R-E focusing screen out of whack? Help me out...

[kosmoskatten]

Hi folks,

just got me a second hand R-E.

 

After putting the first roll of film through the camera it seemed like I wasn't

getting it right with the focus - even with medium apertures and reasonably

fast shutter speeds on the macro 60. Strange I thought. So in goes another roll

and only then do I realise it doesn't focus on infinity; it doesn't focus slightly

PAST infinity like most cameras do but it stops just short of it.

Aah-hah! I thought and checked the focusing screen; it didn't seem to sit

"right" in place. I gave it a wee nudge and then it would focus on (i.e slightly

past) infinity again. Settled. I thought. But upon examining the screen again I

noticed that the catch that holds the little tab on the screen didn't seem right.

There are two catches but one catch is gripping the tab from the side and the

other is behind the tab..? Or..?

 

Is this how it should be? Or are the catches supposed to grip the tab from

either side? Has one of my catches been bent by the previous owner so it has

ended up behind the tab instead of being on the side? They sort of look the

same. Or is the little catchlooking metal thingy behind the tab just there to hold

the screen out some to keep it level? I simply don't know what it's supposed to

look like on the R series. Since I bought it from England and I live in Sweden

and have this wedding thing going on this weekend I was hoping I wouldn't

have to send it back. Especially if there is nothing wrong with it.

 

Anyone with a Leica R-E / R5 / R6 out there that would care to have a wee

look and tell me what it's supposed to look like? I have one more day

(tomorrow) to sort it out and develop one more roll of film but I have to know if I

am on the right track. I hate to be sweating the small stuff but I just can't risk it.

 

 

Kind regards, Henrik

(At least I did check the camera BEFORE the wedding... ...phew)

[ronald_moravec1]

If memory serves correctly, the are two chrome plated brackets that the back end of the mirror box the screen slips into. They are U shaped. There is a tab on the end closest to the lens mount that snaps in place. It is possible to miss the bracket on one side on the rear because they are hard to see.

 

I never change screens in the field as I shine a desk lamp into the lens mount when changing screens. There is a special holder that comes with new screens to grab the tab on the old one and help remove it. You also use it to install the new one. The job is close to impossible without the holder. They scrarch very easily. CAREFUL.

 

You probably can`t get to infinity because you missed one of the brackets in the back and the screen is too low.