Rangefinder internals

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CheekySquid

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I'm currently working on a personal project to design and build my own rangefinder camera. As part of my research, I'm studying the mechanisms of popular rangefinder cameras. I have a theoretical understanding of how they work and have read books on various rangefinder mechanisms, but I’d love to see real examples to better understand how they function in practice. Unfortunately, I don’t have the budget to purchase and disassemble these cameras myself, so I was wondering if anyone in the community has any videos showing what moving the focus cam physically interacts with inside the rangefinder mechanism.

I'm primarily looking at Leicas, Bessas, and other high-end rangefinders for inspiration since I want to see what makes their viewfinders better than ones on other cameras, but photos or videos of any rangefinder mechanism would be just as helpful. Thanks in advance!
 
There are any number of videos out there of adjustment of rangefinder mechanisms, and the cameras (with the notable exception of the Contaxes) look pretty much like the pictures above (though there must be a rangefinder window in with the meter cell; it's not shown in these photos).

The various cameras' rangefinders differ in how the rangefinder patch is projected -- an indistinct patch or something that's very distinct, as with the Leicas.

The hardest part of your project likely will be how to get the rangefinder mechanism to accurately synch up with the camera's focusing helical. That requires very precise engineering.
 
I have some pics of a Zorki 1 rangefinder I can upload later tonight when I get home. I did figure out my issue on why I was having issues with the rangefinder staying aligned on it, but thats another story...
 
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