M3 Problem-Rangefinder not working?

ornate_wrasse

ornate_wrasse

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I brought my M3 with my Nikkor 50 1.4 LTM lens with me to Washington DC specifically for low light photography at my nephew's wedding and other low light events (like meeting Ron Turcotte, Secretariat's jockey who rode the horse to a Triple Crown in 1973).

I first noticed the problem when taking wedding pictures in the church. Normally, when you look at the rangefinder patch, it changes from seeing a double image to the two images being completely aligned. Well, when I used the focusing tab, moving it all around the lens from one end to the other, what was inside the patch never changed and nothing appeared to be in alignment.

I bought the camera from the classified ads here on RFF and, although nothing was wrong with it, I had Youxin Ye do a CLA in December 2011. The camera has worked fine since then and I have taken (and developed and printed) numerous images that were perfectly focused.

What could be the reason why the patch did not appear to work properly and, most importantly, what should be done about it?

Thanks for your help!

Ellen
 
Take the lens off, look inside, and at 12 Noon you'll see a big roller on an arm, that is supposed to move back and forth, following a mating part of the lens that also moves when you focus. VERY GENTLY try to move this arm forward. If you're lucky it's just stuck.
 
Had a similar problem very recently with my Zeiss Ikon ZM. Turning the lens barrel wasn't moving the rangefinder patch at all. Popped the lens off, prodded the cam roller arm a bit with my fingertip, put lens back on- voilà. Problem solved.

I suspect mine was stuck because I'd had it out in heavy rain in March, and something internal either gummed or corroded/rusted up enough to seize the lightly-sprung roller arm in the last position I'd left it in. I always store my camera with the lens at infinity so it takes up less room. Turning the lens to closer focus wasn't going to dislodge it, since the cam runs away from the roller as one focuses closer. It just needed a poking.
 
Biggles said:
I suspect mine was stuck because I'd had it out in heavy rain in March, and something internal either gummed or corroded/rusted up enough to seize the lightly-sprung roller arm in the last position I'd left it in.
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I'm wondering if the change in pressure on the airplane could have had something to do with causing the problem. I was on two flights to get from PDX to Washington, DC. One of them was a cross country flight from LA to Washington DC.

Ellen
 
mdarnton said:
Take the lens off, look inside, and at 12 Noon you'll see a big roller on an arm, that is supposed to move back and forth, following a mating part of the lens that also moves when you focus. VERY GENTLY try to move this arm forward. If you're lucky it's just stuck.
Click to expand...

I did what you suggested and it didn't seem to make any difference :-(
 
You should see the alignment in the rangefinder patch change as you move the roller - does that happen? Maybe the lens is not contacting correctly .

Randy
 
Now try it with the lens on. Focus on something.

*Change in air pressure won't affect this at all.
 
You should also try one of your other lenses. If the problem persists, it's probably the camera, if not, it's most likely the lens itself.
 
Does this lens couple properly on other cameras, and has it previously worked properly on this one? It is unlikely, but possible that the round cam follower in your M3 is bent out of position and does not sit on the focus cam at the back of the lens correctly. To tell, lock the shutter open on B and look through the back of the camera. As you focus, you should be able to see a part of the back of the lens moving in and out, riding on the roller and pushing it toward the back of the camera as you focus to infinity.

Cheers,
Dez
 
Sorry for the late reply. When I last posted, I was waiting at a hotel outside Dulles Airport for a replacement flight back to Portland, OR. The flight I was originally on (leaving Reagon National Airport and headed for LAX) had to make an emergency landing at Dulles. The airline paid for dinner and a hotel stay which enabled me to take the next available flight on a different airline the next day back to PDX. Anyway, it's taken me a while to do the testing on the camera and alternate lenses to figure out the problem. Here are the results of my testing:

I tried the M3 using two different lenses. Using both of the lenses I tried, the Nikkor 8.5cm 2.0 and the Carl Zeiss Jena 50 1.5 I bought from Brian Sweeney, I was able to focus perfectly and the rangefinder patch worked as it is supposed to do. My conclusion is that the Nikkor 50 1.4 LTM lens is the problem since the rangefinder patch does not change at all despite rotating the focus tab around the barrel of the lens.

Additionally, I tried the Nikkor 50 1.4 LTM lens on my M6. Again, as with the M3, I got the same result and the rangefinder patch did not align in spite of moving the focus tab back and forth around the lens barrel.

I am concerned because I bought the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 LTM lens from Youixin Ye fairly recently. Although I don't believe there were any guarantees on the lens purchase (I bought it in a fleabay auction that Youixin used to sell the lens) do you think he should repair it for me at no additional charge?

Thank you all for your replies and again apologies for the late response.

Ellen
 
I believe I have the same lens.
Here are pictures of the back side of the lens.
Notice how when you change the focus the inner part of the lens moves in and out?
This is what moves the cam in the camera.
Does yours do that?
 
Did you try contacting him ?
What was his response ?

I have spoken too him and he seemed very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.
 
AlwaysOnAuto said:
Was this your first attempt at using the lens?
Was it sold as a 'working' lens?
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No, this was not my first attempt at using the lens. I have used it successfully for at least several rolls of film. Here's one example:

medium.jpg


Yes, it was sold as a lens in top-notch condition. As you are probably aware, Youixin is well known for doing great work on Leicas and Leica lenses and when he sells a lens on fleabay, it is typically in as close to perfect condition as it can be.

Hope that answers your questions!

Ellen
 
Sorry for all the questions, it's how I was trained to get the answer that fixes the problem.
Does your lens move the way mine does in my pictures?
 
ianstamatic said:
Did you try contacting him ?
What was his response ?

I have spoken too him and he seemed very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.
Click to expand...

He is indeed very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful as I found out when I spoke to him around the time I had him do a CLA on my M3.

I have not yet tried to contact him regarding this issue with the Nikkor 50 1.4 LTM lens.

Ellen
 
AlwaysOnAuto said:
Sorry for all the questions, it's how I was trained to get the answer that fixes the problem.
Does your lens move the way mine does in my pictures?
Click to expand...

No problem on the questions. I admire the way you approach a problem!

I will now try to test the lens and will respond in the next few minutes to let you know the results of the testing.

Ellen
 
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