Jupiter 8 focus ring misaligned?

[texasme]

Hi all. I caught the rangefinder bug thanks in no small part to lurking on this forum, and I've been enjoying a Fed 2 that I got from Fedka (pristine, BTW) for the past few weeks. The industar 26m wasn't doing much for me, so I purchased a black jupiter 8 online. It's apparently an export model (green markings, Made in USSR in english) and it looks like it's in great shape. Unfortunately, whether on the camera or off, the infinity mark on the ring stops just short (like a millimeter) of the red focus line.

Now as for the camera itself, whether with the industar or the jupiter, when I focus on a cloud or the moon the images in the rangefinder actually line up a little bit before the lens reaches infinity. Hopefully I'll be able to fix this issue by adjusting the rangefinder itself, now that I found a screwdriver small enough to fit the damned adjustment hole.

My question: what, if anything, do I do about the infinity mark issue on the J-8? Sorry if this question has been answered already but all of my searches turned up threads about shimming...

 

[Dez]

Couldn't be easier. Loosen the three set screws around the focusing ring, move it where you want it, and tighten them up again.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[texasme]

Perfect. Even got to break in my new 1mm screwdriver. Looking forward to adjusting the rangefinder once I can get a clear view of infinity and posting some pics.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Dez]

The moon's your best bet for setting infinity. You know how to set up vertical and horizontal alignment, right? The FED 2 has a wonderful RF, and if you get it spot on, you have an excellent shooter.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Ron (Netherlands)]

Hi all. I caught the rangefinder bug thanks in no small part to lurking on this forum, and I've been enjoying a Fed 2 that I got from Fedka (pristine, BTW) for the past few weeks. The industar 26m wasn't doing much for me, so I purchased a black jupiter 8 online. It's apparently an export model (green markings, Made in USSR in english) and it looks like it's in great shape. Unfortunately, whether on the camera or off, the infinity mark on the ring stops just short (like a millimeter) of the red focus line.

Now as for the camera itself, whether with the industar or the jupiter, when I focus on a cloud or the moon the images in the rangefinder actually line up a little bit before the lens reaches infinity. Hopefully I'll be able to fix this issue by adjusting the rangefinder itself, now that I found a screwdriver small enough to fit the damned adjustment hole.

My question: what, if anything, do I do about the infinity mark issue on the J-8? Sorry if this question has been answered already but all of my searches turned up threads about shimming...

which type do you have, from your description I would guess it is a later black one. If the distance scale doesn't line up as it should, then the lens most likely is put back in the wrong way after servicing and/or repair. This has nothing to do with shimming.
Normally you don't have to re-shim a Jupiter 8 unless you have a model from the very early years: late 1940's maybe early 1950's.
The black one and its comparable late type chromium one from the sixties, always focussed perfectly on all of my rangefinder camera's including the Leica M8.2.

Btw adjusting your rangefinder should only be done when you have a perfect lens mounted on your camera and not the one which distance scale doesn't line up as it should

 

[texasme]

Interesting. The misfocusing at infinity seems equal with both lenses, but when I try to calibrate the rangefinder I will use the industar that came with the camera. Now all I need is a clear night.

 

[texasme]

Well, I finally got a view to infinity, but when adjusting I found that infinity came at a slightly different point on the Jupiter 8 vs. the Industar 26m...I decided to use the Jupiter 8 since adjusting it at infinity also fixed the the close focus (which was also previously out of alignment on both lenses) almost entirely.

Now after all this, of course, I noticed some issues on the J-8 I hadn't before. It has what looks like a couple of oil spots inside the lens that I didn't notice before. Also, I think that my lens pen caused some very light surface scratching on the front element, which means I can't send it back. Frustrating, but I'll just have to put a test roll through and see how it turns out. Thanks again for the help.