bessa r focusing help

[hbc]

thank you sean or this range finder forum. my ? is i bought a bessa-r last year its great and ilove it for the price you just can't be it, now about 3months ago i drop it wich threw the range finder off, i worked with it for a while till in my stupidity i searched on the net about how to adjust the range finder, well i found some info on it, and in my further stupidity i tried to do it myself instead of sending it to cameraquest, needless to say now it's completly out of wack way out of wack. question any sugestions on zone focusing? i should be able to still shoot with it right? i am using a 35mm and a 50mm lenses.

 

[Flotsam]

Unless you knocked the body focus out of whack you should be able to scale focus no problem. Just look at the depth of field and distance markings on the lens and get familiar with the hyperfocal distances at various f-stops.
I shoot that way with my Vito B and my Nikonos V (above water in nasty weather) and it is a wonderful way to shoot. Low tech autofocus .

 

[victor]

hi hbc...
whats done is done.
about scale focusing...
there is some comment that i have made about the scale focusing in the forum of the 35mm cameras, under contax g users i think. it is very detailed comment about how to study the "aproximation" and the scale focusing. practice is the best way. for that u need confirmation... so look at it, it can be very helpfull.
generally, on 50mm lense it is more difficult to get high quality consistantly. but on 35mm, personally i have no problems at all. but it needs practice.

 

[Eric Rose]

try fixing it again but be very slow and methodical. I use a laser pen pointed at a wall as my reference spot for adjusting the horizontal and vertical adjustments. Once you get on to it, it will go easy.

If all else fails the distance estimation system works just fine. HCB seemed to be able to take a couple of decent pics that way. I use to have a Rollei 35S and it you had to estimate the distance with that camera as well. After a while you get real good at it. Using hyperfocal distance is a must. Fast film, small aperture, steady hand.

 

[tony lockerbie]

Hi, I also have a bessa r with a 35mm lens and find that guesstimate focussing works fine for most of the snap shop type stuff, once you start guessing and get used to it you will find that it gets much easier. Shooting with the nokton wide open in low light may test you a bit though!

 

[petebown]

The rangefinder should only be adjusted with the lens focussed at infinity.

Adjust the rangefinder's horizontal and vertical alignment checking it against a very distant object.

You shouldn't attempt to align it using a laser pointer on a wall as the spot will not be at infinity and you have no idea what the focussing distance of the lens is set to or how far away the sopt is.

Once infinity is adjusted correctly, all other focussing distances should the be OK.