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Rangefinder Vertical Alignment Adjustment


phc

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The vertical alignment of my M7 has gone again, and I reckon the best thing I can do is get the adjuster so I can keep it aligned myself in future.

 

Only one problem remains - how do I get the Leica badge, under which the adjustment screw lurks, off the front of the camera? Has anyone done this? Is there a trick?

 

Cheers, P.

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Paul, received wisdom is that the dot is only held on by glue. work at it with a couple of matchsticks either side of the Leica script, working it to and fro in a circular motion, and you should be able to loosen, then free it.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

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In my view, if you're working with a camera in the middle of nowhere, and certainly miles away from the nearest Leica technician, you should be able to perform basic alignment and repairs. Would you want to abandon a trip just because you couldn't carry out a quick adjustment in the field? Or come home with all your pictures taken with estimated focus?

 

I think this kind of thing is what NASA used to call 'mission critical', and it's irresponsible of Leica to make the adjustment so complicated. There are two possible reasons why they would do this - they believe that once the rangefinder is properly set up it shouldn't need re-alignment in normal use, or they want to make sure their dealer network gets any work that's going.

 

This particular M7 only came back from Solms a couple of months ago, so everything should have been present and correct. It hasn't been dropped or banged, so shouldn't have gone out of alignment, and I can't afford to be without it for another few weeks just because it needs an adjustment that takes 5 minutes. Solution: buy the tool and do it myself.

 

Cheers, P.

 

PS: Thanks Bill - I'll try that when the tool arrives. Are you supposed to glue it back in afterwards?

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Toothpicks/cocktail sticks are better because of their sharpened end. The red dots are much as you'd expect, thin aluminium, painted, with a self-adhesive backing; for Leica, they're a disposable service item costing pennies and you can buy/beg for spares from your importer, though the last time I did, they wanted the old one back, presumably to prevent these things floating around.

 

There should be enough "stick" to allow the dot to be replaced without extra glue and the cosmetic appearance is more likely to give up after being removed before the glue does.

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I've had many different M cameras and in my experience once the vertical alignment is correct it rarely goes out. Now if it is knocked around, set down really hard or banged on the bottom or top, then the vertical may get knocked out of alignment.

With the older models you adjusted it with a screw driver and once it was set it stayed that way.

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Yes - why did they go away from the standard screw I wonder? I'm sourcing the special tool currently. Not cheap, considering it's just a glorified screwdriver.

 

It because of the redesign of the rangefinder. If the M4-2 to the MP/M7 is like the M8 the position of the frame lines has changed from facing forward, M3/M2 (Not sure about the M4 or M5) to facing sideways.

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