Petri 7s

[Almach99]

I have nice Petri 7s with 45/1.8 lens.

Camera has some issues. I am unable to focus correctly.
Check focus with a Scotch tape (invisible tape) trick. Although Rangefinder is on infinity, lens are not. Real infinity is around 8 feet mark.

How to fix this issue?

 

[charjohncarter]

I have a Petri 7s (with a 2.8). I'm a little confused by your post, but it sounds like you are going to have to remove the top and see if you can find what is going wrong. My Petri is in good condition and I've never had any trouble with it. I wish I could say that about my other fixed rangefinder cameras.

It would be nice if your RF just needed adjustment.

 

[Almach99]

I have a Petri 7s (with a 2.8). I'm a little confused by your post, but it sounds like you are going to have to remove the top and see if you can find what is going wrong. My Petri is in good condition and I've never had any trouble with it. I wish I could say that about my other fixed rangefinder cameras.

It would be nice if your RF just needed adjustment.

Thank you for reply.

I am a little bit confused too.

Lens in Infinity position is not set in focus for infinity - image through tape (aka ground glass) is not sharp. I have to move lens focus for around 8 feet to get infinity focus.

Hope that to adjust Rangefinder will be not that difficult task.

 

[keytarjunkie]

Lens in Infinity position is not set in focus for infinity - image through tape (aka ground glass) is not sharp. I have to move lens focus for around 8 feet to get infinity focus.

Hope that to adjust Rangefinder will be not that difficult task.

Are you sure your tape is in the correct position? The film plane is on top of the inner rails, so your "ground glass" must be at this height. If it is placed on the outer rails or on the left/right sides of the lens' opening, it won't be at the correct distance from the lens.

If your tape is at the correct distance, then someone must've opened this lens up and put it back incorrectly. I don't know the disassembly procedure for this particular lens, but it probably involves removing a spanner ring at the front and possibly back of the lens. Proceed at your own risk here. The optical block is probably either missing some shims to keep it at the right distance, or can be adjusted to sit at infinity when the barrel is set to it. I'm not sure what this particular lens looks like inside. It would be best to find a repair expert on this camera, hopefully there is someone here who is knowledgeable in disassembling the Petri 7s, otherwise you should pay someone to do it (this will be more expensive than the camera is worth).

Only after the barrel and optics are both producing infinity correctly, should you adjust the rangefinder.

 

[Almach99]

Yes, I am pretty sure, that my "Ground Glass" was on inner rails.

Repair will cost 5x more than I paid for this camera few years ago, especially here in UK.

 

[Spenny1234]

Hi there,

I also have a Petri 7s with lens issues. Mine looks like the whole lens has been taken apart before (ASA/DIN ring out of proper position), and the focusing ring won't turn at all either. I read above that "keytarjunkie" didn't know the procedure for repairing this lens, anyone else?

Also, I'm new to the vintage rangefinder game, what is proper etiquette here? I could maybe fix this camera, but there's also a chance I could destroy it, and everything else looks pretty good. Is it better to sell it to someone who'll preserve it or just jump in and do my best?

Thanks!