m6ttl vertical alignment

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ambientmick

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Hi. I just got an M6ttl, sent from Canada - from an RFF member. It's in great condition and everything is excellent apart from one thing. The rangefinder vertical alignment is slightly out - no doubt caused in transit. When focused, the rangefinder image ends up about 1mm below the static one in the patch - whatever the focus distance - vertical alignment, right?. Anyway, how easy would it be to do the adjustment myself and where is the screw? Any instructions would be greatly appreciated. If I can't do it, does anybody who could do it in the UK for a reasonable cost. Thanks.
 
I don't know who can fix it in the UK, but you just should not try without the special tools that Leica sells for this purpose.

Now... if I were you, I'd take the camera out for a walk with some film. Burn the roll (or part thereof) with the lens as open as the light allows you, and have it developed. If your photos are still in focus, don't bother. IIRC, there's a certain tolerance to misalignment in all rangefinders. In fact, I have a Canonet with a slight problem in the rangefinder patch (the vertical lines don't quite meet); I was told that if the horizontal lines in the patch meet, it's still usable and reliable.

Or was it the other way around?

Whatever it be, just try it first and then decide. Good luck! :)
 
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It needs the special tool or a copy, it is under the dot or screw, if you had a M4-2 it would only need a screw driver - that is progress.

CRR luton is the best repair man long queues...

Noel
 
Noel, there are two screws in this camera. One is behind the red dot, the other is on the upper or top part of the lens mount, behind the flank, close to the meter eye, inside the body. The one behind the red dot can only be turned with the special tool sold by Leica at an exorbitant price. The other one can be turned with a small screwdriver.

I'd rather have someone do it for me.
 
Thanks. The problem is that when focused I see a slight double image because of the misalignment which I guess slows focusing down a little - when focusing on vertical lines there's no problem but text, faces etc. it takes slighly longer to determine precise focus. With practice I could no doubt mitigate this but if I can do it or get it done cheaply then why not?

SolaresLarrave said:
I don't know who can make it in the UK, but you just should not try without the special tools that Leica sells for this purpose.

Now... if I were you, I'd take the camera out for a walk with some film. Burn the roll (or part thereof) with the lens as open as the light allows you, and have it developed. If your photos are still in focus, don't bother. IIRC, there's a certain tolerance to misalignment in all rangefinders. In fact, I have a Canonet with a slight problem in the rangefinder patch (the vertical lines don't quite meet); I was told that if the horizontal lines in the patch meet, it's still usable and reliable.

Or was it the other way around?

Whatever it be, just try it first and then decide. Good luck! :)
Click to expand...
 
Thanks. Looks like CRR is my best bet.

Xmas said:
It needs the special tool or a copy, it is under the dot or screw, if you had a M4-2 it would only need a screw driver - that is progress.

CRR luton is the best repair man long queues...

Noel
Click to expand...
 
my ttl has this as well but i've decided to leave it. A sort of 'don't fix whats not broken too much' approach!. Camera spends it's time in my shoulder bag sat inside an old work hat and if it gets knocked will only go out of alignment anyway!
 
Norfolk C amera Centre in Dereham can do it for you (01362693506). They did my M4-P for £30 and in 2 days! Mind you, I delivered and collected.
 
Having been through the vertical alignment thingee with my Hexar RF (but fortunately not with my M6 ttl so far touch wood), I just pose the question. If a range finder can be knocked out of alignment, why can't it be knocked back into alignment??
 
If you shoot with wide apertures you will probably want to have it adjusted by a technician. I know a lot of people have done DIY adjustments but in the large amount of time I have spent reading about this I came to understand that the adjustment process is much more complicated than something like turning your screwdriver until your viewfinder images are coincident on the moon and then it is fixed. Making one adjustment has the potential to throw off others. I'm all about DIY and it may be fine for some people (especially those who know what they're doing,) but I just need more precision for the shooting I do - up close & wide open.

-jake
 
Jake
You should adjust at close up and at infinity there are two adjustments after you do the vertical one, you do the vertical first.
The body may need to be registered and the (each) lens may need adjusting.
You need to tell the tech to adjust everything if you use the wide aperature lenses, opened up, and the camera is not just out of the box.
Noel
 
If you're wide open and the frame seem to be higher than what you composed in the viewfinder before you snapped, it is common among rangefinder. That's normal.

-Ron
 
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