Koni Omega Rapid 100 rangefinder adjustment

Hi all. I recently acquired a Koni Omega Rapid 100 camera together with the 90/3.5 Super Omegon lens. Everything seems to be fine except for the rangefinder. The RF patch is contrasty & clear but it appears to be off, i.e when I focus on something via the RF patch, then check the distance scale, it tells me that the target is 8 feet away when in actuality it's more like 10 feet away!

What can I do to rectify this problem? Is there an easy step-by-step walkthrough of what one needs to do to check & then realign the rangefinder? I haven't been able to find a downloadable repair manual. I'm not good with my hands though, all thumbs...but would try anything reasonably easy.

Could it just be that my focusing knob is misaligned somehow?

I haven't run a roll through the camera yet to check the focusing thoroughly and I haven't a ground glass or tracing paper handy.

I'm in Malaysia, so sending the camera to Greg Weber is hardly an option.

Would appreciate all feedback, thank you in advance.

-Dani

Instructions here.

I would check first to see whether the RF is actually correct - the focusing scale on the focusing knob is only relevant for scale focusing and the use of manual flashes.

In addition, I would check that the focusing scale on the knob is the right one.

I would underline Matt's suggestion. Check that whether the RF is actually correct. Set up a test battery with camera on tripod and targets (chairs, people) at set intervals and focus on one ect..

Good Morning, Dani,

Temporarily tape a piece of waxed paper over the film plane; check to see if sharp focus there coincides with what the rangefinder gives you.

Konical

ausphoto said:

I would underline Matt's suggestion. Check that whether the RF is actually correct. Set up a test battery with camera on tripod and targets (chairs, people) at set intervals and focus on one ect..

Click to expand...

A picket fence makes a great focus target . Just shoot along the face of it so that different pickets are at different distances from the camera.

Remember to bring a tape measure, some tape and some scraps of paper that you can mark with the different distances.

And of course a tripod.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone.

Barry, you're a lifesaver, thank you! I'll go through that instruction, and I'll do as it says pretty soon..I just need to get the right tools for the job first.

MattKing: I've recently run a roll through the camera, all shot wide open and while I didn't shoot any picket fences (there aren't any here!), I can see from the photos that I got that the rangefinder is indeed off..the camera is front focusing by about 2-4 feet or so. Prior to that I had tracing paper stretched across the mirror box while the camera was on a tripod, but this method was iffy at best so in the end I decided to shoot a roll through it anyway. As for the focusing knob being the correct one, I can't tell.

Konical: And a good day to you, Konical See my reply to MattKing above. Did the waxed/tracing paper method but found it to be iffy, I couldn't be sure if the paper was stretched tightly at the exact same plane as the film plane. Thanks for the suggestion, however...