Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/08/31

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] re: SM focusing
From: "Howard Sanner" <flagstad@mindspring.com>
Date: Sat, 01 Sep 2001 00:01:59 +0000

>i was not sure how this
>particular lens will perform since i got it cheap (it has 
>cleaning marks) but again i was amazed by the outcome.

   It's amazing how bad they can be and still take good pictures.
I have a Summar with haze, fungus, and all the blackout paint (or
whatever) hanging down inside it. The lens is astonishingly sharp
by any standard, and, give its condition, I wouldn't have 
believed the pictures if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes.



>now here is my question: i just got another ELMAR/9cm/4 
>(177061). it seems yielding an "incorrect" distance reading,
>i.e., it focuses (the two images do fall into one in the
>focusing window) but the distance reading on the lens body is
>much closer than the real distance. (while the object is 6 feet
>away, the reading is about one meter on the lens.)

   Try focusing it on something at infinity. You'll need to be on
a hill, the top of a building, etc., to find something far enough
away. You need something at least a mile, preferably farther. If 
the lens is set on infinity when the RF says a subject at 
infinity is in focus, it's almost certainly OK. Otherwise, it 
needs to be re-collimated. You can get Sherry Krauter to do this 
for around $50. Her turnaround time on this kind of SM work is 
*much* faster than for a SM CLA; the last one I sent her she did 
the day she got it and shipped right back to me!

						Howard Sanner
						flagstad@mindspring.com