Re: AW: [Leica] M2 rangefinder adjustment

[Mark Rabiner <mrabiner@concentric.net>]

Michael Dienert wrote:
> 
> > -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> > Von:  Martin Howard [SMTP:marho@ikp.liu.se]
> > Gesendet am:  Mittwoch, 2. Juni 1999 13:00
> > An:   Leica User Group
> > Betreff:      [Leica] M2 rangefinder adjustment
> >
> >
> > The rangefinder on my M2 needs adjustment: Images do not align at
> > infinity (yes, I'm looking at things several miles off).
> >
> > Can I adjust this myself?  If so, how do I go about it?  (Leica
> > Answers
<snip>
> > Martin Howard, Grad. Schl. for Human-Machine Interaction, <snip>
> > [Michael Dienert]
> >
> > hi martin,
> >
> > below please find the answer to the same question, edomond once asked.
> > this trimming procedure adjusts horizontal alignment only. i do not
> > know how vertical alignment is adjusted. if anyone knows i'd
> > appreciate any hints.
> >
> > michael
> >
> > hello edmond,
> >
> > be careful, the trimming screw is NOT inside the camera!! if you take
> > off the lens, you can see a small metal wheel at the end of a lever.
> > this wheel juts out the plane of the lens bayonet. if you look through
> > the finder you can see the the bright window of the rangefinder move
> > if you press and release the wheel with your finger.
> >
> > the screw you must turn to adjust the rangefinder is the screw through
> > the axis of that wheel. by turning it you change the distance of the
> > highest (when the camera is laying on the back side) point of the
> > wheel (the point which touches the lens' cam) to the mounting plane.
> >
> > the trimming procedure is as follows:
> >
> > point your camera (summicron attached) to a vertical object far away
> > (tree, antenna mast etc). set the lens to infinity and check if you
> > have alignment. if not, take off the lens, turn the eccentric screw
> > and check the alignment again. repeat this procedure until you have
> > perfect alignment at infinity.
> >
> > it shouldn't be necessary to repeat this procedure. i did it only
> > once. i also have that 40mm summicron-c. it uses a different approach
> > of the rangefinder cam (it's a steep cam where the other lenses use a
> > second helical drive). on my m3 i see a little misalignment with the
> > 40mm compared to the other leica lenses (eg. 50mm summicron) which are
> > perfectly aligned. maybe it's caused by the different cam. but i think
> > the difference is neglectible. if you have another lens with the more
> > sophisticated helical driven cam you should use that to adjust the
> > rangefinder. if you only have the summicron-c you can of course trim
> > the rangefinder to perfect alignment with this lens.
> >
> > i really like the summicron-c. it's the lens i take most of my
> > pictures with (mostly attached to a leica-cl).
> >
> > btw the 35mm summaron for the m3 uses the same steep cam approach as
> > the summicron-c.
> >
> > if you have further questions, just send me an e-mail.
> >
> > best regards
> >
> > michael
I read the above with great relief because that is what I figured out
myself on the road (in a cold sweat) but with remembering what I saw my
repair guy do. (I'm new to English) I did find it necessary to repeat
the procedure until I got it right. I am glad I did not steer people the
wrong way in my posts last night and before. I was very afraid I might have.
Mark Rabiner
The buck stops elsewhere.