Rangefinder accuracy

JimmEl

JimmEl

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Mar 31, 2005
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I'm new to Russian rangefinders and rangefinders in general. I've been trying to adjust the rangefinders on my Fed 3 and Zorki 4 and have been having difficulties reaching perfection. Am I expecting too much? Are rangefinders supposed to be "somewhere in the ball park" and not exact?
 
I think it depends on the camera. My Canon 7 cameras (all three of them) are accurate enough to focus a 50mm F0.95 lens used wide-open. Sometimes it is not enough to adjust the camera at infinity. The RF's have several adjustments that can get out of whack. My Retina IIIS has 7 adjustments in it! I do not know the Russian RF's as well, but I would look for some webpages on adjusting them.
 
Didn't Rick Oleson and mat denton both have something on their sites regarding adjusting the rangefinders of Russian cameras?

I am looking for the links now...
 
Thanks for the links. I knew of one of them but not the other. My favorite camera, the Zorki 4, doesn't appear to have a vertical adjustment. I took it apart and had to change the angle of the prism but I think I have to repeat the process.
Is it realistic to try to get both ends (infinity and 1M) to align properly?
 
JimmEl said:
Thanks for the links. I knew of one of them but not the other. My favorite camera, the Zorki 4, doesn't appear to have a vertical adjustment. I took it apart and had to change the angle of the prism but I think I have to repeat the process.
Is it realistic to try to get both ends (infinity and 1M) to align properly?
Click to expand...

According to the articles, you need to adjust the small metal cam at the end of the RF arm for the 1m focus point. Once that matches up, set the Infinity focus. Both of my Zorki 1s seem to be set near and far, or at least appear that way when I look at the results...

- Randy
 
Thanks, Randy.
I'll do that. I had a bad experience last week when I tried to adjust the screw next to the prism. While trying to find the tiny adjusting screw with a screw driver which I found to be much to large I pushed the prism back and out of alignment. I took off the casing and moved it back but I'm having trouble getting the vertical right. Apparently, there's no vertical adjustment so I'm trying to get the angle of the prism just right by using tape. I guess fiddling with it is part of the game. I can't say I'm not enjoying it.
 
When I got my Zorki 1 i was completly disappointed that the rangefinder did not line up at all.
I had every intention of make a pinhole camera out of it. When I took the lens off I realizes that the cam had turned around. so I flipped it back around and now it is very accurate...
 
When Maizenberg died, his estate sold a number of copies to Ed Romney. Ed Romney has since died, but his website is still yup and I have heard that his widow is continuing sales of his inventory.

This is the Romney site with an order form. It's where I bought mine, but about a year before his death.

http://www.edromney.com/

-Paul
 
The original posting raises the question of how accurate (I take it in general) rangefinders are. Usually, the answer is, very, especially in low light. Reflex focusing systems can be witches with a capital B under those conditions, and many people with eyesight problems have been known to favor RFs.

Yes, they can get out of whack, even on Leicas, the epitome of RFs. They can be adjusted.

One thing I see in these forums keeps bothering me - is "home repair" of a camera somewhat akin to serving as your own lawyer? (That one means you have a fool for a client.) Would someone willing to do it to a Fed or Zorki do it to a Leica?
 
I was on the verge of trying to "adjust" my Leica M2 shutter speeds, but I resisted, and sent it away to a pro, who seems to be not such a pro, after all, since he didn't do much about it...
With Leicas, I restrict myself to adjusting RF, nothing more....

See below:
 
OTOH, I have no qualms about doing repairs on my other gear.... Usually, the "other gear" is not that expensive, after all. And, I've had some practice already, so it's not a big deal. With something I've never done before, I don't usually try it unless I can find a good site on the Web with lots of detailed photos.

Denis
 
A question for those who have read the late Mr. Maizenberg's book...Did you think you got much repair information from it?

Yes, I have a copy. I believe Isaak was still alive when I bought it. I mean no disrespect at all, but I am curious to know what others thought.
Jon
 
I only have a few of the models detailed in the Manual. For those models, yes, it was directly beneficial. I think virtually all of the knowledge I gained from the Manual can now be gleaned from various websites. However, I believe that some of the cameras covered in the Manual which I do not own are not well documented on the web either.

-Paul
 
I didn't mean to be disparaging home repair as such, and if one has the time and willingness, it probably should work out OK. I've printed out some things I've found on websites for Zorkis, et. al. Since several of the FSU cameras I've bought came from the mother country through ebay, I was mainly wondering if the idea is a sound one. In fact, some of those cameras have yet to be tried out. If they should turn out to be off on focusing, I'd like to know that trying to adjust them myself is workable. It sounds as if, with a few proper tools, it is. As it is, most of the ones I've bought are in pretty decent-LOOKING shape, but that doesn't promise proper adjustment.
 
I just adjusted the vertical on my FED 2. Unscrewed the round knurled ring around the RF lens and rotated the lens clockwise until the two images came together. Replaced knurled ring and tightened it.

Hmmm. Sounds too easy.

Ted
 
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