Voigtlander Bessa RF 6x9

[alexvaras]

Omg, this is a non-stop and I already have in a queue the Zorki and an Ikoflex, plus the final fit for the 530...

This evening I saw an ad of a Bessa RF 6x9 for less than 100 USD, truly I was 5 minutes looking for fakes and when a friend phone the seller was quiet strange, even from being a local... So I realise that the seller was the same I took the Super Ikonta 530 (his grandpa died and he was selling his cameras). Trusted source!! I came 30 min early to the meeting reading as much as I could about that camera and how to check it...

For parts: Lenses are awesome, no flaws at all, nothing, zero, niente, nada!
Speeds sounded good, now at home I checked and 400 are 210, 200 are 125 and the rest are nailed!!
The shutter release... Goodness!! Feels sooooo good, if you never tried the side shutter release from a VG I think you are missing a lot!
Bellows, looked nice, but at home I found two tiny stars, I discovered the actual bellows are glued to the back, Im going to save some money and contact Sandeha for a quotation.
Blades: Dry, nice, all.
Rings: Smooth.
Interior: dust and a bit dirty... qtips ready...
Rangefinder: Needs to be fixed. Yay!
Leather: Dry, needs some kiwi and cocoa virgin oil

Im planning to do a test shoot this week, even with the two micro holes... Cant wait...

Welcome to the new lady:

Yes, that is Heliar lens

[Julio1fer]

Beautiful!

[PFMcFarland]

The Bessa is definitely a fine camera, Alex, glad you have one.

One method I've heard of for fixing holes in bellows is to stick a pin through it, apply a drop of what is referred to as LET (Liquid Electrical Tape) on the pin, then pull the pin out of the hole. The LET stays behind and seals the hole. I don't know if you have a similar product in Russia, but I'm sure you can find something that is used to insulate wires, or to coat tool handles.

PF

[alexvaras]

First roll on with this camera, all pics are out of focus.

So I came home and I did the collimate thing... Im not sure why or if what I did can give some information but:
At the left side Bessa RF meters indicator - at the right side my digital camera meters indicator.
2 m. - Inf.
3 m. - 20 m.
4 m. - 5 m.
8 m. - 3 m.
15 m. - 2.7 m.
Inf. - 1.5 m.

In one of the pics, I was focusing at 1.7 meters and this was the result.

At this one it was infinity and this is what happened.

Any clues?

[PFMcFarland]

I've never had the good fortune to own a Bessa 6x9, but I can't get it in my head how one could mess up a rangefinder so badly that it reads 180°out. I hope you didn't pay too much for it.

PF

[alexvaras]

It was not much, after the pearl III I dont buy things for some money I could regret buying it.

Anyway I dont like things that they don't work, so meanwhile you drop me ideas I will research which other cameras from these period could have a compur-rapid (need to check the serial number) with heliar lens, it could be a frankenstain. (Edit: lens serial number says its from 1934, compur rapid serial number says its from 1938)
Could they have a lens in the warehouse 4 years? EDIT: YES, in antiquecameras.net there are some info about voigthpander lenses, its said another case which a lens from 1934 is set up in a compur rapid from 1938)

If the rangefinder doesnt work I dont care, can be fixed, which amaze me is that it's supposed that at infinity focus the lens should be closer to the film, and the far the lens is to the film, closer is the object to focus.
Is that right?? Because I found out in the camera is viceversa.
1- Any inside lens is put in a wrong way? I think they are glued to thread rings (need to check)
2- Rear/middle lens from another camera is set previously, how to check that the front and the rear lenses are double cemented?
3- New laws of physics in Moscow. Weirdest things can be sought here sometimes...

More ideas!!

[Julio1fer]

In the picture that you focused at 1.7 m, the main subject is off, but the background subjects seem to be quite in focus. It looks like your collimation is not correct, but the lens may be in good condition.

If you focus at 1.7 m but actually you get focus at longer distances, then you need to move your lens closer to the film. One possibility is that you got the wrong thread entry in reassembly. These lens often have several thread entries, and you have to pick the correct one.

You could tape a waxed paper to the film gate and verify focus directly on the paper. Primitive but it works. A grinded glass would be best.

One good thing of physics is that everybody has to obey its laws. Even in Moscow.

[alexvaras]

So the test should be try the different threads from the front and rear lens until get EUREKA?

[alexvaras]

I haven't disassembled the lenses or shutter yet, I just cleaned the lenses to check them and put them again in the same thread as before.
About the wrong thread... Could be the wrong thread had the effect I'm seeing in this camera?

[Julio1fer]

First of all, sorry I was wrong. You need to get the lens farther from the film plane, not closer as I said before.

Could be the wrong thread had the effect I'm seeing in this camera?

In principle, it could. If you have for instance 3 thread entries and you get a wrong one, you could be off by 1/3 or 2/3 of a full thread turn, which may be a lot in terms of focus. This is a typical issue when you reassemble lenses (don't ask me how I know). When disassembling, pro technicians mark the position where the thread came off, in both threaded parts (i. e. male and female threaded), so they can mate them back together in the correct position.

Another possibility is that the lens focusing mechanism is off from some other reason, for instance the ring with scale distances and infinite top is rotated from its correct position.

In your picture, when you focussed at 1.7 m lens scale, the focus zone seems to be about the position of the guy in the background on the right side, I'd say about 7 to 10 m. The travel distance of the lens between those two scale marks is approximately the distance that you need to move the lens out from the film plane.

I'd recommend that you do the waxed paper test. With shutter open in B or T and max aperture, move the focus and observe what is the point of focus; you might need a loupe.

The good thing from your picture is that the lens behavior seems quite normal and that the focus zone is sharp enough, even at the side of the picture. It does not look like a reversed element. Just need to adjust film-to-lens distance so that scale distances and focus are in agreement, and then adjust RF for infinite.

Other members here might be able to give you more specific help; I am not familiar with that beautiful camera.