Rising viewfinder screen on a Silvestri Model H? (not an H25)

[quixoticcassandra]

Does anyone know if the screen on the H is supposed to rise with the lens rise? I've read conflicting info on the web about this (even on the Silvestri site), and good photos of the respective models are few and far between. I have the H, and neither the screen nor the viewfinder rises in conjunction with lens rise. And since the viewfinder is bolted down, and the screen is physically impossible to lower (there is a 15mm rise and a 10mm fall on the camera), I don't see how it could be possible.

I've sent an email to Silvestri, so I'll update the thread if I find anything out.

[quixoticcassandra]

Never mind. Found it. I had to partially tear the camera apart to see it, but there's an ingenious little lever which takes a large lens movement and translates it into a smaller viewfinder screen movement. My screen simply wasn't catching on to the lever for some reason. Hopefully, it's just a matter of giving it a bit of a clean and a dab of grease. I'm crossing my fingers. Will post a photo before I button things up again.

[RJ-]

Hi,

That's correct - the screen does indeed rise synchronously with the dialling in of up to 15mm rise.

Note that the screen frame mask (which inserts inside the screem frame and viewfinder optical glass does not necessarily fall when the dialled in rise, is displaced back to zero. This may have to be done manually by returning the screen to rise = fall=0mm simply by pushing it down. It should however displace with the 10mm of fall synchronously. If not, then it may be worthwhile adding a dab (spot only) of mechanical lubricating oil which does not attract dirt. It's a useful and deft tool for rapid framing and application of movements, but not for cross-movements. Do also check that your viewfinder mask is perfectly flat; these are milled from very thin aluminium and it's not unusual that they are bent out of plane, leading to a jam when the rise/fall is applied.

Kind regards

You could try using a spot of

[quixoticcassandra]

Nope. No luck with the lube. So I had to do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0GKSfECyuI