R-D1s RF finally fully adjusted! Wow!

jvr

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Well, that's about time.

I took the plunge and sent my R-D1s for a full RF adjustment. But not to Epson...

After a small bump on a wall several months ago, the RF became vertically and horizontally misaligned. I was able to adjust it horizontally but vertically no way, the screw just didn't work. After adjustment, most my lenses focused ok but I had big trouble with a Jupiter-9, a 75/2.5 Color heliar and (who would say!) a Leica 28/2 Summicron ASPH. And some random focusing with several other lenses (including the 21/2.8 Biogon, that I was using more and more on a DOF basis...). Not to mention that focusing with a vertical misaligment is a pain...

So, I hold my breath and took my Epson to a very good repairperson that is used to handle all kind of rangefinders. It was a no brainer to fix (30€). Thank you very much to Rich Cutler by all the info on the site, it was very helpful for disassembly.

(Note: the technician had never seen a R-D1, although he repairs everything, from Leicas to Mamyias, including the new ZD - 22 Mpix. He took some pictures with the 35 Nokton 1.2 and was completely knocked-out by image quality. He asked me if I could lend him the camera for a weekend, as 3 usual customers went ballistic about it and want to buy one. He himself wants one...).

The bump had put all the RF mechanism out of place. The 3 or 4 screws that connect the mechanism to the camera (not the adjusting ones!) were slightly dislodge so everything was displaced.

I read a few things on the R-D1s RF mechanism being different from the R-D1, namely that the vertical screw was not effective anymore. Apparently, that's not the case. In my particular camera, the screw is effective but the displacement of the whole mechanism led to a deficient contact between that screw and the plate where it pressures. Now, it works like a charm.

So, it looks like both cameras share exactly the same RF mechanism.

After adjustment (based on a Leica lens and checked with the 35 Nokton), all my lenses focus ok (with some minor variation), except for a 40/1.4 Nokton that I bought a couple of weeks ago (maybe the lens need adjustment...). The correct-focusing lenses list now includes:

1) Leica 35/3.5 Summaron
2) Leica 50/2 Summicron Collapsible
3) Leica 90/4 Elmar
4) Zeiss 21/2.8 Biogon
5) CV 28/1.9 Ultron
6) CV 35/2.5 Color Skopar PII
7) CV 35/1.2 Nokton
8) CV 50/1.5 Nokton
9) CV 75/2.5 Color Heliar
10) Jupiter 9 (that was wrong anyway and had to shimmed to work to Leica standards).

The only lens in my collection that does not focus correctly is the 40/1.4 Nokton, that front focuses consistently. From f2 is ok, critical focus with f1.4 is much more random than the 35 Nokton at f1.2 (and it shouldn't be).

Next step is to take all my non-Leica lenses (except for the 35 Nokton, already verified) to the same technician and have them checked and adjusted, if needed. And that should put and end to the focusing problems .

I'm sure the 28/2 Summicron ASPH would now focus correctly. But since I returned it and my Ultron is more than good enough (a new hood was paramount!!), I won't cry over it.

(BTW, I used part of the money from the Summicron to buy a Fotoman 6x17, 120 film panoramic camera, with a 2nd hand Schneider 90/8 Super-Angulon. And that was a VERY good decision... 🙂 First B&W negs are stunning: size DOES matter... 🙂

So, good news:

1) A good technician will not have any problem servicing the camera
2) The R-D1s and the R-D1 are the same camera, as far as the RF is concerned
3) After adjusted, the Epson's RF is capable of reliable focusing with a vast array of lenses, from different ages, brands and focals.

I attach two pictures taken yesterday, one with the 50 Nokton wide-open, the other one with the 75/2.5 Heliar wide open, both focused on the eye of the cat. I'm happy now... 🙂

Now, back to take some more pictures... 🙂
 

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Thanks for posting this follow-up! Glad to know you got your camera fixed to your satisfaction. And it's good to have confirmation that the 1 and 1s do have the same RF mechanism after all, and also to know about the potential issue with the screws that secure the RF module to the chassis.
 
jlw said:
Thanks for posting this follow-up! Glad to know you got your camera fixed to your satisfaction. And it's good to have confirmation that the 1 and 1s do have the same RF mechanism after all, and also to know about the potential issue with the screws that secure the RF module to the chassis.

That's what this great forum is about, sharing info! I've learned a lot here, any giveback is a privilege!

The technician said the RF is a bit fragile, including those fixations. I'm used to treat my M3 (and my ex-M6) as a "normal" camera but he advised me to go on slow on the Epson, especially with "sharp" bumps. Probably, some kind of case (Luigi's?) is a good idea, although I prefer to handle naked cameras.

But the good news is that it's easily fixable (unlike M3's RF).

One added bonus of fixing the RF is that framelines now move all the way when focusing. They had a restricted course, so framing on close-ups was a bit off. Not anymore.

🙂
 
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That's great! and the images of your cat are super sharp!

Now that I *seem to have* a working M8, I'll send my R-D1 off to DAG for the full treatment.

I like the camera very much but found myself leaving it home due to dodgy focus issues.

Results like yours are very very encouraging. Thanks!
 
Joe Mondello said:
That's great! and the images of your cat are super sharp!

Now that I *seem to have* a working M8, I'll send my R-D1 off to DAG for the full treatment.

I like the camera very much but found myself leaving it home due to dodgy focus issues.

Results like yours are very very encouraging. Thanks!

Yep, they are very sharp indeed (just take a look at the full size crops below). Even I am surprised with the difference: I used to be able to focus my 50 Nokton pin-sharp but my 75 Heliar was way, way off. After correct alignment, the 50 Nokton still focus ok but the Heliar has come back with a vengeance... 🙂

The Heliar shot is sharper but it has more magnification (so details on the cat use more pixels) and it's at 2.5, while the Nokton is at f1.5, let's not forget... 🙂

Both shot in RAW, with Capture One conversion, no extra sharpening (small version were sharpened after downrezzed).
 

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jvr said:
I read a few things on the R-D1s RF mechanism being different from the R-D1, namely that the vertical screw was not effective anymore. Apparently, that's not the case. In my particular camera, the screw is effective but the displacement of the whole mechanism led to a deficient contact between that screw and the plate where it pressures. Now, it works like a charm.

Hang on, this is potentially a really important piece of information. Are you saying that you can now adjust both the horizontal and vertical alignment through the hotshoe hole?

jvr said:
After adjustment (based on a Leica lens and checked with the 35 Nokton), all my lenses focus ok (with some minor variation), except for a 40/1.4 Nokton that I bought a couple of weeks ago (maybe the lens need adjustment...).

Interesting. The only lens I have problems with is also a 40mm Nokton 1.4. My Hexanons are fine on the RD1S.

May I ask who your technician is and in which country you live?
 
jvr said:
...I read a few things on the R-D1s RF mechanism being different from the R-D1, namely that the vertical screw was not effective anymore. Apparently, that's not the case. In my particular camera, the screw is effective but the displacement of the whole mechanism led to a deficient contact between that screw and the plate where it pressures. Now, it works like a charm...
Do you mean that your vertical screw is now effective?
Did you try it yourself?
BTW the 'few things' you refer to come probably from me and i confirm that contrary to that of the R-D1, the vertical screw was ineffective when my R-D1s had a slight vertical misalignment and it is still so after repairs by Epson.
 
wintoid said:
Hang on, this is potentially a really important piece of information. Are you saying that you can now adjust both the horizontal and vertical alignment through the hotshoe hole?



Interesting. The only lens I have problems with is also a 40mm Nokton 1.4. My Hexanons are fine on the RD1S.

May I ask who your technician is and in which country you live?

I live in Portugal and the technician is Mr. J. A. Coelho da Silva.

I didn't try to (re)align vertically through the hotshoe after getting the canmera back (it's working fine, let's not mess with it! 🙂) but Mr. Coelho was very explicit in that regard: the only reason why I could not adjust vertically was because the whole mechanism had got out of position, so the screw did not touch the plate anymore.

If I get the guts, I'll try it. I really have to find a lot of guts, though... 🙂

Regarding the 40 Nokton, the funny thing is that it looks like it focused better before the repair. I'll have it checked and then report back. It was bought used, so I don't know where it had been before (but no signs of abuse).
 
LCT said:
Do you mean that your vertical screw is now effective?
Did you try it yourself?
BTW the 'few things' you refer to come probably from me and i confirm that contrary to that of the R-D1, the vertical screw was ineffective when my R-D1s had a slight vertical misalignment and it is still so after repairs by Epson.

Well, I didn't try it myself (see earlier reply) but I take the word of the technician for it... I'll give it a try as soon as I get bored of getting focused pictures... 🙂 Or bump it again... 🙂

Serious, now: maybe your camera had exactly the same problem. Full mechanism misaligment needs removing the top cover to be corrected. Nevertheless, it's easy to align horizontally through the hotshoe (that's what I first did), so maybe that's exactly what Epson did, not bothering to get to the deep cause (and dismounting the whole thing).

I'll phone Mr. Coelho and ask him again, just to be sure. I don't have the courage to mess again with the alignment just yet ...

As the fixations to the chassis seem fragile, any small shock on the right (wrong!) direction could make it happen. Maybe that was the problem with your camera, too.

In fact, I guess I only read that information from three sources: you, Rich Cutler (in the site) and myself! And even my first post mentioned that I only tested after the bump and that screw behaviour could be due to the shock. Then you answered you had the same problem (vertical alignment off) and could not also use the aligment screw.

Maybe we had the same problem and Rich just mentioned it on the site. It's a coincidence but (IMHO) more probable than Epson physically changing something of that importance on stock cameras. Re-badging and flashing with new firmware is one thing, changing RFs is another...

Given the good results I was lucky to get, I would take your R-D1s and send it to some repairperson with expertise on RF. Probably, this leaves out Epson after-sales service... 🙂
 
jvr said:
I live in Portugal and the technician is Mr. J. A. Coelho da Silva.

I didn't try to (re)align vertically through the hotshoe after getting the canmera back (it's working fine, let's not mess with it! 🙂) but Mr. Coelho was very explicit in that regard: the only reason why I could not adjust vertically was because the whole mechanism had got out of position, so the screw did not touch the plate anymore.

If I get the guts, I'll try it. I really have to find a lot of guts, though... 🙂

Regarding the 40 Nokton, the funny thing is that it looks like it focused better before the repair. I'll have it checked and then report back. It was bought used, so I don't know where it had been before (but no signs of abuse).


I have the same issues with my R-D1 with the CV40mm. I bought my first 40mm f/1.4 SC new from cameraquest. I thought it was a fluke so I bought used mint condition CV 40mm MC, but it turned out to have the same issues. Front focus consistantly. Doesn't matter if it start focus from minimum or max distance. same results. My Zeiss 21mm f/2.8, Minolta M-Rokkor f/2.8, and Zeiss 50mm f/2 all focus dead on. But even with both CV40mm stepped down to f/2, it looks to front focus. 😡 If the focus was better, this would be an excellent lens on my R-D1.

Here's a ISO400 jpg straight from the camera to show that my R-D1 is focusing correctly using the Zeiss 50mm f/2. No modification or retouching....just resized the original jpg from the camera.
 

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RFNewbie said:
I have the same issues with my R-D1 with the CV40mm. I bought my first 40mm f/1.4 SC new from cameraquest. I thought it was a fluke so I bought used mint condition CV 40mm MC, but it turned out to have the same issues. Front focus consistantly. Doesn't matter if it start focus from minimum or max distance. same results. My Zeiss 21mm f/2.8, Minolta M-Rokkor f/2.8, and Zeiss 50mm f/2 all focus dead on. But even with both CV40mm stepped down to f/2, it looks to front focus. 😡 If the focus was better, this would be an excellent lens on my R-D1.

Here's a ISO400 jpg straight from the camera to show that my R-D1 is focusing correctly using the Zeiss 50mm f/2. No modification or retouching....just resized the original jpg from the camera.

I just tripped on this thread, again... 🙂

Yep, definitely your Zeiss focus ok and renders super on the Epson!

It's a pity that the 40 Nokton (at least some samples) does not cut on the Epson...
 
I used to have a 40mm Nokton, which I sold, but for the record never had any focus problems with it whatsoever with the R-D1.
 
Edward Felcher said:
I used to have a 40mm Nokton, which I sold, but for the record never had any focus problems with it whatsoever with the R-D1.

Lucky! And all other lenses focused correctly, at the same time?

I can ajdust the Epson to focus ok with my Nokton 40/1.4 but all other lenses will be a bit off.

My 40/1.4 doesn't get the use it deserves, because I really like the 35/1.2 The-Monster Nokton and the 50/1.5 Nokton better. That said, the 40/1.4 is a very nice alternative to carry both when space/weight is a problem and that was the main reason I bought it. But, since I'm not able to use it wide-open and close (well, I could easily train myself to correct a bit, rotating slightly the lens to the right to the right, and it works, but it's a nuisance), I tend to pack the 35 and the 50...

The technician that adjusted my Epson tells me he may be able to adjsut the 40/1.4 to focus correctly, I'll give it a try. If it does not work, I think I might sell it... 🙁
 
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