Topic: Yashica 635 TLR focusing problem help

[sapata]

I decided to take a chance and get this Yashica 635 listed as a "spares/repairs" from
the evilbay for £38.00, including postage with case and half of the 35mm kit included.

Behind the dust I found a wonderful and hardly used camera with shining metal parts
and an absolutely immaculate Yashikor lens.

The shutter is a bit slugish on the the very low speed but I guess it will be fine with some use, the blades
are perfect as well.

The"only" faulty to repair is the focusing system that is misaligned...I'll be opening the camera and
try to fix myself . I've already downloaded a few TLR repair manual from the web to guide me...

Now...I wonder what could have hapenned. It's visible that the front panel is not aligned at all but  my
opinion is that a damage like this could only happen if you drop the camera on the floor, but since the
body has no damage signs it's kind of difficult ot understand...

[Francois]

Somebody probably tried to "open the lid" to see what is inside...

[sapata]

I thought exactly the same Francois and I tried putting back... but unfortunately didn't work.

[Francois]

I looked at my Yashicamat and there are 4 silver screws inside that hold the film mask/light cone assembly. Removing those probably exposes the focusing mechanism... I guess yours is probably quite similar in design even if it ain't the same model.

If not, then there are probably screws under the front leatherette cover...

[sapata]

Thanks Francois...I have found the screws you said,  but the problem lies in the front. I have just taken the front leatherette, got the lens borad out and discovered that the 2 "arms" (sorry... don't kow how to say that) that moves the front back and forth is badly bent. I'm quite puzzled of HOW did it happen, because there's no marks in the camera and I'm having a hard time to put it back!

[Francois]

Never underestimate the power of fingernails 

[sethasaurus]

Mauricio,

If the camera was in a leather case at some point and dropped, it could easily have bent the internals without scratching it.

You'll need to take the side panels off and remove the focus arms.
I found that with the earlier models like the Yashica A, the leatherette covering tends to chip and break up, but I can't remember now what the 635 was like..
Anyway, if you can't get the leatherette off without breaking it up, you can get replacement stuff from www.cameraleather.com.

Once you have the focus arms out, you can have a go at straightening them, OR pm me and I'll send you these for 15 euro including postage:

[sethasaurus]

I've always found the Yashicas to be nice cameras. I have a 635 which I upgraded with Yashinon lenses.

The lever advance ones can be more of a problem as the grease has usually dripped down and gummed up the mechanism over the years. The knob advance versions are more reliable.
Any of them (except the E!) are definitely worth cleaning up and re-lubing.

Don't worry if you don't have the complete 35mm kit. I don't think anyone bothers to shoot 35 in these as long as 120 film is still available

[sapata]

Thanks for the tips sethasaurus .

I managed taking the leatherette without any damage, as I said the camera is in really good condition. I also managed to unbent the arms without taking the side panels.

Now... the next step is to adjust the focus. I measured with a metric tape the distance between my subject and the film plane and it doens't match with the camera's focus scale, the infinite scale also shows a blurry image on the viewscreen.

I've done this before using tracing paper where the film is supposed to stay and then rotating the lens until I  the focus is matched with the scale, but never with a TLR.

Where should I start? Is there something to be adjusted inside on the side panels or just by rotating the lens at the front?

[sethasaurus]

There is a possibility that the focus knob has been jolted and maybe mislocated but it's more likely those arms are still not right.

The taking lens is split into a back and a front half (with aperture and shutter in between). As I recall, the front group screws in all the way on the front, with no allowance for adjustment.

There is a small screw on the top left of the viewing lens that you can loosen in order to screw the lens in/out (for viewfinder focus).

An old TV serviceman once told me "Never fix a problem by twiddling with the adjustment screws".

I think if I was doing it, I'd take both arms out and make sure they were flat and straightened properly so that the lenses are level and parallel to the film plane.

On my 635, there is approx 0.5mm clearance between the back of the front panel and the front of the camera body, when at infinity - just a rough yardstick.

HTH,
Seth

[sethasaurus]

I should add:

First, check that the viewing mirror has not been bumped out of place. This could easily happen (especially after a drop).

If you're sure you have the focus arms right, then you can adjust focus:

Hopefully, the film plane focus should be fine and the only adjustment I can see for that is shims under the lens plate.
First, you need to check your film plane is in focus at infinity (use a piece of gg or wax paper), then match the viewing lens.

With the front plate off, loosen the locking screw for the taking lens. Set the camera at infinity, screw the top lens in or out until it shows focus on the viewfinder, then re-tighten the locking screw.

Check the focus at 1m and a few other distances to be sure.

If everything is in order, your focus knob should agree too.

(Sorry if this advice is coming out in the wrong order. Had to babysit today, and I'm not a breeder. Argh!)

[sapata]

No problem... thanks again!

I'm going based on the fact that the arms are straighten, so I'll try something with the tracing paper screwing the lens in and out...I did that with my Lubi before and now is working perfect.

Just to make sure... Is there something I have to adjust on the the side panel of the camera or is it everything done on the front panel/lens board?
Thanks

[sethasaurus]

There are a couple of cam screws on the focusing arms (on each side), which you won't have to touch unless there is 'slop' - i.e. if the focus knob has some free play in it. I doubt they would ever need attention, actually.

The only adjustment really is to alter the focus on the viewing lens, as long as your taking lens is in focus (which it should be if everything is else is copacetic

[sapata]

Right... 
Just finished ajusting the viewing lens, I can now get a clear image on the viewscreen according to the scale on the knob. My only concern is regarding the taking lens since I took it off to clean (which in the end didn't need at all because it was the cleanest ever!). It's hard to see a detailed image on the tracing paper even with the loup... at first it seems fine to me. I screwed the lens back and it's on the exactly place as it was before...

[sethasaurus]

Sounds good.
The front lens group on the taking lens should be screwed all the way in.
It may be hard to check infinity on the wax paper, but if it looks in focus, you're probably fine -depth of field is your friend on this.
If you check shorter distances with the lens wide open (f3.5) You'll be able to wind the focus either way and bring the image in/out of focus (the DoF is much smaller at wider apertures).

I just tried it in a dark living room 2m away from the tv. You can definitely see the focus go in/out.
If you can't locate the focus exactly, note the point either way where you lose focus and split the difference - you'll be very close. (It's not exactly the halfway point, as it's a logarithmic scale).

[Francois]

I know that for setting the focus precisely, nothing beats the collimation method described here
http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/collimator.html

[sapata]

What a day...

Had the camera "fixed" this morning and went out for a test... pretty grey weather so the church's graveyard nearby was my choice.

I believe I got focus right, the picture is pretty sharp! I had the lens wide open and I like the swirl on the background, will post more from this roll at some point.



I made a few double exposures by mistake I guess I had in my mind I was using my Rolleiflex... I also found a bit weird when I open the camera that some very thin pieces of film came out... thin like hair (you can see some on the right of the frame) some of the frames came out badly scratched as well...that's because I loaded the camera as if it was my Rolleiflex Automat

Everything was ok until I got home and realized the knob was getting a bit stiff... to the point I had to OPEN THE CAMERA ... So now I have the camera in pieces again, trying to adjust the arms..

Serioulsly...I need some sleep now..