Front focus on a rolleicord

[terry_mcgovern2]

<p>Hi new to the forums seem to have a problem with my rolleicord front focusing or is it just me.</p><div></div>

[chris_waller]

<p>At what aperture was the picture taken?</p>

[LenMarriott]

<p>Terry, Could the viewing screen be inserted upside down? Common fault. Best, LM.</p>

[terry_mcgovern2]

<p>Hi Chris at F4 at 1/250 it seems on almost all the pics<br>

Hi Len im not sure but the screen cross hairs seem to be at the bottom and the top glass is glossy ?<br>

im not sure if that makes sense thanks.</p><div></div>

[terry_mcgovern2]

<p>Okay Len frosted side up or down.</p>

[LenMarriott]

<p>Terry, Glossy side up? Same as my Rolleiflex T. Frosted side should be down. Sounds like the problem is elsewhere. How about the film pressure plate? Everything OK there? Loose lens perhaps? Let us know when & if you resolve this problem. Others will surely benefit from your experience. Best, LM.</p>

[terry_mcgovern2]

<p>Thanks Len will look see.</p>

[John Seaman]

<p>Make sure that the lens board is parallel to the body, i.e. the gap between the lens board and body is the same all the way around - sometimes this happens if the camera has been dropped and can cause focus errors. Also the mirror might not be seated properly. If all else fails it's possible to adjust the viewing lens focus, it's not something I've done on one of these however.</p>

[terry_mcgovern2]

<p> Okay first problem gap is not equal bottom half protrudes more than the top half when fully retracted. How does one go about repairing this.</p>

[john tonai]

<p>Also, some unscrupulous "repairmen" have been known to replace a damaged mirror with a regular mirror instead of the proper front-surface mirror. I think this resulted in front-focusing also.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Okay first problem gap is not equal bottom half protrudes more than the top half when fully retracted. How does one go about repairing this.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Are you referring to the focus mechanism? If so, there may have been an impact that damaged the mechanism and the focus plane is not parallel.</p>

[kirk_thompson]

<p>It might just need a focus adjustment. The vintage camera repair person (vintage cameras, not vintage person) who works on my Rolleis says a substantial proportion of those he sees need focus adjustment.<br>

Some repair people just eyeball the correct focus on ground glass. But for two 75-80mm lenses to be in sync, adjustment has to be done with a collimator that focuses a beam. </p>

[dave_s]

<p>Terry gave the explanation in his 4:45 post. If the bottom half is sticking out more than the front half, the taking lens is situated in front of the viewing lens, and it will front-focus.</p>

<p>The questions become (a) is the camera worth repairing, and if so, (b) who is a suitable repair technician? </p>

<p>If it's something like a 'cord III with a Xenar, it's not worth fixing. If it's a fine copy of a Vb, it may be worth sending it to one of the experts, like Harry Fleenor. He does excellent work, but he's not cheap. Others will be able to recommend more inexpensive repairers. </p>

[terry_mcgovern2]

<p>Have to agree there Dave its a cord IV model K3D only paid $20.00 with a couple other cameras a Vokar , Paxette , so maybe i should just look around for another unit as this is a pleasure carrying around compared to my RB set up.</p>

[seth_.]

<p>Terry, if you find you want to sell the Rollei, send me a PM :)<br>

Seth</p>