Problem with Leica R5 eyepiece.

[dazz]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I recently acquired a Leica R5 , and noticed that the diopter adjuster  just freewheels round . I then noticed a small piece of metal that moves when I operate the eyepiece blind ,right behind the back of the finder glass.

I presume that this piece is a part of the diopter mechanism , and has dropped down and got caught up in the blind mechanism, does anyone know who might be able to fix this . I am led to believe that the small piece of leatherette above the eyepiece hides two screws which when removed allow removal of the finder lens , is this correct. Would be very grateful for any help. 

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[250swb]

37 minutes ago, dazz said:

I recently acquired a Leica R5 , and noticed that the diopter adjuster  just freewheels round . I then noticed a small piece of metal that moves when I operate the eyepiece blind ,right behind the back of the finder glass.

I presume that this piece is a part of the diopter mechanism , and has dropped down and got caught up in the blind mechanism, does anyone know who might be able to fix this . I am led to believe that the small piece of leatherette above the eyepiece hides two screws which when removed allow removal of the finder lens , is this correct. Would be very grateful for any help. 

Have you pulled the diopter adjusting wheel out before trying to adjust it, pushed in it just freewheels to stop accidental movement.

[dazz]

The diopter wheel will not pull out at all . 

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!

[Eclectic Man]

The first pic is my R5 viewfinder normally.  The second is with the viewfinder blind partially raised.

The wheel top left is the eyepiece diopter adjustment, and only works when pulled out from the body of the camera by about 1-2mm.  The obstruction in your R5 viewfinder seems to be a mechanical fault.

The Leica R5 is a lovely camera, still in love with mine 💕

 

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!

Edited August 27, 2024 by Eclectic Man

[dazz]

Thanks for the replies all , I have owned an R5 before , they are fab cameras , the obstruction actually appears loose as it had maybe become dislodged from the diopter knob above , but have seen afew threads stating that it’s easy to remove the back glass of the eyepiece . Just to remove the offending part to prevent it disappearing elsewhere . Two screws under small strip of leatherette above eyepiece , does anybody know if this is correct. Thankyou

[David Weber]

If you remove the two screws, you can (carefully!) remove the eyepiece. It consists of two lenses. The front lens can move backward and forward and is hold by 4 springs. this is the diopter. Be careful that this mechanism stays intact! You don't wanna loose those springs.  When you put the eypiece back in make sure that the diopter knob is at the front most position, so that there is no pressure on the diopter lens until you have tighten the screws again.  Otherwise the arm that pulls the diopter lens backwards can slip behind the lens and then the diopter doesen't work.

[dazz]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

David , Thankyou so much for wonderfully detailed explanation, are you inclined to think that the piece of metal is part of the diopter mechanism and do you have any clues as to how I might reattach it . Again Thankyou . Regards Darren.

[David Weber]

Sorry Daren I am not sure what this is. I have only removed the eyepieces of my Rs once to clean the viewfinder lenses. But from the position it looks like that this might be a part of the viewfinder shutter mechanism. Is the shutter working correctly? If not, maybe parts of the shutter are blocking the diopter mechanism? If the shutter is the problem, I would try to remove the eyepice and see if you can pull any loose shutter parts through the hole. If this doesn't help you have to remove the top cover.

This is a german discussion about R7 repairs: https://forum.aphog.com/index.php?thread/43502-leica-r7-reparaturen/ There are several photographs how the camera looks like with the top cover removed.

[dazz]

David Thankyou again for taking time out to help me , very much appreciated by me , oddly the eyepiece blackout blind is working normally although it is grating a little and the offending bit of metal seems to traverse up and down as I move it into place . Regards Darren.