| Author | Message | ||
     Stuart Willis Rating: N/A |
Voigtlander regarded itself as an innovator - which of course is correct. The Vitessa barn-doors model is one of Voigtlander's classics of all time but there are technical complexities associated with the innovative aesthetics. There were to the best of my knowledge no less than seven versions of the model and each with small but significant technical design variations. The Vitessa T as with fixed lens mount is easiest to service whereas the barn-doors models can be problematic in terms of accumulated wear. The root is that the position of the lens-shutter block is, by reason of the contracting bellows design, not in a permanently fixed position relative to the plunger drive. If after 40 years or so of use, there occur alignment problems such as you describe it is unlikely that they can be corrected at one station. Correction involves a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Some of the Vitessa L variants had a thin washer beneath the button as atop the plunger - and some did not. If you are finding that addition of a small washer provides a correct axial movement which cocks the shutter properly - then introduce such a washer. It's as logical as that. Indeed - maybe there was one there orginally and it has been omitted by some past serviceman or tinkerer ? However - there should be zero rotational movement of the lens-shutter block and if there is, then your problem is not a short plunger stroke but rather that the shutter cocking piece is rotating away from the plunger cocking arm as the plunger descends. You have to correct that lens-shutter block looseness and ensure that in its retightened position the block is at a counter-clockwise position whereby the earlier lost motion is eliminated. I have virtually no doubt that this factor is the cause of shutter cocking failure. The lens-shutter block may not have been correctly seated before you installed the outer slotted retainer ring as to be seen around the lens rear element when the camera back is removed. Or it may simply be that all is correctly seated but the ring is not sufficiently tightened. The integrity of the cocking linkage between the plunger and the actual Synchro-Compur cocking arm, is also something to look at - but things then start to get very tricky. I am sure if you correct the lost motion as due to the loose len-shutter block, all will come good. Stuart Willis |