Repairing the rangefinder on a Linhof Technika III
Hi all, I am new to LFP.
Just aquired a Technika 3. One of the small lenses has caved in inside the range finder. How do you remove the range finder please? RF is not flush with top part of camera body but sitting underneath the lock knob.
Also I can't find a serial number anywhere apart from the black lens board. Very grateful for any suggestions.
Re: Linhof Technica range finder
Don't have a Tech III anymore but if you peel back the leatherette covering the rangefinder part you'll see a couple fo screws to adjust the mirrors and to remove the housing. Watch out for the connection to the cam inside the body. You may not even need to remove it completely to fix your issue.
Serial number should be under the accessory shoe mount.
Re: Linhof Technica range finder
You are a super star . Thank you so much.
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Previous advice didn't work unfortunately. Camera is an early technical 3 I think.
Screws at bottom of housing only adjust mirrors (photo2). Two other screws can be seen on the left of viewing lens, the one caved in(photo 3.)
Also should the cam move with the track and return to its original position on the right when seen from facing the front of the camera?
Help please.
Re: Linhof Technica range finder
I had a Technika 4 before I returned it. When I was playing around, it looked like the rangefinder was held in place by a few screws on the inside of the rear standard. I don’t know about the 3 but on the 4 you could access those screws by loosening the 4 hand nuts that allow you to adjust the back position, pull the back lol the way out, the slide the front standard all the way back off the track. If the 3 doesn’t have the adjustable back, then you need another way to get the front standard and bellows out of the way.
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I finally managed to remove rangefinder housing see photo 1. A much simpler job than I thought. Cam mechanism works but cam does not seem to engage with tracks. Is some piece missing? I think it's a cam for a 90 mm lens,see photo 2.
Also what I thought was a caved in lens is in fact part of the rangefinder and in its correct position. What is missing is the eyepiece, see photo 3. Can it be replaced with any eyepiece/lens or does it need to be a Linhof original?
Thank you for your replies.
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Re: Linhof Technica range finder
You do have an early Super Technika III with a 9x12 plate-holder back and a early style two sided rangefinder cam...
You are right you are missing the eyepiece it screws in and has a plain glass window in it just to keep it sealed...
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I would imagine you could make your own very easily from stuff at a decent hardware store...
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Re: Linhof Technica range finder
Your rangefinder cam appears to be of the double sided style that were on the earliest of the III's. On mine one side is for the 9cm/90mm lens, pull it out and and flip it over and it is for the 15cm/150mm. They were a bit wider than single focal length cams the later III models used. If you slide out the top rail only you can see how the bottom rail has a pin that engages the rangefinder cam.
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Kinda hard to see but the serial # is between the two screws just forward of the Linhof Munchen logo on the front door below the rails...
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Re: Linhof Technica range finder
Your beautiful Technika III has the early style 9x12 plateholder back. Here is some info about it and the later backs which are completly interchangable with your III...
Linof Technika back styles... originally the first postwar Technika III models used thin 9x12 plateholders, (basically European 4x5... however since 4x5 is slightly wider it won’t fit in the 9x12 thin plateholders)... the next model used a spring back and it takes modern 4x5 & 9x12 filmholders which have identical external dimensions... finally there are two types of grafloc backs the early one from the last Tech IIIs and the later style which began with the IV and continues today... all of these backs rotate and are completely interchangeable...
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9x12 back with a stack of thin 9x12 plateholders... 9x12 filmsheaths fit inside to allow 9x12 film... this style was a carryover from pre war days... by the late 40’s the modern double sided 4x5 holders we know today had thankfully replaced them...
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