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In order for all lenses to couple accurately with the rangefinder, the axis of the roller cam must be precisely parallel with the axis of the shaft at the other end of the arm. If it isn't, there are two possible sources of inaccuracy, though I don't know which is more important. One is that as the arm rotates, the angle the roller presents to the rangefinder cam on the lens will change; the other is that the coupling will be different depending on the vertical position at which each lens's rangefinder cam contacts the roller. If the roller is exactly parallel with the shaft at the other end, both those factors are irrelevant.

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glad to know this ... I bought a 90/2.8 (last version) and the roller would slip off half way to infinity, on a couple of cameras. I noticed the cam diameter is about 35mm; on most of my lenses it's about 31mm. I sent the lens back, but maybe should have had both cameras checked.

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... There is a bending tool - you are quite right. ...

I think we're finally getting there, guys! We've discovered a tool so secret that almost no one has even heard of it.

 

Has anyone ever even seen the jig used to make the bending tool? That's the Grail of the collector!

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  • 8 months later...

Sorry for digging this up again, but i somehow cant loosen the screw on the rangefinder arm. Im trying already, but im too afraid to apply any more force, since the screw is already deforming itself :/ I tried to rotate it counter clockwise like mentioned before.

 

After adjusting the infinity is still got very slight backfocus, which means ill have to loosen that screw, adjust close focus and then repeat the whole thing again if i understood correctly, but hell, how do i get that screw loose ?

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haha joke. send it to an independent. I paid a fraction of that to Will van Manen. Btw afaik Leica charges under 150 Euro for a RF adjustment,in fact up till now I got it under guaranty, so I cannot imagine where you got 800 Euro from.

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This post is very long and no, have have not read everything, so I may be

redundant here.

Concerning screwdrivers: it is always best to use the tip that is as wide as the screw

slot is, or as close as you can get. Yes, blades are often a wee bit thicker than the screw-slot is wide. With a fine file, and watching the tip carefully for and even removal from

both sides of the blade ..... and as parallel as you can make it..... keep checking your

progress in the screw slot until it just fits! This is pretty common work and necessary.

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haha joke. send it to an independent. I paid a fraction of that to Will van Manen. Btw afaik Leica charges under 150 Euro for a RF adjustment,in fact up till now I got it under guaranty, so I cannot imagine where you got 800 Euro from.

 

Well if it would be that easy i would have done that already. In fact, no camera repair service will touch a digital M, since they all say the lack proper equipment. Actually i already went to the Leicashop (you should know, world famous camera auction house and official Leica Partner) and they told me not even they will do anything with it. The only place i can get that adjusted is in Solms. So i called the customer service in Solms, and after talking on the phone for about half an hour the kind women said it'll cost me around 800 Euros (+/- 50), depending on the time it takes ..

 

So im not pulling stuff out of my nose here, Leica really went pretty insane with this. They even wanted to charge me 250 Euros to clean the viewfinder of my M6 ... Did that on my own too in the end, since thats just hell of a lot money ..

 

Anyways, back to the question. My screwdriver fits perfectly, but still, im deforming the screw already with the force i applied. Is it really that stiff or am i rotating in the wrong direction ?

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That is absolute stuff and nonsense. All well-known independents do regular RF adjustments of M8 and M9. Will van Manen did both my M8 and M9 after me dropping it. And Leica charges well under 200 Euro for the service.

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Okay i give up. Looks like the Leicashop/Westlicht which is one of the most reputable camera stores and galleries in the world just lied right into my face. And also, the woman on the phone from Leica CS seems to have lied to me. Im sorry that i pointed out two facts i got told, seems like you know it better ..

And seems like all of the 6 camera repair services i called and went to obviously don't want my money either, or maybe they are just too lazy to adjust my rangefinder ..

 

Anyways, anyone here who can actually help me and not just talk nonsense ?

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Stores want to sell you cameras. Or send them on to Leica. If they are a Leica dealer they are obliged to by contract. You must go to a repair service like Don Goldberg, Sherry Krauter or Tom Abrahamson in the USA and there are many more, both in the USA and the rest of the world. And yes, you were told a load of rubbish. And yes, I know better. From extensive experience. But go ahead. It is your camera. If you don't know how to loosen a tight screw I don't see much chance of success....:rolleyes:

Edited by jaapv
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Ok. I just spoke to Mr. Jakob of Leica. Simple adjustment only costs under 100 Euro, normally 65 plus VAT. The price of 800 Euro would be a completely new viewfinder/rangefinder.

 

 

Of course, as you have damaged the mechanism already, it might be a few Euros more, but not excessively so.

 

If the camera is sent in for something else it will be done for free normally.

 

I also did a quick spot check on a number of the recommended repair services here on the forum. All of those I called will do a RF adjustment on the M8/9 at prices quoted between 25 and 50 Euro approx.

Edited by jaapv
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  • 1 month later...
Minor fyi...Sherry Krauter doesn't work on digital because, as she explained, necessary equipment would be too expensive.

 

Jeff

 

Hi Jeff,

 

Many thanks. That's indeed very interesting.

 

Does this imply that adjustments have to be more precise for digital than for film?

To me this appears consistent with Will van Manen Kamera-Service's feedback

which I summarized here http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/1596666-post142.html.

BTW, I ran my paraphrasing by them and Will van Manen and Cathy Kuiper agreed with it.

 

Best, K-H.

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  • 1 month later...

I was having consistent back focus issues on my M9, and after reading this I tried the hex wrench adjustment and it worked like a charm.

 

Just a slight adjustment, a check for infinity focus, and then slight more of adjustment and now focus is spot on now It's like I just got a whole new camera and set of lenses. Thank you so much for sharing this information! :)

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A whole essay could be written on screw-drivers alone: how they work and how to use

them. I am speaking of the flat drivers for the slotted screw. It’s really easy to ‘’bugger’’

a screw slot on a tight screw even with a driver that fits. The process of slippage leading

to tearing or deforming the screw slot edges is called ‘’caming out’’ due to the fact that

most flat bladed screw-drivers have a tapered edge addressing a flat sided slot. Thus,

when rotational torque is applied, there is also the ‘’lifting’’ action due to the wedge shape

of the screw-driver blade. So, what we have to do to overcome this action is push the

driver in harder as we apply more torque. On many precision mechanisms this is a

delicate task as one may bend the device holding the screw…. without proper bracing

to resist the pushing force. The best driver to overcome the caming action would be

‘’hollow-ground’’ at the tip so that the edges would be parallel as is the screw slot side.

They also make driver blades with embedded diamond grit… there is anti-caming

compound to apply to standard blades. Interesting subject all-in-all. By the way, is

it spelt camimg or camming…. I’ll have to look it up.

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