with help of the spring load upwards. At least in theory.

Anders
 
thmk said:
My R3A is also very slightly off vertically. But it does not really bother me. My M2 does the same.
Click to expand...
Sorry to necrothread, but my R3A also has some moderate vertical misalignment. Focusing on inanimate objects with straight lines or angles is easy, but focusing on things like faces is a little more challenging. Any idea who in the US is doing rangefinder realignments for Voigtlander rangefinders these days?
 
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