Theo-Prof
Established
I have been reading this forum for several weeks and decided to join now that I just received my new Bessa-R and 35/2.5 from Camera Quest. The info in this forum helped me to make a decision as to which camera to purchase. I was happy to see that the quality of the camera was better than I expected. I worked in a camera store in Louisville, KY while I was finishing my Ph.D. when the Bessa-L came out. I was impressed with the quality of the lenses but was not overly impressed with the fit and finish of the chrome Bessa-Ls that we sold. The black Bessa-R that I bought seems to be a better camera than the Ls that I played with several years ago.
Now to the question I have. I have read several threads that indicated that the Bessas sometimes have vertically misaligned rangefinders right out of the box. (I know that there is a current thread dealing with this issues, but since my issue is slightly different I thought I would start a new thread.) I find that the alighment of the rangefinder is highly dependent upon how I place my eye vertically in relation to the eyepiece. When I hold the camera squarely to my face at a comfortable angle with my eye centered in relation to the eyepiece, then the secondary, moving, rangefinder image aligns below the primary, non-moving, rangefinder image. I can get the two images to align vertically, but only if I place my eye unnaturally low in relation to the eyepiece, so low in fact that I cannot see the bottom of the 35mm framelines and the eyepiece itself obscures the meter's LEDs. (I do wear glasses, but I have been using verious cameras for years and they are usually not a big issue.)
I am new to rangefinderdom (I have used a Leica M6 once and owned a IIIc w/ a 50mm Summarit for a very short time) so I am not sure just how much misalignment is normal. (When I point the camera at a small point of light, such as a green LED on the front of my DVD player, I can see two distinct images, slightly misaligned one above the other, even when I am 12-15 feet away. I can get them to align, but again, only if I move my eye uncomfortable low in relation to the eyepiece) This misalignment is distracting and makes it difficult to focus on highly detailed subjects, such as weathered wood or the leaves of a tree.
My question is whether I should return the camera for adjustment, given that I have only had it four days, or is this amount of misalignment normal for rangefinders?
Thanks in advance for your help and opinions.
Now a little about myself:
Current equipment: Aforementioned Bessa-R 35/2.5 classic; Pentax 67 w/ 90/2.8, 55/4; Nikon FM & N90s w/ 20/2.8AFD, 24 2.8AIS, 50/1.4AIS, 70-300/4`5.6AF-D-ED.
Former equipment: Rolleiflex 3.5; Mamiya C220; Linhoff TechIII w/ 90 and 150 Schneider lenses; Leica IIIc with 50/1.5 Summarit
Photography interests: Landscape, architecture, travel and general outdoor/available light photography.
Favorite films: Fuji velvia, Kodak Infrared, T-max 100; Ilford HP5.
Now to the question I have. I have read several threads that indicated that the Bessas sometimes have vertically misaligned rangefinders right out of the box. (I know that there is a current thread dealing with this issues, but since my issue is slightly different I thought I would start a new thread.) I find that the alighment of the rangefinder is highly dependent upon how I place my eye vertically in relation to the eyepiece. When I hold the camera squarely to my face at a comfortable angle with my eye centered in relation to the eyepiece, then the secondary, moving, rangefinder image aligns below the primary, non-moving, rangefinder image. I can get the two images to align vertically, but only if I place my eye unnaturally low in relation to the eyepiece, so low in fact that I cannot see the bottom of the 35mm framelines and the eyepiece itself obscures the meter's LEDs. (I do wear glasses, but I have been using verious cameras for years and they are usually not a big issue.)
I am new to rangefinderdom (I have used a Leica M6 once and owned a IIIc w/ a 50mm Summarit for a very short time) so I am not sure just how much misalignment is normal. (When I point the camera at a small point of light, such as a green LED on the front of my DVD player, I can see two distinct images, slightly misaligned one above the other, even when I am 12-15 feet away. I can get them to align, but again, only if I move my eye uncomfortable low in relation to the eyepiece) This misalignment is distracting and makes it difficult to focus on highly detailed subjects, such as weathered wood or the leaves of a tree.
My question is whether I should return the camera for adjustment, given that I have only had it four days, or is this amount of misalignment normal for rangefinders?
Thanks in advance for your help and opinions.
Now a little about myself:
Current equipment: Aforementioned Bessa-R 35/2.5 classic; Pentax 67 w/ 90/2.8, 55/4; Nikon FM & N90s w/ 20/2.8AFD, 24 2.8AIS, 50/1.4AIS, 70-300/4`5.6AF-D-ED.
Former equipment: Rolleiflex 3.5; Mamiya C220; Linhoff TechIII w/ 90 and 150 Schneider lenses; Leica IIIc with 50/1.5 Summarit
Photography interests: Landscape, architecture, travel and general outdoor/available light photography.
Favorite films: Fuji velvia, Kodak Infrared, T-max 100; Ilford HP5.
