Voigtländer Bessa II - where to CLA in Europe?

albireo · Nov 1, 2023

I have a Bessa II with the Skopar lens which was working just fine until last week, when I used it for a day's worth of images.

Sadly, everything is out of focus. I have not bumped the camera AFAICR and the rangefinder appears to align fine. Perhaps it's something to do with the mechanical coupling between the focusing ring and the front standard.

Anyhow - I am looking for advice on reputable professionals who will put it back in shape, preferably in the EU. I know Newton & Ellis in the UK would do a great job, but I'd like to avoid the hassle with customs, forms etc.

Yashica · Nov 1, 2023

Well, i'd say every good, old camera (repair) shop could do that. For instance, here into my local city is into 2nd generation an old shop & guy, which would, if possible, try to repair everything, in germany.

albireo · Nov 1, 2023

Yashica said:
Well, i'd say every good, old camera (repair) shop could do that. For instance, here into my local city is into 2nd generation an old shop & guy, which would, if possible, try to repair everything, in germany.

Thanks. Who would you recommend in Germany? I heard good things about Paepke Technik in Duesseldorf, but the wait is long and I don't know if he will work on the Bessa. Another one they told me about is OstKreuz Camera in the former east of Berlin.

Yashica · Nov 1, 2023

albireo said:
Thanks. Who would you recommend in Germany? I heard good things about Paepke Technik in Duesseldorf, but the wait is long and I don't know if he will work on the Bessa. Another one they told me about is OstKreuz Camera in the former east of Berlin.

Into Bochum, it's Foto Museler. He repaired into 2022 the just lost self-timer lever from my black XD7 into just 5 mins.

https://www.foto-museler.de, there's also a phone no. listed, just write him a mail about your specific issue, i am sure, he'd like to help out, his contact
email is service@foto-museler.de

Yes, i do know Paepke Düsseldorf, which is famous for it's Leica repairs, albeit still very expensive, though.

Alex Varas · Nov 1, 2023

albireo said:
I have a Bessa II with the Skopar lens which was working just fine until last week, when I used it for a day's worth of images.

Sadly, everything is out of focus. I have not bumped the camera AFAICR and the rangefinder appears to align fine. Perhaps it's something to do with the mechanical coupling between the focusing ring and the front standard.

Anyhow - I am looking for advice on reputable professionals who will put it back in shape, preferably in the EU. I know Newton & Ellis in the UK would do a great job, but I'd like to avoid the hassle with customs, forms etc.

Silly question... is the shutter plate moving backwards and forwards when you turn the focusing knob?

albireo · Nov 1, 2023

Alex Varas said:
Silly question... is the shutter plate moving backwards and forwards when you turn the focusing knob?

Not silly at all. Just checked. The answer is yes. Everything moving smoothly. However all 8 negatives were OOF in my test. Something is definitely off.

Alex Varas · Nov 1, 2023

If rangefinder is fine I can think only it was a mislink somehow between the focus knob and the focusing arm but the space in there is pretty tight and it requires abuse from the user.
Is the shutter plate correctly extended?
Is the film plate at the back well positioned and not loose? That would make the film loose and out of problems.
Another thing causing this issue is loose lenses, are front and read lenses correctly screwed in?

blee1996 · Nov 1, 2023

@albireo actually Alex @Alex Varas is that perfect person in Europe to service your bessa ii.

albireo · Nov 1, 2023

Alex Varas said:
If rangefinder is fine I can think only it was a mislink somehow between the focus knob and the focusing arm but the space in there is pretty tight and it requires abuse from the user.
Is the shutter plate correctly extended?
Is the film plate at the back well positioned and not loose? That would make the film loose and out of problems.
Another thing causing this issue is loose lenses, are front and read lenses correctly screwed in?

Hi Alex. It could well be abuse from the user. I tend to baby it but I might have carried it in a backpack once. It was folded, though, and kept in its leather case and I don't remember bumping it anywhere. Perhaps I forced something when extending the bellows? I don't know, I think I normally just push the button on the bottom and then fully open the bellows door until it clicks. The film plate appears to be normal in terms of tension but of course this is based only on visual assessment.

I might place it on a tripod and tape an old 6x6 Rolleicord focusing screen on the film plane. If I place the shutter in B and use a cable release, I should then be able to place my 8x loupe on the focusing screen and see if the focusing clicks into place? Perhaps If i can see the scene simultaneously via the rangefinder and the patch is not overlapping, that would tell me something more.

Alex Varas · Nov 1, 2023

That shutter plate looks good to me and the procedure you are mentioning seems fine.

What I do if not using collimator is as you say.
Camera on tripod, shutter on B and cable release with the lock position so shutter will be kept opened.
Point the camera to infinity first, one hand places the ground glass with mate side to the lens, other hand the loupe and check. Eventually you can hold ground glass and loupe with one hand, so you have the other free to focus and check how it behaves.
I don’t like much the option of taping the ground glass for avoiding gasps that can lead into a wrong measurement in the ground glass so I just apply pressure as the film plate would do.
If infinity is ok, then it’s time to do close focusing. Same setup using now the rangefinder to focus and check the image at the ground glass, if they match all is good, if they don’t it’s time to find out what is wrong, if rangefinder or lens. For this just meter the distance between the subject and the film plane (I use a ruler) then check what the distance mark says when the rangefinder is fine and when the image at ground glass is fine. Anyway in this camera it might be not ok the the camera was serviced before and they glued the distance marks incorrectly (maybe they are not glued in Bessa II).

Again, check if lenses are correctly screwed in before and further test. Both front and rear (with camera folded and back opened).

henryvk · Nov 2, 2023

albireo said:
I might place it on a tripod and tape an old 6x6 Rolleicord focusing screen on the film plane. If I place the shutter in B and use a cable release, I should then be able to place my 8x loupe on the focusing screen and see if the focusing clicks into place? Perhaps If i can see the scene simultaneously via the rangefinder and the patch is not overlapping, that would tell me something more.

The rangefinder might be off but first you need to make sure ininity focus is good.

As ever: ground glass method is not usually exact enough, even with a loupe.

Try with an SLR with a known good lens:

Mike Elek: Lens collimating

elekm.net

Camera repair pages

I don't own a Bessa II but here's a thread on how to adjust focus, apparently:

Voigtlander Bessa II focus adjustment

I finally found time to check out and use this camera, that I purchased at a garage sale last year. When I bought it I knew it had some issues. The lens and bellows unit were off their track. I took it apart and I was able to reset the unit in the tracks. After putting it back together the lens a...

www.photo.net

Seems to be an often found common malady with the Bessa II. Mine was the same way and after reading this thread, I popped the top and had a good look - see. While no doubt the above is a way to re-adjust the Bessa II back into focus, what I found was much simpler. After focusing lens fo infinity, loosen the two screws that hold the focusing knob on and free turn it to line up the Inifinity mark and the index mark. Re-tighten the screws and you're back in business.

Basically you make sure the lens is good at infinity. Then you set the camera to infinty and set the rangefinder to infinity. Probably a good idea to check at 1.5 meters or so if both agree.

albireo · Nov 2, 2023

henryvk said:
Visually it looks like the standard folds out okay but it could well be that the struts are bent out of true. A milimeter is more than enough to throw off ininity focus.

Thank you Henry. That's what I'm fearing.

henryvk said:
If infinity focus is off you will want to adjust by very carefully bending the lens board. In my experience with the pre-war Bessa (which has the same or very similar struts) this has to be done every once in a while.

I would rather not touch or bend anything and leave a professional deal with it properly actually. This camera has given me images I treasure and I don't want to ruin it.

Thank you everyone for advice. @Alex Varas do you accept these cameras for repair?

henryvk · Nov 2, 2023

albireo said:
Thank you Henry. That's what I'm fearing.

I would rather not touch or bend anything and leave a professional deal with it properly actually. This camera has given me images I treasure and I don't want to ruin it.

Thank you everyone for advice. @Alex Varas do you accept these cameras for repair?

I edited my post after looking up how to adjust focus on the Bessa II. Bending the lens board or struts is probably not necessary. The adjustment screw will probably get you there.

Alex Varas · Nov 2, 2023

Yes, I do. Since I can’t write you direct message, please contact me through my website www.alexvarascameras.com

Voigtländer Bessa II - where to CLA in Europe?

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