SOMKY/SOOKY-M RF vertical alignment - is it adjustable?

[Coldkennels]

I just received a SOOKY-M in fantastic condition - still in the original box - but the vertical alignment is out.

This is what it looks like through the finder:



(I purposely offset the image in the RF patch slightly to make it a bit easier to see)

But as long as I can find something to focus where that the vertical misalignment isn't an issue, the horizontal alignment is good:



Is this an easy - or even possible - fix? I'd rather not send it back if I can help it.

 

[brusby]

Are you sure it's not your rangefinder patch that's out of vertical alignment?

p.s., never mind, I was looking at the patch and not the misalignment of the whole frame. Sorry.

 

[Coldkennels]

Yeah, the frame positioning is mostly down to trying to get the iPhone to shoot clearly through the viewfinder - always a fun task.

The vertical alignment on the camera - an M240 - is perfect. I adjusted it myself the day after I bought it. I'm assuming the issue is a mis-aligned prism on the SOOKY-M, but I have no idea if you can rotate it to adjust the vertical alignment or not.

 

[brusby]

Just curious, is it the frame lines or the overall window that is off? I suppose you could find out by framing a shot on your M240 using the frame lines and checking to see if it's accurate or off.

 

[Coldkennels]

The framelines are good. It's just the RF image - the prism in front of the RF window is obviously negatively affecting it.

 

[GMOG]

I recently thumbed through the manual for the Typ 246 and something about lens compatibility stood out to me. In the "Leica M Lenses" section there is a small list of lenses that are described as "cannot be used". On the list is "Summicron 50mm f/2 with close up attachment". Do they mean the Dual Range with its goggles? Is the trouble with how the goggles line up with the windows on the camera? If so, would the misaligned window also happen with the SOOKY-M?

On the other hand, perhaps the DR Summcron's problem has to do with its focus cam design and nothing to do with misaligned windows. No other goggle'd lenses are on the list of those that "cannot be used" with the 240.

Have you got a M3 you can try the SOOKY-M on?

 

[brusby]

Just a thought . . . on some models, maybe all, there are two screws located on opposite sides of the rectangular window which appear to be holding either the glass or the frame in place. I'm wondering whether the previous owner might have removed that window to clean it but re-installed it upside down. I can imagine that causing the misaligned view if it were flipped by mistake.

 

[Coldkennels]

On the other hand, perhaps the DR Summcron's problem has to do with its focus cam design and nothing to do with misaligned windows. No other goggle'd lenses are on the list of those that "cannot be used" with the 240.

I've tried out a goggled 135mm Elmarit at a camera shop in London, and the focus on that was fine. I'm pretty sure I've also seen people saying that they use the SOOKY-M on M240s, so I don't think that's the issue.

Have you got a M3 you can try the SOOKY-M on?

No, all the other Leicas I own are Barnacks. The M240 is my only M.