Who are we?  Featured Cameras  Articles  Instruction Manuals  Repair Manuals  The Classic Camera Repair Forum  Books  View/Sign Guestbook

Contax IIa Rangefinder Calibration. H... Log in | Log Out | Topics | Search
Moderators | Register | Edit Profile

Classic Camera Repair » Archives-2006 » Contax IIa Rangefinder Calibration. Help Needed!! « Previous Next »

Author Message
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Thomas T

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 11:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The double image in my Contax IIa can not be lined up correctly. What should I do to calibrate it? Thank you.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

rick

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Sunday, March 19, 2006 - 09:33 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Is it off vertically? ZI didn't provide an adjustment for that, presumably because they KNEW it was absolutely perfect and would never drift, and it hadn't been necessary in the prewar models.

Unfortunately the design is different in the IIa and it can drift. The RH rangefinder lens is set in pitch, in perfect register (not sure how they did that). When the pitch shrinks (which it has done by now), the lens is loose and can move. What you need to do is get the lens into its correct position and stick it back down. I use contact cement for this, but it also shrinks a bit as it dries so it's a very fussy job.

There is an adjustment for lateral alignment (focus), but you need to make sure the lens is secure before wasting your time on that....

: ) =
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Mike Kovacs

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 10:33 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I had a Contax IIA I did (had many emails with Rick) where the RH rangefinder lens was set tightly in the pitch, but still it was out.

I was able to put shims under the pivot point and restore perfect vertical alignment on this one.

Also, its quite common to have a weak return spring if the image doesn't move going from minimum back towards infinity.

Add Your Message Here
Post:
Bold text Italics Underline Create a hyperlink Insert a clipart image

Username: Posting Information:
This is a private posting area. Only registered users and moderators may post messages here.
Password:
Options: Enable HTML code in message
Automatically activate URLs in message
Action:

Topics | Last Day | Last Week | Tree View | Search | User List | Help/Instructions | Program Credits Administration