byroncheung Posted May 31, 2012 Share #161 Posted May 31, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) hi i have been reading this thread to learn how to adjust my newly purchased second hand m9 and 50mm lux. to begin with the combo seems to back focus. using the allen key i can line up the rangefinder to infinity (using a start) no problem, and cure the backfocus problem in mid range distance however near distance would front focus. i have been trying to loosen the screw to adjust the the near distance front focus problem, however even when i turn the cam to the most anti-clockwise position, it still front focus by couple cm or so... is it a sign that maybe my lens is bad and i'd need to send it to one of the leica doctor to adjust them both? anyone has similar experience? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 31, 2012 Posted May 31, 2012 Hi byroncheung, Take a look here M9 - coincidence at infinity. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
uaqpau Posted June 5, 2012 Share #162 Posted June 5, 2012 (edited) Just say a big Thanks to Julian Thompson. I have an M9 with only one lens (50lux) and it was front focusing on close distance, back focusing bad at medium distances and the infinity was off. Didnt want to send the combo to Solms now (going on holidays soon) so decided to carefully follow Julian's instructions, and it worked great! It wasnt as difficult as I first thought, and now I understand the mechanism better ..it took me about an hour, going back and forth with the adjustments until I was satisfied. Patience is key. Thanks Julian! Edited June 5, 2012 by uaqpau Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdos2 Posted June 9, 2012 Share #163 Posted June 9, 2012 Thank you very, very much for your concise and clear directions. I have been adjusting infinity for years now on all my rangefinders, but even after such a careful adjustment my (last year new) M9 has always been "hit or miss" with regards to focus- except at infinity. After deciding that all lenses needed a certain amount of "post focus adjustment" I decided to follow the steps in this article. Suffice it to say that the closer pictures I take are all now in much better focus. My hit rate is suddenly reasonable, and I no longer covet the D3's automation- my normal go-to camera when I want sharp pictures that aren't necessarily scenics. Your directions allowed me to take some slight and well calculated "non-risks" and have rewarded me. I look back on a Leica 8 I sold because it was "soft" close up and with the same symptoms. Leica themselves were unable to correct the issue. Now, it seems that they were really unwilling, or unknowing. I don't mind- I have an M9 instead, but the journey to sharp digital pictures out of a Leica has been a long and hard one! Thank you again! J Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsjxyz Posted June 10, 2012 Share #164 Posted June 10, 2012 Julian, what happened with my m9 is: it works perfectly with my 35 lux fle all the way. But the 75 apo didnt go for infinite setting. Although the result is Ok. Jsj Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hosermage Posted June 14, 2012 Share #165 Posted June 14, 2012 A bit late, but thanks for the detailed information. I noticed my RF patch was just slightly short of perfect infinity so just a slight tweak in the roller was all I needed. Checked close focus afterward and all is well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
proenca Posted June 16, 2012 Share #166 Posted June 16, 2012 found this topic bit late but whoa, what a thread ! great info here ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted June 19, 2012 Share #167 Posted June 19, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) One unreported issue with the adjustment of the near point ..... which I have found has limited my exact adjustment... is the fact that the the rotating cam that is moved when you adjust this has a maximum point beyond which further adjustment starts to reverse the process. This is presumably because the rotating cam is ovoid (or similar eccentric profile) and once you get beyond a certain point the arm adjustment starts to reverse. When Leica set all this up I assume they lock the lever arrangement at a point (you can see the arm retaining screw is glued in position) to allow a reasonable range of adjustment once it is roughly set. On my M9 I can get very close to perfect near focus adjustment and if I push it a tiny bit further it goes dramatically into reverse.... This drove me mad for hours until I realised it wasn't things moving when I tightened the lock screw but the fact that I was going beyond the maximum diameter of the eccentric cam. The only reason I mention this is to prevent some poor soul thinking they are going mad if they encounter the same behaviour.... It really is the most pathetically crude arrangement for an otherwise perfect piece of optical engineering. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmahto Posted July 20, 2012 Share #168 Posted July 20, 2012 I am new owner of M9. First I got 28mm elmarit 2.8 and it was focusing correctly, then I got 50mm summilux and my frustration started with focusing . After two days thinking of returning the camera/lens I found this thread last night. I had to give it a try. First I tried the hex adjustment and after few trial and error 50mm focusing issue fixed. I tried the 28mm and it was also ok. I guess its 2.8 aperture masked the calibration issue due to more DOF. Now I have both the lens that focus correctly and I am in love again. Thanks a lot to Julian for his clear explanation of the mechanism. Now I feel deeper connection to the M9 since I can adjust few things myself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalpowershot Posted July 30, 2012 Share #169 Posted July 30, 2012 The rangefinder of my new M9-P is also off at infinity. A very far mountain is never perfectly focused in the rangefinder: I'm always seeing a double mountain... Since it's brand new, I should send it to Leica (incl 50Lux), right? My local Leica shop tried to say that at infinity I'll never see a perfectly focused image!?! in the rangefinder.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted July 30, 2012 Share #170 Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) It's more likely to be the 50/1.4 Lots of threads here with lack of coincidence at infinity. If the the infinity point is just beyond the full lens extension then you will never get the rangefinder to fuse the images...... BUT If the photos are in focus wide open, you need DO NOTHING. Ditto if images coincide before full lens extension or infinity on the barrel. I have had 2x 50/1.4 with similar issues .... AND blurred images at the infinity focus point/lens full extension. Both have been to Solms and now images are SHARP, but neither are exactly adjusted for the rangefinder infinity...... and it doesn't matter as long as the photos are ok... Don't be distracted by jmahto above ..... it may have been his 50/1.4 that was at fault .... adjusting the rangefinder may have fixed it..... and put it out for his 28/2.8.... but for this lens with a wide DOF the difference may make no practical difference in everyday use. Get a dozen Leica lenses and try getting them all to work perfectly with an M9 ...... it is almost impossible and if you don't want to go mad you will have to make some practical compromises.... If your Leica dealer has a few demo lenses, take your camera and try a few , if the same problem is present then it's the rangefinder. If they all vary and some are ok, then it's probably mostly lens calibration thats at fault. What you do then depends on whether your pictures are ok and how much the slight maladjustment irritates you.... Edited July 30, 2012 by thighslapper 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalpowershot Posted August 6, 2012 Share #171 Posted August 6, 2012 My M9-P & the Lux is on the way to Solms. It seems that you should be able to turn the focus ring more than infinity by 1-2mm... My lens barely reaches the infinity point... That's why I was never able to focus at infinity... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted August 6, 2012 Share #172 Posted August 6, 2012 (edited) Get a dozen Leica lenses and try getting them all to work perfectly with an M9 ...... it is almost impossible and if you don't want to go mad you will have to make some practical compromises.... I should probably schedule a trip to Atlantic City or start playing the Lotto, because it would seem my luck is phenomenal I have, well let's just say more than a dozen, Leica and CV lenses and have only needed to have two of them adjusted, a 50/2 and 135/4 (the latter I had to mill down the optical housing myself because it came back from service as bad as it left). The rest are spot-on. These are all older pre-digital pre-ASPH lenses BTW. Honestly, given how long Leica takes to produce a small batch of lenses, how much they charge, and how vociferously they toot their own horn about quality, IMHO it's nothing short of disgusting that so many modern lenses need to be recalibrated. It would seem to me that any lens manufactured in at least the last 6 years should have been up to digital standards. Edited August 6, 2012 by bocaburger Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted August 6, 2012 Share #173 Posted August 6, 2012 I agree. They appear to be producing lenses that are beyond their capabilities to consistently calibrate to the standard required for a digital sensor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndReini Posted August 6, 2012 Share #174 Posted August 6, 2012 Hi Guys, Thanks for the replies. I did a few tests - The sharpness at close distances (to about 10 ft) seems to be fine. However focusing beyond 10 ft seems hit and miss. More often than not the images are back focused. Would this confirm that the rangefinder needs to be realigned? Thanks! Sorry, I got to this so late, but what the OP describes does not sound like a rangefinder misalignment. I had the same backfocus problem with my 50lux aspherical at far distances while close focusing was fine. I sent both the lens and the camera to Leica and they actually added a shim to the lens. Now focus is dead on at both close and far distance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergiofigliolia Posted August 19, 2012 Share #175 Posted August 19, 2012 Hi all, I have found this thread because yesterday I experienced the symptoms in the very first post for the first time. (when I focus at infinity I don't get the 2 images to overlap but they stay slightly off) I got my M9 second hand some months back and since then it is the first time I notice it. I had noticed it already on a Canon ltm 50 f1.2 but never on my summicrons (35 ASPH and 50). Let me say I believe my M9 focusses correctly close and far. I'd be happy if you guys would have a look at the samples below Samples below with the latest summicron (non-apo!). The first one is the full image and the second is a crop of the center I can't see any problems with the samples. Should I expect sharper images than those posted? Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/118043-m9-coincidence-at-infinity/?do=findComment&comment=2089847'>More sharing options...
mojo Posted March 6, 2013 Share #176 Posted March 6, 2013 I would like to learn how to calibrate my rangfinder when ever it go's out. I have heard its relatively easy. I dont like sending it to leica whenever it needs adjustment. Can anyone help me learn how ? Is there a book I can buy or an artical I can Google. Any help would be much appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlashGordonPhotography Posted March 6, 2013 Share #177 Posted March 6, 2013 There's been a couple of threads on this lately. The best resource is on this forum. The first page has everything you need. http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/122176-m9-coincidence-infinity.html I suggest you find a focus chart online ans possibly invest in a magnifier for getting infinity absolutely perfect. Those two things made is much easier for me. Also don't contemplate doing this unless it's with a lens you are absolutely sure is spot on. If the lens you use is out you'll have all sorts of troubles. Gordon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Gunst Lund Posted March 6, 2013 Share #178 Posted March 6, 2013 Range finder calibration is not a DIY job for amateurs. You need some highly special tools, jigs etc. to do the job correct according to the design tolerances. Yes some people tinker with their range finder in their cameras, but they have very little control over the end result. You will quickly see this when you learn how complex the range finder in an Leica M is and learn about how fine these tolerances are. Remember that also the lenses must/can be calibrated... Use search here on this site or Google to learn more, but don't expect to be able to do this on your own... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted March 6, 2013 Share #179 Posted March 6, 2013 I would like to learn how to calibrate my rangfinder when ever it go's out. I have heard its relatively easy. I dont like sending it to leica whenever it needs adjustment. Can anyone help me learn how ? Is there a book I can buy or an artical I can Google. Any help would be much appreciated. Read this thread starting at the beginning !!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted March 6, 2013 Share #180 Posted March 6, 2013 Yes read this thread. I did my M8's long before I had such a detailed instructional as this and it took me the better part of an afternoon. Yesterday I did my brand new Monochrom in about an hour and a half. But if you don't understand the instructions in this thread then you won't find any better elsewhere so best not to attempt yourself. You do need a good 2.5 mm screwdriver (mine just happened to be made in Germany!) and allen wrench, some amount of mechanical acuity, a good infinity, close up, 3 meter and 10 meter references, a lens you know is correct, a gentle touch, and a lot of patience. This is something you shouldn't have to do often as long as you get it right the first time. If you do (other than a huge bump on the camera) than something is wrong (or it might be your lenses) and a trip back is warranted. But it's not for the faint of hearted or if you are the least bit confused about the excellent instructions given here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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