Kodak Medalist II One Of The Prisms Out Of Place Please Help

Hello, I need help figuring out the position of one of the prisms in Kodak Medalist II rangefinder. I just bought this camera in good shape visually but totally non-functional. Rangefinder window was dark. I opened rangefinder and realized that one of the prisms was loose inside rangefinder housing. I found the photo suggesting the location of the prism in question, but I cannot be sure 100% how it is supposed to be positioned and affixed. Can someone shed the light please? thank you!

 

 

That prism is visible in the diagram below the center red star and above the screw marked "Guard Screw". It was originally glued to the plate which can be loosened and adjusted to align the rangefinder. It would be oriented 180 degrees from the way you have it in your first picture, and I do believe that you have it right side up since glue should be visible on the bottom of the prism which was mounted to the plate. Elmer's white glue would work fine for this, JB weld or similar epoxy if you're patient. Avoid Super or other cyanoacrylate based adhesives as they will fog optical surfaces.

I think Hunter has it. If I remember I'll double-check it in the repair manual for you, when I get home later today.

Yes, the prism sits as orientated in the last image near the middle red star. It would be glued onto the L shaped bracket (with the 3 screw holes) and together are designated as the "Coincidence Prism Assembly - 94048 (Medalist II, late model)

Thanks guys! Really appreciate help! I kinda figured it out. Since I realized the camera was in a complete disarray, jammed in all possible places, etc. The only good it has is the looks. So I tore it down for a big restoration job. Now it's clicking and ticking all cleaned up and lubricated. This was my first experience restoring Medalist, and I am very happy how easy it is to work on this camera.

 

One more thing. I need to calibrate rangefinder, it is completely off. Can anybody give me pages or info from repair manual concerning rangefinder adjustment? Thanks a lot!

Yes, the prism sits as orientated in the last image near the middle red star. It would be glued onto the L shaped bracket (with the 3 screw holes) and together are designated as the "Coincidence Prism Assembly - 94048 (Medalist II, late model)

Thanks Rick! I need to calibrate rangefinder now. Can you look at the repair manual and suggest how I am to approach this job? Thanks! Alecs

Sure, If I can find the time today (and remember to) I'll see about scanning and sending you the pages.

I recall the process for aligning the rangefinder on my Medalist I.

 

You are going to need a piece of ground glass to go in the film plane with a cutout in the corner to access the rangefinder cam adjustment screw which is in the upper right interior of the camera. The camera was set up at 15 feet with a easily focus-able flat object in the viewfinder at this distance. The focus is adjusted on the helical until the image is then in focus on the ground glass. Then, this screw is adjusted until the top and bottom images converge in the rangefinder.

 

The final part was to align the distance scale to be accurate, which on the Medalist I requires turning it about 450 degrees to put some spring tension on the coil spring that powers the dial and then to replace the viewfinder assembly. One of the changes on the Medalist II was that the distance scale does not come off with the viewfinder assembly, so you may need to consult the manual for that specific procedure.

Thanks Hunter! I just calibrated the rangefinder. Everything checks up at 15ft, 10ft, 5ft and infinity. The screw you described actually has to do with adjusting the distance dial itself. It does not calibrate the split field (or maybe it does a little). Cam follower as seen in the photo below with adjustment screw in it calibrates the rangefinder itself.

 

So thanks again! I am off to respooling 120 film!

 

 

I recall the process for aligning the rangefinder on my Medalist I.

 

You are going to need a piece of ground glass to go in the film plane with a cutout in the corner to access the rangefinder cam adjustment screw which is in the upper right interior of the camera. The camera was set up at 15 feet with a easily focus-able flat object in the viewfinder at this distance. The focus is adjusted on the helical until the image is then in focus on the ground glass. Then, this screw is adjusted until the top and bottom images converge in the rangefinder.

 

The final part was to align the distance scale to be accurate, which on the Medalist I requires turning it about 450 degrees to put some spring tension on the coil spring that powers the dial and then to replace the viewfinder assembly. One of the changes on the Medalist II was that the distance scale does not come off with the viewfinder assembly, so you may need to consult the manual for that specific procedure.

Here are the two pages on Rangefinder Adjustment, in case you want to do some fine-tuning ;)

Thank you Rick, first roll of film is developing now. Looking at the pages I see I will have to open range finder again and re-adjust it because one of the halves is out of focus and also part of the split image is missing. Thanks again great help! Alecs

Hi Rick_van_Nooij and @hunter_compton and John Seaman shot test roll today. I must say it produces rather flat images compared to Carl Zeiss optics on Hasselblad, but I am very happy I was able to turn a piece of junk into fully functional apparatus. And it does function pretty well including range finder! Thanks again for your input!

I realize this is an old thread but here goes. I just disassembled my Medalist II and am having problems with the prism also. After a thorough cleaning I see that one side of the prism has lost its mirror silver. What I thought was dirt is actually a loss of the reflective material. I just purchased a parts only medalist II in hope of being able to retrieve the prism and use it in an otherwise fully functional camera. If anyone has any thoughts I'm all ears...

I don't think that any of the prisms in the Medalist had a silver backing (unlike actual mirrors in some cameras that do de-silver overtime). How did you clean them? Did you clean the inner prism that is behind that black accordion looking piece near the viewfinder, as well as those round glass pieces that are visible in the 1st photo in this thread?

Edited April 21, 2023 by jason_withers
added more info

If it is supposed to be silvered, there are places (not many) that will silver scientific mirrors. In the uk I have a bookmark for Vaccuum Coatings Ltd: http://www.scientificmirrors.co.uk/

I have no connection with them, and haven't sent them any work; just thought I might do one day. I imagine there must be someone doing the same job in the States.