Re: [Leica] Viso III release adjustment

["A.H.SCHMIDT" <horst.schmidt@actek.com.au>]

Simon Pulman-Jones wrote:

> This one is of rather minority interest, I think. I have just had a rather
> odd experience with my Viso III. I have used it without problems on an M2
> for a few years now - until recently, when I found that some pictures that I
> had taken on a recent holiday appeared oddly un-exposed, with only a thin
> exposed portion along the bottom of the frame. The LUG was spared my
> puzzling about how on earth this could have come about on a horizontal focal
> plane rangefinder camera when I realised that these were pictures that I had
> taken with the 200 Telyt on the Viso. Obviously the shutter release arm was
> out of adjustment. But when I checked it I found that however I adjusted the
> screw on the arm the Viso mirror would not lift before the shutter when set
> to the yellow-dot instant-up position. The same was the case when I tried
> the Viso on my M5 with the M5 arm fitted.
>
> Completely baffled, and foreseeing a trip to the repairer, I recklessly took
> the plunge and took the jeweller's screwdrivers to the Viso. After a few
> nervous moments as the release mechanism came free, and several springs
> jumped loose, during which I was overcome with a sinking feeling of regret,
> I began to be able to un-fathom the mechanism. It turns out that there is a
> small eccentric cam which controls the point at which the mirror-lift is
> triggered, and which was at the position resulting in latest possible
> release. I turned it to the position giving earliest triggering of the
> mirror-lift, and now find that the shutter-arm can be properly adjusted to
> work on both the M2 and the M5 - though the margin on the M5 is rather
> small.
>
> I find it hard to imagine how this small cam could have changed its
> position. When I turned it to re-adjust it, it was quite stiff. It appears
> to have happened when the Viso was in a camera case in the hold of the plane
> we took on holiday, but I find it hard to imagine even the wildest baggage
> handlers being able to have that effect on the Viso - none of the other gear
> in the case showed any signs of distress.
>
> Has anybody else has this experience of the Viso release mechanism going out
> of adjustment?

 Simon, I never had that problem with my Visioflex. So I am not much help to
you, but your information should be a great help to all Visioflex users, if they
ever have a similar problem to yours.

Thanks, Horst Schmidt