Realist rangefinder

[fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dr. George A. Themelis)]

>"dim" rangefinder image...
>split image is slightly out when the focus knob is set to infinity

John, I am not sure what your repairman is doing with your Realist...
You appear to have three problems: 1) Dim rangefinder, 2) rangefinder
slightly out of alignment (spit image is slightly off when you set the
focus at infinity and view an infinity object), 3) slight gap or overap of
the two rangefinder images.

The dim rangefinder can be corrected by cleaning the windows or (very
carefully) the front surface mirrors.  If the repairman is worth the money
that is getting paid, he should have figured out (2).  That's a routine
operation that I do in my Realists.  There is an adjustment screw that will
do the job.  There are a few screws to work out (3) but I will live with it
as long as the gap is small.  It appears to me that all these problems are
minor and the camera could be used with the rangefinder slightly off.  With
apertures of f8 or smaller, the depth of field is large.  I am not aware of
any reference that goes into much details for adjusting the rangefinder.


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