Koni-Omega Rapid wide angle

[hardyphotography_net]

Hello,

Last year, I purchased a Koni-Omega Rapid with a 90mm lens. The camera seemed to work fine and the focus corresponded with the numbers on the knob. I just purchased a 58mm lens on ebay. It is incredibly clean and looks brand new. However, I can't focus the thing. I've shot several rolls. On the last roll, I set up signs at 6 different distances and exposed the entire roll--running the whole range of focus. Every image is horribly out of focus and I can't even see a difference in focus between the 1st and 10th frame. Am I missing an accessory? Is there some kind of attachment or extension tube-type-thing I don't know about. I am dying tho get this setup working. Any advice or ideas?

 

[Jon King]

Hello,

Last year, I purchased a Koni-Omega Rapid with a 90mm lens. The camera seemed to work fine and the focus corresponded with the numbers on the knob. I just purchased a 58mm lens on ebay. It is incredibly clean and looks brand new. However, I can't focus the thing. I've shot several rolls. On the last roll, I set up signs at 6 different distances and exposed the entire roll--running the whole range of focus. Every image is horribly out of focus and I can't even see a difference in focus between the 1st and 10th frame. Am I missing an accessory? Is there some kind of attachment or extension tube-type-thing I don't know about. I am dying tho get this setup working. Any advice or ideas?

It shouldn't need anything else. A few thoughts - first an obvious one - are you using the focus numbers for the 58mm lens? There should be a separate range for each lens.

If it works at infinity, but not other distances, I might suspect the rangefinder. The top of the Koni-Omega lenses have a pin that couples to the rangefinder mechanism and identifies the lens for it. It might be possible that it isn't set or operating properly.

If it is off at every distance, I'd suspect something wrong with the lens.

When you do get it working, it is a wonderful lens.

 

[resummerfield]

The 58mm lens has a optional supplementary viewfinder that attaches to an accessory shoe, to help frame the image. But all the Koni-Omega Hexanon lenses, including the 58mm, use the rangefinder system to focus.

I think Jon covered all the possible problems. I would look critically at that pin that couples to the rangefinder.

 

[Chazzy]

Greg Weber is the expert on Koni-Omega repairs. Why don't you give him a call or send him an email? If you have no problem focusing the 90, I suspect that it has something to do with the linkage on the 58, but Greg is the right person to ask. gweber at webercamera.com or call (402) 721-3873. I hope that the contact info is still good--I haven't contacted him for a few years.

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Not to state the obvious too loud, but are you focusing using the rangefinder?

If you are focusing with only the numbers on the dial, you have to make sure that you are using the right distance scale. That would account for the error.

But if you are using the yellow patch, and you make the two images coincide properly, then you do have a true mechanical problem.

 

[mabman]

Incidentally, I think finding the accessory viewfinder for the 58mm by itself is fairly difficult and not cheap - when I looked for one last fall I only found one entry on a site in Australia, and they wanted ~$100 for it by itself (plus shipping, of course).

But yes, viewfinder aside, if the focus itself is out, it has to be something mechanical.