Komaflex-s Focus adjustment

I've come into a Komaflex-s, and some 127. Put a roll through and mechanically the camera is all good (though missing a set screw on the front focusing lens assembly which means it be screwed rigggght off) but the camera is heavily front focusing i.e. I focus middle distance and the ground in front of me is in focus and middle distance is ... not.

Looks like someone has already been into the camera, or tried, as the screws holding the hood & focusing assembly to the body were 1. badly mauled and 2. feel as though they're made of putty which might explain #1. Copious careful work with delicate application of penetrating oil, overnight stays etc and I got the assembly off. Thanks to the inimitable Rick Oleson here http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/ for having what seems to be literally the only repair/service related material on the Komaflex.

I have a bit of ground glass pressed up against the film rails at the back as a focal plane test.

So the focusing screen is adjusted with three small grub screws. Now the _problem_ I've hit is that even with those grub screws screwed all the way in until they're _just_ about to fall out i.e. moving the focus screen away from the body as much as possible, the GG doesn't quite agree with the focal plane. I can shim the focusing screen a bit, not a problem, and make it match up with the focal plane focusing, but obviously there's something wrong here in that the focus should match up, I'm guessing, somewhere in the middle of those grub screws movement, allowing for slight adjustments either way, not still be off at the extreme end of the movement. There's a mirror stop but from what I can see there's no way to adjust that though I haven't gone in through the side of the camera quite yet.

Anyone adjusted these before ? Any obvious issues I'm missing ?

Here's an example, I had focused on that grey bit of machinery, you can see that the actual focal point is way closer to me. This was pretty consistent across the roll.





Just as an aside though, is the Komaflex-s just not the _cutest_ camera ever ? The size, the neat grey trim, that you can explain to anyone who asks about the camera that no-one has the faintest idea why it's called the Komaflex and not the Kowaflex ?

This problem sounds similar to what many have run into (myself included) with Mamiya 645 cameras. In that case, the problem is a mirror stop that's out of alignment, resulting in incorrect positioning of the mirror. This translates to a focus problem on the ground glass. This can be 'corrected' by shimming the ground glass, but in the case of the Mamiya, re-adjustment (or replacement) of the mirror stop is the proper solution. I would at least verify/look into this possibility on your camera as well.

Daire Quinlan said:

There's a mirror stop but from what I can see there's no way to adjust that

Click to expand...

Somehow, the mirror needs to travel back to its original spot after the exposure cycle finishes. Maybe it's not the stop proper, but the mirror mechanism where the problem is. Does the mirror rest against the stop? Is there any foam layer or other degradable material that may have gone missing?

My best wishes for success with your Komaflex S. I have 2, one I bought new MANY years ago - which needs shutter work - and one bought just recently, which came with a tele converter lens. They are a delight to use, and "Superslides" (compatible with 35mm projectors), are most impressive. Now....if only 127 film were more available AND less expensive!

@koraks yes you're probably right, I'd say someone has messed with this before. I did shim the screen with a single sheet of 300gsm card, along with basically adjusting the set screws to their max, and I got the focus pretty much bang on, so I think I'll leave it at this and not dig into the internals

@GRHazelton, yes they're nice cameras, tempted to get together some mechanism together to cut down 120 now that I have a few reels from the couple of rolls that I bought.

Daire Quinlan said:

I did shim the screen with a single sheet of 300gsm card, along with basically adjusting the set screws to their max, and I got the focus pretty much bang on

Click to expand...

I have a Mamiya m645 that I used for years that way. The only thing you might want to verify is that the focus is the same across the image frame, and not just bang on in the center.

koraks said:

I have a Mamiya m645 that I used for years that way. The only thing you might want to verify is that the focus is the same across the image frame, and not just bang on in the center.

Click to expand...

Yeah was definitely thinking about that I.e. if something is screwy with the mirror stop then the mirror is probably at the wrong angle.

Precisely! So verify top, center and bottom of the frame and adjust the ground glass as needed. You may need to tilt it ever so slightly as well to compensate for the error in the mirror angle.