too far for 'infinity'?

[dadsm3]

Hello: I just noticed that when focusing on a large smokestack that was probably a few miles away, the rangefinder on my M6 didn't quite get to infinity, it was about a mm shy of lining up the image in the VF rectangle. I realize it'll all be in focus anyways, but should this be happening? Is it time for an alignment?
Mike

 

[back alley]

needs a slight adjustment.

 

[Ronald M]

Clean the roller and cam on the lens, then retry.

 

[Ergo]

Back up 3 feet or so.

 

[peterc]

I've heard various takes on where infinity should be. Some say use something a few miles away ... others suggest using the moon to set infinity focus.
I was concerned about my Bessa R when towers several kilometres away weren't at "infinity". However, the moon seems to line up nicely at infinity.
I used a laser to check close focus ... 1m, 2m, 3m and 4m all came in exactly as marked on three lenses.
Is this right?

Peter

 

[Silver]

I had noticed similar alignment in my cameras (.72/w28mm & .85/w50+90mm) after reading this post, then did the measure thing...but w/out a laser (good idea) to check close focus. I just focused on a picture on my wall from my door way, and I knew the distance was ten feet and the rangefinder matched up fine.

My pics are sharp for the most part, and I shoot a lot of slow speeds. Dont worry about it unless your missing focus often. How long have you shot the camera?

'Back up three feet' - I laughed out loud at that one.

 

[dadsm3]

Nope, checked it on a distant road sign. It's just not getting there.....it's off.
Re-alignment tomorrow, thank god I've got someone nearby......

 

[ChrisN]

If you are feeling brave, there is a set of instructions for doing this yourself, linked from this page:

http://www.nemeng.com/leica/007e.shtml

or directly from http://leicaclub.net/files/leica_m2_m3_m4_basic_repair.pdf (if I have that copied correctly).

Be aware it is a 6mb download!

The photos are not the best quality, but I was able to make sense of it and get my M4 realigned perfectly at infinity.

 

[thafred]

infinity alignment with the M is easy! just adjust the srew holding the Roller (dont use too much pressure)...you can´t mess up near focus with this because the flat screw just adjusts infinity!

(i wish my Bessa would be the same but srewing with infinity does alter the near focus...its horizontal adj. anyway ...and getting that right cost me hours and hours and lots of test Film!)

Be brave...you can bring it to service anyway!

 

[matti]

I thought I had a rangefinder adjustment problem with my M6, described in this thread .

But after checking it out at a leica repair shop the conclusion was that my 35 mm Color Skopar was the problem. With my Summicron 35 it now aligns perfectly.

So maybe it is a good idea to check with another lens before making any conclusions.

/matti

 

[dadsm3]

I thought the RF didn't care what lens was on it , but I was wrong, my tech told me to try it with several lenses also. I guess just making sure the parallax wasn't the problem?
It's the same with a 35mm, 50, 90 and 135.......she just doesn't get there. In she goes.....
I don't have the patience or manual dexterity for this kind of work at home.....but appreciate the suggestions.
Mike

 

[matti]

I suppose it is a good thing the rf is the problem and not the lens. I don't have a clue about if it is possible to adjust my Color skopar.
/matti