Eastgreenlander Posted August 20, 2011 Share #1 Posted August 20, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I just received my new M9-P and after my initial focus test I can see that I have a slight front focus with all my fast lenses. This tool from ebay makes it possible to adjust the vertical alignment your self. The question is I my voiding the warranty if I do it my self? The M9-P has a screw in the front of the top plate making the access much easier than to remove the conventional M9 red dot to adjust the vertical alignment. I am placed in Greenland and sending my new M9-P takes two weeks alone to my danish dealer. DIY calibration is so tempting. Any experience on DIY calibration? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 20, 2011 Posted August 20, 2011 Hi Eastgreenlander, Take a look here Adjusting the vertical alignment your self. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Lindolfi Posted August 20, 2011 Share #2 Posted August 20, 2011 Search for "vertical alignment tool" on this forum and you will find at least two recipes, Per. With some patience it can be done. It is important to have a good point source target. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted August 20, 2011 Share #3 Posted August 20, 2011 Well done on getting your M9-P. I would venture that you might well void your warranty by DIY. How about checking with your Danish dealer first? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted August 20, 2011 Share #4 Posted August 20, 2011 If it's front focussing, messing with the vertical alignment is not going to help. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted August 20, 2011 Share #5 Posted August 20, 2011 Incidentally, providing you don't foul any screw heads or do any actual damage, doing a DIY RF calibration isn't going to void your warranty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted August 20, 2011 Share #6 Posted August 20, 2011 +1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindolfi Posted August 20, 2011 Share #7 Posted August 20, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes, Per, wattsy is right about vertical alignment having nothing to do with front-focussing. A slight deviation in vertical alignment only can make focussing more variable, but not systematically wrong in one direction. For horizontal adjustment you just need a hex key and the correct procedure (search for "horizontal alignment") so that you do not get rid of an error at one point and get a new one somewhere else. The usual procedure is to get infinity correct for all or most of your lenses with the hex key and then check for close focus. If all you lenses still back- or front focus there is something wrong with the effective length of the rangefinder arm, which can be adjusted with the screw at the base of the rangefinder arm, which has and eccentric ring. For this you need to grind a small screwdriver at an angle to be able to reach the screw from outside of the camera. In increasing order of difficulty, [1] infinity adjustment with the hex key [2] close focus adjustment with rangefinder base screw [3] vertical alignment adjustment In all cases, work very slow and careful. If you don't trust yourself, don't even start with points [2] and [3] and probably also not point [1]. In that case, just send the camera off to a dealer and be patient, you probably have another camera and focus your attention to the creative process of framing and timing an image. It is hard to say on this forum, but you can make images without an M9 or M9-P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastgreenlander Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share #8 Posted August 20, 2011 Yes, Per, wattsy is right about vertical alignment having nothing to do with front-focussing. A slight deviation in vertical alignment only can make focussing more variable, but not systematically wrong in one direction. For horizontal adjustment you just need a hex key and the correct procedure (search for "horizontal alignment") so that you do not get rid of an error at one point and get a new one somewhere else. The usual procedure is to get infinity correct for all or most of your lenses with the hex key and then check for close focus. If all you lenses still back- or front focus there is something wrong with the effective length of the rangefinder arm, which can be adjusted with the screw at the base of the rangefinder arm, which has and eccentric ring. For this you need to grind a small screwdriver at an angle to be able to reach the screw from outside of the camera. In increasing order of difficulty, [1] infinity adjustment with the hex key [2] close focus adjustment with rangefinder base screw [3] vertical alignment adjustment In all cases, work very slow and careful. If you don't trust yourself, don't even start with points [2] and [3] and probably also not point [1]. In that case, just send the camera off to a dealer and be patient, you probably have another camera and focus your attention to the creative process of framing and timing an image. It is hard to say on this forum, but you can make images without an M9 or M9-P I have made a HUGE mistake! I do not mean vertical but horizontal alignment I will try to do it my self via a hex key. Is it a special size? thanks for all the replies BTW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindolfi Posted August 21, 2011 Share #9 Posted August 21, 2011 [1] It is a 2mm hex key. [2] Use a good quality new one that sits well in the hex slot of the roller. [3] You need a target at least 1 kilometer away to be "infinite" to the rangefinder mechanism. [4] Work with a tripod [5] Use warm hands, so you can feel the motion: part of the motion is elastic and then you feel the sliding motion of the hex screw turning. [6] Work with the smallest sliding motion you can create. [7] If you went past alignment, you know you have to get back and by feeling how much you pulled you have sense of how much to get back. [8] Use several attempts iteratively, until you get good alignment at infinity Now this may or may not solve the issue. It is certain that if one lens is ok, others may be not. But in my experience new Leica lenses tend to have equal push distances of the roller at infinity, in other words: when one lens is ok at infinity, the other ones are also. Hope that is true for you too. The other uncertainty is whether infinity is the only adjustment which is off. But it is certainly a good place to start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
christer Posted August 21, 2011 Share #10 Posted August 21, 2011 If it's front focussing, messing with the vertical alignment is not going to help. He has said it all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastgreenlander Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share #11 Posted August 22, 2011 [1] It is a 2mm hex key. [2] Use a good quality new one that sits well in the hex slot of the roller. [3] You need a target at least 1 kilometer away to be "infinite" to the rangefinder mechanism. [4] Work with a tripod [5] Use warm hands, so you can feel the motion: part of the motion is elastic and then you feel the sliding motion of the hex screw turning. [6] Work with the smallest sliding motion you can create. [7] If you went past alignment, you know you have to get back and by feeling how much you pulled you have sense of how much to get back. [8] Use several attempts iteratively, until you get good alignment at infinity Now this may or may not solve the issue. It is certain that if one lens is ok, others may be not. But in my experience new Leica lenses tend to have equal push distances of the roller at infinity, in other words: when one lens is ok at infinity, the other ones are also. Hope that is true for you too. The other uncertainty is whether infinity is the only adjustment which is off. But it is certainly a good place to start. I choose a red line on a book as a reference. Font focus is evident. 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! Hex key was inserted as shown in this thread : http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/13933-new-backfocus-thread-solution.html#post146014 After my adjustment. It took a few tries, end result was a tiny bit of front focus with my 50lux but very good on my 50noct asph. Lights from my Iphone LED as it was getting dark. Relieved that I could do this by my self, spared me months of waiting if I was to send it to Solms. Thanks for the help, Lindolfi. Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Hex key was inserted as shown in this thread : http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/13933-new-backfocus-thread-solution.html#post146014 After my adjustment. It took a few tries, end result was a tiny bit of front focus with my 50lux but very good on my 50noct asph. Lights from my Iphone LED as it was getting dark. Relieved that I could do this by my self, spared me months of waiting if I was to send it to Solms. Thanks for the help, Lindolfi. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/159797-adjusting-the-vertical-alignment-your-self/?do=findComment&comment=1772385'>More sharing options...
Lindolfi Posted August 23, 2011 Share #12 Posted August 23, 2011 So did you adjust for infinity and as a result got your close focus correct, Per? Or did you adjust for close focus by trial and error? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastgreenlander Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share #13 Posted August 24, 2011 So did you adjust for infinity and as a result got your close focus correct, Per? Or did you adjust for close focus by trial and error? Close focus, trail and error, focussing on the red line in the book. I would focus on the line and then dismount the lens, turn the hex screw, check if it got better or worse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted August 24, 2011 Share #14 Posted August 24, 2011 You have no idea if the lens is off or the camera. If you mate it to one camera, it may not work on another. Traditionally, there are two focus points to adjust, infinity and 1 meter from the film plane. A 50 mm has 1 meter marked. Usually the one that goes bad is infinity. That is the outside one. But adjusting one changes the other so there is a procedure to follow. I use a star at night for infinity, a ruler for 1 meter from film plane. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastgreenlander Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share #15 Posted August 24, 2011 You have no idea if the lens is off or the camera. If you mate it to one camera, it may not work on another. Traditionally, there are two focus points to adjust, infinity and 1 meter from the film plane. A 50 mm has 1 meter marked. Usually the one that goes bad is infinity. That is the outside one. But adjusting one changes the other so there is a procedure to follow. I use a star at night for infinity, a ruler for 1 meter from film plane. I had all my 6 lenses and 2 film M bodys for adjustment. New body is the M9-P, the outsider. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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