So I am the proud owner of a FED 2b with an Industar 26m lens. I got it very cheaply from Ukraine, with a probable discount owing to the fact that the shutter needed tightening to fire correctly at slow speeds. I have every intention of collecting Soviet Leica-derivatives, by the way.
The rangefinder turned out to be well out of adjustment, but thankfully I am generally decent at adjusting rangefinders. I learned that minor adjustments can be made by unscrewing a certain screw on the front of the camera near the rangefinder window, and turning the brass screw behind it.
I unscrewed the outer screw without trouble, and for once did not lose it. I found a flathead screwdriver of the appropriate size and went to sight the rangefinder in on a target at 10 meters.
The brass screw stripped instantly, leaving the rangefinder in only slightly better alignment. Worse, since I had not yet set the vertical alignment, some of that adjustment was undone by setting the wedge prism that compensates vertically.
So now I am more or less where I started, with the brass screw ruined. Thankfully I managed to tap most of the brass shavings out of the camera. I don't think much if any of them went in. The rangefinder is not far wrong in the close range, but farther off towards infinity. By the way, tests show that the distance scale on the lens is very reliable for zone or scale focusing.
How can I adjust it now? I know turning the wedge-shaped feeler cam on the end of the rangefinder arm can do it, but I can't get it to turn and I don't want to deform the arm or damage the rangefinder by applying more pressure to it.
Is there a way to fix it by taking the top off?
The rangefinder turned out to be well out of adjustment, but thankfully I am generally decent at adjusting rangefinders. I learned that minor adjustments can be made by unscrewing a certain screw on the front of the camera near the rangefinder window, and turning the brass screw behind it.
I unscrewed the outer screw without trouble, and for once did not lose it. I found a flathead screwdriver of the appropriate size and went to sight the rangefinder in on a target at 10 meters.
The brass screw stripped instantly, leaving the rangefinder in only slightly better alignment. Worse, since I had not yet set the vertical alignment, some of that adjustment was undone by setting the wedge prism that compensates vertically.
So now I am more or less where I started, with the brass screw ruined. Thankfully I managed to tap most of the brass shavings out of the camera. I don't think much if any of them went in. The rangefinder is not far wrong in the close range, but farther off towards infinity. By the way, tests show that the distance scale on the lens is very reliable for zone or scale focusing.
How can I adjust it now? I know turning the wedge-shaped feeler cam on the end of the rangefinder arm can do it, but I can't get it to turn and I don't want to deform the arm or damage the rangefinder by applying more pressure to it.
Is there a way to fix it by taking the top off?
