HELP! Is there something wrong with my M4 Rangefinder?

[MilkyOolong]

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Good Day,

I'm very new to film M's so this might be a stupid question, I purchased a Leica M-4 for a very good price four days ago and just noticed that there is something weird with my rangefinder, i didnt notice it when i was trying the camera at the shop.

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The samurai helmet and Figure are aligned but not the stapler

 

Stapler is Aligned but not the Samurai helmet and figure.

 

I don't have this problem on my Digital M240, lens that's mounted is on the M-4 is the 35 Summarit 2.4 APSH if that matters.

 

Any help would be very much appreciated 

 

[a.noctilux]

To be positive to see if something went wrong with M4 using the nice M240 as "guide"..

I don't understand the problems.

 

I'd do this as I have the "calibrated" M240 and having a doubt on the RF focussing, a couple of minutes to do so.

- with a vertical line, I focus with the RF and same lens, note the distance for example 5m or 2m

- swap the camera then check if those distances are the same.

- if discrepency occure, well I'll do to cure that

[giannis]

2 hours ago, MilkyOolong said:

Good Day,

I'm very new to film M's so this might be a stupid question, I purchased a Leica M-4 for a very good price four days ago and just noticed that there is something weird with my rangefinder, i didnt notice it when i was trying the camera at the shop.

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!

The samurai helmet and Figure are aligned but not the stapler

 

Stapler is Aligned but not the Samurai helmet and figure.

 

I don't have this problem on my Digital M240, lens that's mounted is on the M-4 is the 35 Summarit 2.4 APSH if that matters.

 

Any help would be very much appreciated 

 

Congrats you just demonstrated how and why rangefinder focusing works!  

[250swb]

2 hours ago, MilkyOolong said:

 

Any help would be very much appreciated 

 

If one thing is closer or further away than another thing you should expect the focus point to be different. If you don't have the same 'problem' with your M240 maybe you need to go back to the drawing board with that. There will be a description of how to focus a rangefinder camera in your M240 manual, and you can download a manual from the internet for the M4, so read the instructions.

[Fotoklaus]

This is the precision of your rangefinder. Imagine buing a fast, expensive lens and you are not able to focus precisely. At f1.4 and close range this may cause to an unsharp picture.

There is a distance between your stapler and the figure an your rangefinder is showing this precisely.

[tommonego@gmail.com]

Rangefinders go out of alignment, get it professionally adjusted, or ask the shop where you bought it to have it done. You can try it yourself, but initially I'd have it done by someone who knows Leicas.

[250swb]

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7 hours ago, tommonego@gmail.com said:

Rangefinders go out of alignment, get it professionally adjusted, or ask the shop where you bought it to have it done. You can try it yourself, but initially I'd have it done by someone who knows Leicas.

He's seeing two different things at two different distances and complaining both images don't coincide. Isn't that how rangefinders are supposed to work?

[Gobert]

In my view there is no problem.

[Mute-on]

If the rangefinder patch had what look like tiny hairs all over it, that would be a problem - it would mean the frameline mask was delaminating.
 

Your M4 has no problem with its rangefinder. It works as it should, in theory. 

[pop]

If anything, the mystery is why your digital M doesn't do that. This is how rangefinders work, as others have pointed out.

 

[Huss]

On 2/17/2022 at 2:02 AM, MilkyOolong said:

Good Day,

I'm very new to film M's so this might be a stupid question, I purchased a Leica M-4 for a very good price four days ago and just noticed that there is something weird with my rangefinder, i didnt notice it when i was trying the camera at the shop.

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!

The samurai helmet and Figure are aligned but not the stapler

 

Stapler is Aligned but not the Samurai helmet and figure.

 

I don't have this problem on my Digital M240, lens that's mounted is on the M-4 is the 35 Summarit 2.4 APSH if that matters.

 

Any help would be very much appreciated 

 

Your M4 has a .72X finder.  Your M240 has a .68X finder.  The lower magnification (less precise) finder of the M240 is masking the discrepancy.