Rangefinder question

Hi,

I've got a small collection of range finder cameras, some Kodak Retinas, a Contax II, Fuji G690, GW690III, Rollei 35, Leica M3, some FSU Zorkis, FEDs, Kievs.

I am short-sighted, diopters ~4.5 to 5.

Now I've noticed something strange: Looking into the finder with my glasses on, I am seeing all things sharp, except for the outline of the range finder. When I look into the finder w/o glasses, everything is blurred (of course) except for the outline of the range finder.

But, there is one camera in my collection, the Leica M3, where this isn't true - everything, including the range finder outline is sharp when using glasses (and of course blurred without glasses).

The blurred outline doesn't hinder me getting correct focus, but the M3 finder somehow looks much more pleasant with the sharp outline.

Is it normal that the outline is blurred? I had sent the Leica to service some time ago, maybe the other cameras need to be serviced and adjusted, too?

regards,
chris

The RF outline on M leicas is always a clean sharp line. The RF can be used by aligning 2 images OR lining up lines from outside the RF to inside the RF at the margin of the RF edge. I have not seen any blurred outlines on any of the dozens of M Leicas that I have had go through my hands. I'm fairly sure that most of the other cameras you mention do not have the sharp edge that the Leica RF has. Bob.

I have a FUJI GW670iii (and several other RF cameras) - outlines are clean and sharp. Maybe you can ask a repair man to have a look on your cameras.
I guess Gerhard Wiener in Munich / Bavaria (Foto-Werkstatt) will know what kind of service is needful. He worked on my GW690 sometimes ago and I can really recommend.

When you say "the outline of the range finder", you mean the rangefinder patch, right? not the frame?
If that is the case, that is normal, to an extent that depends on the particular design of the v/f. The r/f is meant to show you, within the area of the patch, the misalignment between two images, and these images of course need to be sharp to judge their alignment; the boundary of the RF patch need not be sharp. [[for this to be true, the r/f patch would need to be in a conjugate plane of the scene, which is an extra and unnecessary constraint on the optical design of the V/F]]
Bottom line: do not try to repair what is not broken.

M3 was most perfectly made RF even among Leicas, not to mention Kievs. In terms of material quality and cost, especially RF part.
But here is maybe something to do with M3 VF which is 1:1.

bernard_L said:

When you say "the outline of the range finder", you mean the rangefinder patch, right? not the frame?

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Yes, I mean the boundary of the patch, not the "contents" of the patch. The contents are always sharp (when I'm wearing glasses...).

macfred said:

I have a FUJI GW670iii (and several other RF cameras) - outlines are clean and sharp.

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I mean, the borders of the rf field (German: "der Umriss"). Are they/is it sharp in your Fuji?

swchris said:

I mean, the borders of the rf field (German: "der Umriss"). Are they/is it sharp in your Fuji?

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Yes, they are ! Ja, der Umriss ist scharf.

Edit: I use an diopter eyepiece -1.5 on all my cameras.
Ja, mit einer Dioptrienkorrektur von -1.5 dpt, die ich an fast allen meinen Sucherokularen nutze.