Rollei 35 RF rangefinder adjustment in UK

[sailor]

I recently bought a Rollei 35 RF with the Sonnar 40mm f2.8 on eBay. Everything is mostly fine except the rangefinder. When you get to close up distances the lens turns but the focusing patch doesn't move. As you move to further distances the rangefinder patch kicks in and behaves as normal. I have tried the lens on my Leica M5 and it works fine.

As the camera is basically a Voigtlander R2 built by Cosina I contacted Robert White to find out the address of the Voigtlander Service Centre. However I was told that Voigtlander wouldn't touch it as it was not their product. He suggested a firm called Camserve which had been recommended to them by some customers. He pointed out that Robert White themselves had not used Camserve so they couldn't wholeheartedly endorse them but their customers seemed pleased.

Has anyone on here any experience of Camserve or can they suggest any other firm which would do a good job on a Voigtlander type body?

 

[fuwen]

Your Rollei 35 RF is working fine. The body can only close focus up to 0.8 m, so any nearer the range finder mechanism will decoupled with the focusing patch. WHat lenses you use on the body?

 

[sailor]

Thanks for the info Fuwen. I'm using the Sonnar 40mm f2.8 lens. I've had a look and the lens decouples from the focusing patch at the 3 feet or 0.9 metres mark. I've tried it several times and it is consistent at this point. Is this what your lens/body combination does?

 

[thegman]

According to the specs, the Sonnar 40mm close focuses to 0.7m, and the camera close focuses to 0.9m, so it sounds like your camera and lens is entirely healthy. Just means the lens can focus closer than the camera can, it's no big deal and lots of lens/camera combos might be like this.

Very nice kit by the way, always had a bit of a soft spot for the 35RF.

 

[sailor]

Thanks for the info Thegman. This is good news. I'm not really very experienced with rangefinders although I've been into photography for more than 40 years, so you learn something new every day. The really great thing about this forum is the knowledge of the members.

I think I've got a bit of a bargain. I paid £292 for the camera, Sonnar lens, trigger winder, B&W filter and the optional square lens hood. The seller even paid the postage of £24. To my eyes it is a beautiful set and I can't wait to try it out. Once again many thanks for putting my mind to rest.