I just got back the first roll--amazingly there was only one instance of a light leak.
That
is amazing.
Unfortunately, one lens is not focusing properly
If the focus is out of adjustment, resetting it is straightforward. The gears are attached to the lenses with three tiny set screws around the perimeter of each lens. Slacken these (don't take them right out; you'll lose them) and you can remove the gear. Tape a piece of ground glass into the back of the camera to the film plane, open the lenses at the widest aperture (use a locking cable release and the B setting) and adjust the focus until an object at infinity is sharply focused on the glass. Do the same on the other side, and mark the relative positions of the lens elements and the shutters with a scratch or an indelible pen so you can line them up more easily next time. Adjust the viewing lens so that infinity is focused in the middle of the ground spot in the viewfinder (there are two set screws holding the distance scale to the viewing lens; if you slacken those you can focus at infinity, then move the scale by itself so that it reads the correct distance. Gently retighten the scale screws). Reattach the lens gears with the three set screws (don't overtighten them or you'll break one side of the slot off the head). Verify that all three lenses are correctly focusing at infinity, and then verify that they all agree on something close. Simple!
and the shutter on the same side is slower than the other.
I suspect the left eye is slower than the right eye. There's not much machinery inside the left shutter; just the shutter blades and a return spring.
Possible causes of a sluggish left shutter include:
i) The blades are pushed open by the rod linking the shutters, and they return under their own spring power. If the left-hand mechanism is a bit gummy it might not move freely and could be a bit slow to close. Dismantle and clean.
ii) The shutter link rod could be a bit loose. The left shutter should be under very slight tension when closed, so that the left eye begins to open as soon as the bar starts to move. Excessive play will make the left eye open late, and possibly not open fully. Slacken the left shutter fixing nut inside the camera and rotate the left lens until the shutter blades just begin to move (but not so far that they don't close fully. They must still overlap and block the light).
This
http://www.kryptosinistographer.com/2008/03/retrofitting-my.html is a useful summary of all the things a Sputnik needs before it's finished. Think of it as a camera kit that you have to build yourself.
And it
is worth it, in my opinion.
