Rolleiflex focusing out of alignment

[valdas]

I have just noticed that my Rolleiflex 3.5F focuses not where I want it to. There is a significant back focus. I shoot this camera for a bit less than 6 years, but only now niticed this issue. Maybe it took a light hit, maybe just a CLA time... Anyway, I was reading some posts that it is quite easy to adjust the viewing lens, some instructions are available online. Anybody tried? How realy easy/difficult it is for an average person. From time to time I do some simple repairs, but nothing requiring real skill. I would probably send it for a decent CLA, but the person I trusted has recently passed away (Jurgen Kuschnik)...
Luckily I have another 3.5F...

 

[Highway 61]

Strange. The viewing lens is securely locked in place with some threadlocker fluid and a counter-shim so that it cannot budge. Does the mirror look like it's still in place normally, or might have it moved off its clips ? The same for the focusing screen.

Anyway the procedure to adjust the focusing is the following :

1. Remove the whole front panel and the planetary lightmeter differential geartrain
2. Unlock the viewing lens
3. Aim the camera towards something well defined and located at "actual" infinity (at least 1 km far away)
4. Turn the viewing lens until the image on the focusing screen is tack-sharp
5. Secure the viewing lens and double check the sharpness of the image (securing the counter-shim may have the collimation change a bit)
6. Reassemble.

There are a few tricks and things to know about how doing it properly. This isn't an easy task. But this can be done if you have the skills, the time, the tools and the complete and proper sketches.

 

[valdas]

Strange. The viewing lens is securely locked in place with some threadlocker fluid and a counter-shim so that it cannot budge. Does the mirror look like it's still in place normally, or might have it moved off its clips ? The same for the focusing screen.

Anyway the procedure to adjust the focusing is the following :

1. Remove the whole front panel and the planetary lightmeter differential geartrain
2. Unlock the viewing lens
3. Aim the camera towards something well defined and located at "actual" infinity (at least 1 km far away)
4. Turn the viewing lens until the image on the focusing screen is tack-sharp
5. Secure the viewing lens and double check the sharpness of the image (securing the counter-shim may have the collimation change a bit)
6. Reassemble.

There are a few tricks and things to know about how doing it properly. This isn't an easy task. But this can be done if you have the skills, the time, the tools and the complete and proper sketches.

Right! I will check the mirror and the screen first!

 

[thompsonks]

The first thing to check is whether the focusing screen is upside-down. Could you, a repair person, or a previous owner have reversed it?

 

[valdas]

The first thing to check is whether the focusing screen is upside-down. Could you, a repair person, or a previous owner have reversed it?

No, it has never been reversed, I have been using this camera for almost ten years without any issues. Once, some 5 years ago I dropped it on quite hard surface, the hit was on the door, but at that time the focus was not affected.

 

[Morry Katz]

Gerry Smith at Kindermann in Toronto could fix it for you. They're very good.

 

[valdas]

Gerry Smith at Kindermann in Toronto could fix it for you. They're very good.

I am in Europe, shipping outside is quite expensive and time consuming... If I go for CLA, must be within EU.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Here's a description of turning an SLR into a lens collimator for checking focus- #2 method. I use it often. Put ground glass on the film plane and check the taking lens for infinity focus. Then compare/adjust the viewing lens without changing the focus system position.
http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/collimator.html

The one step Highway 61 missed is to adjust the taking lens first. Getting the viewing to focus on infinity is nice, but more important is to have the two lenses in alignment. I actually do a test using a tilted ruler at about 5 feet- repeatable setup on a table- with film. I see how far things are off based simply on the viewing lens, then adjust the focus point of the viewing lens to compensate. If I had a real collimator I could skip that, but actual testing and adjustment based on a short focus distance is helpful.

 

[Mablo]

I am in Europe, shipping outside is quite expensive and time consuming... If I go for CLA, must be within EU.

Check out Will van Manen in the Netherlands: http://www.kamera-service.info/

 

[valdas]

Check out Will van Manen in the Netherlands: http://www.kamera-service.info/

Thanks, I may try, it is CLA time anyway...

 

[valdas]

Update.
It was quite simple issue - the top part that holds the focusing screen was loose, one screw missing and one loose. I am happy it was not the lens!

 

[paradoxbox]

You are lucky it was not the lens, but a lens realignment is not rocket science. I learned camera repair from fixing a 3.5 tessar flex that had fungus inside of it. I made a piece of ground glass by roughing up the plastic of a CD case and taping it to the back of the camera while adjusting the set screw around the barrel of lens inside the camera. Easy peasy (kinda)