Galfredus
Newbie
Ah-ha! That makes sense. The wheel should still go round, right?
G
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Kiev 4 with a 135mm lens
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brachal
Refrigerated User
Yes. They are linked, but the wheel mechanism isn't strong enough to focus lenses mounted on the external bayonet.
wolves3012
Veteran
Since the other things have been answered...no the viewfinder should not be out of focus at pretty much any distance. It may have been dismantled and not put back together properly. Firstly, do you have "normal" eyesight (i.e. not wear glasses, or are trying it with them)? Second, don't be tempted to dismantle it yourself without instructions. The turret-finder isn't overly complex but there are a couple of pitfalls for the unwary! If you think it needs checking - ask for instructions!
Galfredus
Newbie
Thanks Wolves.
Yes, I have "Normal" eyesight....at least I do in my right eye (which is the one I use on the camera). Where might I find the instructions for dismantling and re-assembling the viewfinder?
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Yes, I have "Normal" eyesight....at least I do in my right eye (which is the one I use on the camera). Where might I find the instructions for dismantling and re-assembling the viewfinder?
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wolves3012
Veteran
Er...I'm not sure I've ever seen any, I did mine without. The two things to be very careful of are not to lose the tiny detent-ball, under the spring on the main body and to get the assembly of the prisms correct. There's an excellent diagram of the prism arrangement on Wikipedia if you look under "Schmidt-Pechan Prism" - yours will be upside-down compared to it, however. If you remove the eyepiece and cover the prisms will fall out, along with a spacer, so hold it so they don't and make a VERY careful note of exactly how it goes together. This could actually be the area where your problem lies, if they've been re-assembled incorrectly.
The other caution I'd give you if you do dismantle it is to wear clean cotton gloves. It's an absolute nightmare to get the optical components spotlessly clean and keep them that way during assembly! Beware too that the prisms appear to be coated and would not be too difficult to chip.
dll927
Well-known
To go back for a moment to that matter of how the turret finders are oriented: My understanding is that the ones that are oriented to the left were made for the LTM copies, since the right-oriented ones interfered with the shutter speed dial. In other words, the 'right-oriented' are for Kievs, the 'left-oriented' for Zorki et. al. Chances are that most people with one of the turret finders will use it on both types of camera, if they have them, so the whole subject may be nit-picking. The other solution, obviously, is separate finders for each focal length.
