joeq Posted January 20, 2011 Share #1 Posted January 20, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) just got a 35mm 1.4 lens and, like the title of the post says, the rangefinder is not lining up on infinity. i believe it does so on my 35 f2. is this normal? if the photos are in focus, should i care? thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 Hi joeq, Take a look here rangefinder not lining up on infinity. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lars_bergquist Posted January 20, 2011 Share #2 Posted January 20, 2011 Check carefully with your other lenses. If only one lens does not line up, then this one is at fault. If all do, it's the camera. If the lens is faulty, it's a guaranty matter. (You didn't tell what brand the lens is.) "Practical infinity" by the way, is generally 1000 x the focal length, i.e. 35m for a 35mm lens. But to test the rangefinder, I use targets farther away. I have a convenient church spire at c. 1.8km. The binocular old man Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeq Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted January 20, 2011 Check carefully with your other lenses. If only one lens does not line up, then this one is at fault. If all do, it's the camera. If the lens is faulty, it's a guaranty matter. (You didn't tell what brand the lens is.) "Practical infinity" by the way, is generally 1000 x the focal length, i.e. 35m for a 35mm lens. But to test the rangefinder, I use targets farther away. I have a convenient church spire at c. 1.8km. The binocular old man great - so, assuming that it is the lens (a leica summilux, by the way), should i care as long as the photos are in focus? and are you saying that, for all practical purposes, 35m is the same as 350m??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted January 20, 2011 Share #4 Posted January 20, 2011 Joeq, I have a Kobalux 21/2.8 with which the rangefinder patch doesn't line-up at infinity but all my other lenses do. The problem is that the focus follower in the Kobalux is just too short to push the vf's focus lever all the way at infinity. I've checked and photos are in focus at infinity and at intermediate distances so I live with it. You haven't mentioned whether your 35/1.4 was made by Leica or another company. If it's a Leica lens and it's the only one that won't focus at infinity then I recommend sending it to 'Lens Hospital' for a check up because Leica M lenses are designed to work with M cameras and intermediate focus distances might be affected. If it's not a Leica lens and intermediate focus distances aren't affected you might like to live with it. (Edit: Just noticed in your second post you've said it's a Summilux. Dang it!) Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted January 20, 2011 Share #5 Posted January 20, 2011 Hi Think you need to care. If it was a 5cm lens cause the lens and focus ring track together, (if the lens is exactly 5cm) the error could be self correcting, sort off... With a 35mm the lens and focus ring move differentially so the error is not going to be constant. Check your other lens pick a high contrast target more than 500m the rfdr might just resolve but both lenses should be the same. More likely to be the camera is out, but clean the focus ring on both lenses, first. Noel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted January 21, 2011 Share #6 Posted January 21, 2011 For a 35mm lens, 35m is "practical infinity". But the rangefinder has to handle lenses up to 135mm so it will differentiate distances out to about 250m, I guess – I haven't tested. If the RF (or the RF-lens coupling) is off at infinity, it will probably be off at all other distances too.With a 35mm lens withits inherent depth of field, focusing may still be acceptable. My advice is to carefully test focus at 1.4 at different distances – infinity, middle distance and close focus. If the pictures come out right, you can perhaps live with the discrepancy, provided that just one lens is afflicted. The binocular old man Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted January 22, 2011 Share #7 Posted January 22, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) All Leica lenses should reach infinity and the camera rangefinder should show that. You say "not lining up on infinity." That could mean that the images are out vertically or horizontally or both. If horizontally, there are two possibilities: The lens pushes the rangefinder tracking roller further than the position where the images match; or the lens' infinity stop stops the lens before the cam pushes the tracking roller to the infinity position. You say "should i care as long as the photos are in focus?" How do you know they are in focus? Rangefinder-indicated focus should match the lens' optical focus at all distances. If that's not the case, something needs adjustment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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