IIIF Lens mounted correctly?

[dpitt]

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Hi guys,

 

This Leica IIIF is my first LTM. It looks and feels great, and if it happens to work decently it will become my 'take it everywhere' camera.

 

Now the lens seems to be mounted the wrong side up?

Or at least when I have to focus it the tab turns in front of the viewfinder eye in position 2m.

 

When mounted on my M2 with an adapter the word Germany is in 9 o'clock position which seems right, but this 12 o' clock does not seem to be as it should.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

Thanks

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[earleygallery]

Infinity lock should be at 7o'clock approx as you look at the front of the camera. If it's not I'd suspect the lens has been taken apart and not put back together properly, assuming you have screwed it on fully?

[dpitt]

Infinity lock should be at 7o'clock approx as you look at the front of the camera. If it's not I'd suspect the lens has been taken apart and not put back together properly, assuming you have screwed it on fully?

Infinity lock is more like at 4 or 5 on this body. On my M2 with adapter it is at 7 like you said. Maybe the mount flange on the body has been tampered with?

Is that possible?

[dpitt]

What if I loosen the 4 screws on the flange and turn it 90 degrees clockwise, then thighten it again. Would this operation ruin any calibrations or is it a safe DIY operation?

[UliWer]

From what I see on your photo, the stop for minimum distance of the focussing lever is at an odd position: at about 10 o' clock when it should be at about one o'clock with the lens fully screwed in. The stop for infinity should be at 7 o'clock, though there are older lenses with an infinity stop at 11 o'clock, but your lens doesn't look like this.

 

Are you sure that the threadmount of your camera is o.k.? Before changing anything at the lens I'd try to use another lens to see what happens and to make sure whether it's the lens or the camera.

[greyelm]

Remove the lens and look closely at the flange on the camera body, there will be a small cut in the outer rim which should be positioned at 9 o'clock. I suspect that on yours it will be at 6 o'clock. If this is the case the flange needs to be unscrewed and rotated to the correct position. I have only done this on a Zorki where there were some paper shims so check yours to ensure that any shims if present aren't damaged.

[dpitt]

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Your guess was correct. Th cut is at 6 iso 9 position.

It looks like I will need to attempt to fix it, including any shims I find.

Or would you rather return the body to the seller?

 

Other option is to give it a proper CLA at Will van Manen, but the whole point in buying this body was to save on the cost of a CLA because it was advertised as in good working order.

 

Any advice?

[wizard]

... because it was advertised as in good working order.

 

And in good working order it isn't. Judging by the wrong position of the flange, there may be other things which the 'expert' who apparently worked on this camera may have gotten wrong. If I were you, I'd give the body back to the seller, or agree to have it checked by a recognized expert. There are many fine IIIf camera bodies out there, so don't waste your time and money with that one.

 

Andy

[earleygallery]

I would return it in that case. Clearly it has been 'got at' by someone not familiar with the camera, and you don't know what else hasn't been put back properly.

 

lllf's aren't rare, and it's not too difficult to find nice original ones in fine working order.

 

(Andy got there first!)

[Xmas]

Hi

 

Unless you are practical and have a screw driver that fits exactly I'd not try unscrewing the mount screws.

 

If the repair person did not chect the lens position he was not being very careful, or unfamiliar with Leicas.

 

Return or ask for cost reduction for re-assembly, like as not the lens register and or rengefinder calibration is off.

 

Noel

[dpitt]

Thanks for the advice.

On the one hand I agree that a IIIf in good working order should not be that hard to find.

On the other hand, I suppose that any equipment that old will probably need a CLA anyway.

 

That and the fact that this body was part of a set complicates things. The other items in the set like the Elmar and some other lenses and an M3 look fine and I would like to keep them.

 

The IIIf looks presentable and I would probably pay 50 or 100 euro's more for an other body in 'good working condition'.

 

Giving it a CLA by Will van Maenen will give me the peace of mind that everything is as good as it gets. No other body except one with a proven and recent CLA would give me that.

 

So I think I will take it to Will and see what he has to say about it.

[jc_braconi]

Every LTM lens with an infinity lock start screwing at 11 oclock

better to say with the lock in front of the viewfinder window.

if it is not the case the flange on the body was unmounted and next wrongly remounted.

not a big case to resolve