Re: [Leica] Rangefinder Accuracy Tester

[budcook@ibm.net]

Pieter,
I used to use a spare Nikon screen.  I'd remove the back of my M camera,
press the screen to film plane, set the shutter on bulb, focus on something
using the screen and then check the rangefinder of the M camera to see if it
was in focus.  You could also reverse the process.
Bud
- -----Original Message-----
From: Pieter Bras <pieter@world.std.com>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Sunday, May 24, 1998 9:55 AM
Subject: [Leica] Rangefinder Accuracy Tester

>Hello All,
>
>Recently I acquired a "good-user" M4-P, my first M camera.  There's much
>to like about it, but since rangefinder cameras don't provide TTL
>focusing, there's no way to be sure that a new body or lens focuses
>accurately short of shooting pictures of yardsticks, etc.
>
>What I am looking for is a rangefinder accuracy tester that an owner or
>prospective purchaser can use to verify rangefinder calibration.  It
>should be simple in concept:  a metal body cap with precise cams (in up to
>four positions) that will simulate the effect of a lens focused at
>various distances (infinity, 1 meter, 20 inches, ???).
>
>Once a body is known to have an accurate rangefinder, it can then be
>used to check whether the focusing cam on a given lens provides accurate
>distance information.
>
>Anyone seen anything like this?  Or do I have to cobble it together
>myself?  Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
>
>--
>Pieter Bras        pieter@world.std.com
>