First try with Yashica D YUCK!

Mike Kennedy · Aug 3, 2006

I just viewed my negs. and they all seemed out of focus.
My development was fine but the results were horrid. Could the taking or focusing lenses be out of kilter? The camera had received quite a wack from it's previous owner. Enough to knock off the name plate but no denting.
Is there a way to test the lenses for correct focusing without ripping into the body itself? A cure if they need recalibrating?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

eumenius · Aug 3, 2006

Well, first you have to check if the viewing lens focuses on the infinity well. Turn the focusing handle to infinity, and check it on the screen with loupe. If everything's okay, check the taking lens - open the aperture to maximum, set shutter to B, use a release cord with fixator to keep the shutter open. Tape a piece of 3M Magic Tape (or other fine-grained Scotch tape) across the film window - you should tape it to the planes where the film goes, of course. Check the focus on the infinity with a good loupe. If the image is blurred, the lenses went out of sync somehow, and they have to be adjusted. BTW, maybe a lens element has unscrewed from the shutter - check it also? In a very worst case, the lens panel can be bent from impact, and it would require a serious CLA to ensure the parallelity of film/lens planes

Cheers, and good luck - Zhenya

eumenius · Aug 3, 2006

Oh, forgot to say one thing - the whole issue can be related to a misplaced mirror in upper camera's compartment! If it's loose or lost its position, the system would go out of sync. That's usually indicated by off-infinity of viewing lens, and it's easy to cure - I think you would need in any case a good cleanup of focusing screen and mirror, right? There's four screws around the folding hood, so it's easy to get there without risk of damaging the camera. Check the infinity setting of upper lens, and if it's off, check the mirror - it could be displaced in an impact, the Yashicas don't have a strong mirror locks inside Also a focusing screen can be displaced - it's kept in place with two flimsy springs, no screws at all.

Hope it would help,
Zhenya

Mike Kennedy · Aug 3, 2006

Thank you Zhenya.
Good advice from a fellow photographer.

Mike

Greg_E · Aug 3, 2006

I recently had to fix a Rollei with a bent focus mechanism. The camera had clearly been butcher by a camera shop's so called repair service (or at least some other hamfisted moron).

At the cost of a Yashicamat or other TLR, I'm not sure it is worth sending out for complex repairs. However it might be a good camera for you to learn how to repair it.

mgb74 · Aug 3, 2006

Zhenya is correct.

I had (many years ago) a Yashica D. Everything out of focus except when I used distance scale instead of ground glass.

The mirror is held in place by a springy sheet metal bracket. It can slip out and down, effecting the apparent focus.

Mike Kennedy · Aug 3, 2006

The mirror had slipped out of it's metal bracket but even when replaced the dang thing is out of focus when set to infinity.
Just wondering if I could use my Blick (clip on Russian rangefinder) to calculate the distance and set the lens accordingly?

Mike

Konical · Aug 3, 2006

Good Morning, Mike,

Of course, but if you think the mirror placement is the problem, it would make more sense to work on getting it set correctly. As Zhenya has noted above, it not difficult to determine if the taking lens is focusing properly. If your camera is achieving infinity focus when the scale so indicates, your problem is either incorrect alignment of viewing and taking lenses, or mirror displacement. I'd be hoping for a mirror problem, because that would probably be a lot easier to deal with.

Konical

Konical

Mike Kennedy · Aug 3, 2006

EUREKA!!!!

Thanks for reminding me to take Zhenya's advice Konical.
I followed his instructions and it appears that the taking lens is in focus. I guess when the previous owner dropped the Yashica on it's head it knocked the focusing lens out of kilter.
Next time I use the D I will use my Blick rangefinder for distance measure and the focusing screen for composition.

Thanks Much Folks,
Mike

eumenius · Aug 3, 2006

Dear Mike,

I am very glad to hear that my advices worked - to be frank, Yashica's focusing system is indeed a real soft spot of the whole system. Can't really understand why did they make it so very flimsy and prone to misalignment.

I am pretty sure that your viewing lens is OK in focus too, and I warmly recommend you to fiddle with the mirror - if it's put without any gaps under its bracket on downside, and two side brackets, and locked down on upper side, the focus should be back It's REALLY difficult to misalign the upper lens on this kind of TLR, it's screwed to place VERY firmly with a very serious jamming nut. Try to find the infinity by moving a mirror, and the old poor Blik is a last resort

Cheers, and good luck - Zhenya

Mike Kennedy · Aug 3, 2006

I shall open her up again Zhenya and recheck the mirror.

Thanks, I owe ya a beer!

Mike

eumenius · Aug 4, 2006

Mike,

the easiest and safest way to adjust a mirror is to press on its silvery surface through a layer of lens wiping tissues, or wearing new photo gloves - never with bare hands, the mirror is silvered on its outer surface/ Okay, that's not really silver, it's aluminium - but these mirrors are quite delicate nevertheless. A final touch should be a piece of cottonwool on a bamboo skewer - moisten the mirror with breath, and wipe carefully away all the marks Blow out the dust before reassembling.

Check well the position of focusing hood after putting it down - it should lie perfectly flat against camera's body, don't force anything with screws. If it's not even, you should put the underside metallic flaps of the hood in their grooves on the sides of mirror. That's easy to achieve by sliding the hood down on these "rails".

I hope that it should work - cheers, Zhenya

Mike Kennedy · Aug 4, 2006

Well Zhenya, I rechecked the mirror alignment and made sure the top plate was correctly set and it still registers out of focus at infinity. Is there a way to reset the lens without getting into the camera's guts?
I'm using the Blick for now. I shall email you Saturday and give you the results of Yashica & Blick.

Thanks for your time,
Mike

Greg_E · Aug 4, 2006

Have you checked the focus of the taking lens? If it is off, then you will need to adjust it and change where the knob clamps to the focus shaft. For the viewing lens normally you need to remove the front covers. Remove the pleather from around the lenses, then find the screws to remove the 2 covers. You should see a screw that holds the viewing lens from turning. Loosen that screw, and then you can match the viewing lens to the taking lens. Tighten the screw, and replace the covers and pleather.

Another thing to note is that if your ground glass is installed incorrectly, then your viewing lens focus is going to be wrong.

Removing the pleather may not be very easy, I finished stripping my Yashica 635 today, it's getting a leather make-over very soon. And I'll service the shutter while I'm at it, and check the focus.

First try with Yashica D YUCK!

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