kyuneo Posted April 1, 2012 Share #1 Â Posted April 1, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello, I just bought a used Leica M6 in pristine condition. With it, I have Summicron-M 50mm and the Elmar 135mm F4. The Cron 50 works perfectly, but I can't get the rangefinder focus to work for the Elmar. I know the focus area is pretty tight with a 0.72x viewfinder, but the focus images don't budge when turning the focus dial. I'm probably overlooking something simple, but please let me know if you have any thoughts. Thanks so much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 1, 2012 Posted April 1, 2012 Hi kyuneo, Take a look here Help! Elmar 135mm F4 not focusing on Leica M6. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
ho_co Posted April 2, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted April 2, 2012 Welcome to the forum! Â Take a look into the rear of your 135. I think the cam was on a kind of metal bar that extended from the focus mount back to the rear of the lens. Perhaps that bar has been bent so that it no longer contacts the rangefinder roller in the body? Â You say the M6 is a recent purchase. Have you had opportunity to try the Elmar on another body? Â My guess is that the problem will turn out to be the lens, and will be pretty obvious when you find it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted April 2, 2012 Share #3  Posted April 2, 2012 One possibility - those long-ago 135s (Hektor, Elmar, Tele-Elmar until the 1990s) used a push-pull shaft to connect the focus cam way up in the front of the lens to the camera roller. They moved back under positive pressure when focusing from near out to infinity, but going the other direction, depend on a spring to push them back out when focusing close.  Dust, grime etc. can make the traveling shaft sticky enough that the spring is no longer strong enough for the return push, leaving the push-rod stuck at the infinity end. Or the spring itself may have broken.  The tip of the push-rod is visible in this shot of a Tele-Elmar - the brass block inside the lens at top.  http://www.barthworks.com/cameras/photos/lens135b.jpg  Focus your lens off the camera, and see if the similar cam surface slides in and out. If it doesn't move, it is stuck. You may be able to free it by pressure from the back (with the lens at minimum focus - 4 feet or whatever) but it probably needs a cleaning and lube, and maybe a new spring. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyuneo Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share #4 Â Posted April 2, 2012 Thank you both and thanks for the welcome to the forum! Yes I just noticed the push-pull shaft in the lens. I pushed it into the lens and it clicked into place and it now focuses perfectly. How odd?! I'll look to see if it needs a lube. Just making sure I understand correctly, it was in it's infinity position and not pushing back in because of various reasons? I'll play around with it some more and see how it responds, thanks again for the quick responses. I'm surprised this wasn't an issue already covered in these forums. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted April 2, 2012 Share #5 Â Posted April 2, 2012 I have had a similar lens for over 40 years, works fine on M3 and M6, although I personally find it a 'challenge' to get sharp focus on the M6 Â Gerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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