Super Ricohflex shutter problem

[jay moussy]

This camera was given to me a while ago. It works fine, except for the shutter actuation mechanism that locks up once in a while. I do try to exercise it often, and it worked, up to now.

It is time for fix it. It is of rather simple construction, I read, and I as am not to send it out, so this will be a house job.

I understand re-assembly is critical to maintain correct focusing accuracy.
"Put everything back together and collimate to adjust focus to infinity..." a forum member wrote a long time ago while fixing his Ricohflex.
How does one go about collimating?

 

[Dan Daniel]

http://elekm.net/zeiss-ikon/repair/collimate/

And I will be a bit heretical and say don't get too hung up on this. I mean, in my own work I nail this as best I can, but especially for your first camera, relax for the first go round. You can always redo it down the road.

The really important thing with a TLR is that the taking lens and viewing lens are in agreement. So make them match at a ten or fifteen foot target and you'll be fine.

 

[Dali]

Synchronizing both lenses is pretty easy to do (I did it on Ricohflex and Lubitel cameras).

In your case, I would focus on the shutter.

 

[jay moussy]

From the two helpful posts above, I get that:
- collimating maybe does not have to be as complex as described on post #1(?)
- can be refined at a later stage

Naively, I was hoping to make a fine mark on both lenses and match these at reassembly, like the old-school timing marks on an engine...! I got some studying up to do.

Visually, it seems the lens screws are a super-fine type, and I do not yet have that kind of screwdriver.

 

[Dali]

You can mark lenses and count the number of turn to remove them. I prefer the groung glass + eyepiece solution as I can see the result without making assumptions.