Linhof Technica III Rangefinder Adjustment.

[Tony Lakin]

Can anyone help with any information regarding the adjustment of a Tech III Mark 5 rangefinder, I have not used the camera in handheld rangefinder mode for many years and have found the rangefinder to be out by 2 to 3mm (measured on focusing track), I have checked that the focusing scale is at infinity when the image on the ground glass is sharply focused and it is ok with all three coupled lenses (the cams and lenses have the matching serial numbers) I assume there will be an adjustment screw somewhere in the vicinity of the rangefinder but possibly hidden under the leather covering?

[Bob Salomon]

Do the serial numbers on the bottom of the cm match the serial number of the camera?

[Tony Lakin]

Do the serial numbers on the bottom of the cm match the serial number of the camera?

Hi Bob
Yes the serial numbers match, I purchased the camera used in 1970 I used it many times with the rangefinder with the 3 matching lenses, the camera has never sustained impact damage so I really cannot understand what has changed?

[Bob Salomon]

Hi Bob
Yes the serial numbers match, I purchased the camera used in 1970 I used it many times with the rangefinder with the 3 matching lenses, the camera has never sustained impact damage so I really cannot understand what has changed?

If nothing else, you have a camera that is at least 54 years old and, at most, 68 years old. So, if nothing else, it could just be wear.

[coisasdavida]

Sorry if this a stupid question for you, but have you checked that the rear four thumb screws are allowing the back to completely rest against the camera body?

[Kimberly Anderson]

On the rangefinder housing, on the bottom angled side, you can peel back the leatherette and there's a thin aluminum covering that is held in place with adhesive. If you pull it back too (sometimes it comes up when you peel back the leatherette) you have access to the adjustment screws. It's super easy. Have fun!

[Bill_1856]

Could probably be that the RF movement is a little sticky from old lubricants.
I'd set the camera up on a tripod in a high-traffic area of the house, and run the focusing track up and down a few times every time that you pass it. Can't hurt!

[Tony Lakin]

On the rangefinder housing, on the bottom angled side, you can peel back the leatherette and there's a thin aluminum covering that is held in place with adhesive. If you pull it back too (sometimes it comes up when you peel back the leatherette) you have access to the adjustment screws. It's super easy. Have fun!

Thank you so much Michael, exactly what I needed to know, everything is now in synch.

Greatly appreciated

Thanks again:)

[Tony Lakin]

Thanks to everyone for your advise and suggestions:)

[towolf]

On the rangefinder housing, on the bottom angled side, you can peel back the leatherette and there's a thin aluminum covering that is held in place with adhesive. If you pull it back too (sometimes it comes up when you peel back the leatherette) you have access to the adjustment screws. It's super easy. Have fun!

Thanks for the info. I was wondering about this before.

Now my problem wasn’t the rangefinding accuracy itself (vertical). My RF has a horizontal offset, which makes judging the vertical offset harder. I’ve exposed two screws, but as far as I understand the right one is to fix the mirror assembly and the left one is spring-loaded and for fine vertical adjustment. Any way to make lateral adjustments?

http://i.imgur.com/zVyJ3DI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ACqv7Er.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EMunfBZ.jpg

[Kimberly Anderson]

Now you're outside my thin bubble of knowledge. I'm not sure about lateral adjustment. If you figure something out, let us know! :)

[towolf]

I’ve exposed another window and there’s two screws but they look to me as if they are holding a bracket. Didn’t want to mess with those.

http://i.imgur.com/qTSVAyfl.jpg (http://imgur.com/qTSVAyf)

On the other hand, since I was peeling the leatherette anyway and it was coming off almost everywhere, I’ve stripped it naked now. Looks pretty metal:


http://i.imgur.com/TVnwbOol.jpg (http://imgur.com/a/4Kmde)

[DrTang]

On the other hand, since I was peeling the leatherette anyway and it was coming off almost everywhere, I’ve stripped it naked now. Looks pretty metal:





get some testors military green model paint.. and you can have a cool US Military version

[Kimberly Anderson]

Your camera and mine must be kissing-cousins. I have the same finder and I have been toying with the idea of stripping down the leatherette completely as well. How did you get all of the glue off? Mine is being stubborn in places.

[David A. Goldfarb]

You can get die-cut leather/ette replacement kits from http://cameraleather.com/

If you wanted to be perverse, you could order a yard of this stuff and send it to cameraleather for the die cut and have the world's most luxurious handbag (or not--there are some really pricy handbags out there):

http://www.windycityfabrics.com/lvvinylold.htm

I wonder if you could also make a bellows in that pattern.

[towolf]

Your camera and mine must be kissing-cousins. I have the same finder and I have been toying with the idea of stripping down the leatherette completely as well. How did you get all of the glue off? Mine is being stubborn in places.

I have solvents in increasing power.

I started with ethanol and that got the main glue off. It was not sticking anymore and many panels were already coming off. Then the stronger glue for the sheet metal squares I dissolved with ethyl-acecate and naphta (lighter fluid).

Now there’s some rust in some place where the coating (chrome?) spalls off. I wonder if re-covering and re-sealing the body would be better to prevent more rust. I don’t have rust on the inside. Might be they used a different coating method. It looks darker after all.

[Kimberly Anderson]

Oh I have all those solvents. I might be following in your footsteps!

[towolf]

You can get die-cut leather/ette replacement kits from http://cameraleather.com/

That site is full of 404s so I emailed them. They sent me a zip file with new colors and I found them interesting.

Would I get banned from this forum if I ordered this one?

http://i.imgur.com/vxzoCeZ.png (http://imgur.com/vxzoCeZ)

[towolf]

And here is why I was originally playing around with the rangefinder alignment: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?115600-DIY-Kalart-FocuSpot-style-Laser-Ranging-with-Technika-RF

[Kimberly Anderson]

I hope no one minds if you do a flamed faded yellow-orange. I was thinking red for mine.

[towolf]

Here's a teaser that i received from Morgan

http://i.imgur.com/VfKIL1x.jpg

[Kimberly Anderson]

Damn, I do like that RED.

[towolf]

Not sure if the white balance makes it darker, but I expected it to look something more like the Leica III above. I’ll post a picture when it’s dressed again.

[towolf]

TETELESTAI.

http://i.imgur.com/I7mQbubl.jpg (http://imgur.com/a/fIo2G)

Ordered on Aug 16, arrived yesterday. Took me 5 concentrated hours to apply. Leatherette has a paper base, which I didn't expect. I thought it would be similar to the original: a thicker, embossed sheet of vinyl or similar.

[Kimberly Anderson]

WOW. I'm gonna strip mine now, buff out the corrosion and order some covers. That looks amazing. Kind of like driving a Ferrari to WalMart amazing.

[Corran]

Nice. I've considered something similar for my Tech IV just for kicks. Too impatient to apply that myself though.

[Tony Lakin]

I have just discovered how to adjust the lateral rangefinder image on my Tech III, if you remove the flash bracket from the range finder housing (two screws) you will see a small hole in the housing just under the top screw hole, if you look into the hole you will see an adjustment screw just behind the semi silvered mirror, if the screw is turned clockwise the split image moves to the right and vice versa, be careful not to damage the mirror, the job is made a lot easier by removing the range finder eyepiece (unscrews) which allows a access for a mini torch.

[Kimberly Anderson]

Yes! I will look on mine and adjust accordingly. :)