Zeiss Ikon ZM allignment problem

[heidrich]

Hey everybody!

I bought my Zeiss Ikon ZM about four months ago, and it worked perfectly well until May. I accidentally dropped it on the ground, though not from somewhere that is very high (about 90cm), then I found that the camera was not focusing at infinity.

When I set my 35mm C Biogon lens to infinity and look into the viewfinder, everything beyond a certain distance (I guess it's 200 meters or so) cannot be properly focused. However, objects that are nearer, say 30 meters from the focal plane, are still "in focus" as seen from the focusing patch.

The focusing patch of the Zeiss Ikon ZM moves from the right towards the left in the viewfinder as you focus from 0.7m to the infinity. In my case, it seems the focusing patch should go slightly more towards the left at infinity, but it doesn't.

Anybody knows if this infinity misalignment issue affects shooting results for other distances shorter than infinity. Will I get misguided by the viewfinder reading? (That is to say, when I focus at 3 meters and the viewfinder tells me that the object is being properly focused, but the final result is either back- or front-focused?) I wonder if this only affects the infinity, or it acctually affects focusing at all distances.

I think the problem lies in the camera body's RF mechanism, not in the lens, since I tested the lens on a friend's M3.

Look forward to any insights^_^

[johnwood]

From similar experience, it affects the entire focal range...

[EdwardKaraa]

I would send both camera and lens for service after such accident, even if they seem to be working ok.

[CK Dexter Haven]

As i recall, i had an RF misalignment at one time, but not due to a drop or impact. Only noticed it when i received a Nokton 50mm 1.1 and tried to focus it at infinity, and was super paranoid that i needed exacting alignment for that lens. I never shot any film with it misaligned, so i have no idea what the actual effect is.

I sent it to Zeiss (in New Jersey, i think), and it was fixed quite quickly. Great service. I only mention it because it was in such stark contrast to the service from Leica....

[capito]

Same here: since I bumped my ZM the rangefinder's off. Everything's out of focus, worse than a cheap P&S.
It's almost putting me off RF photography, at least the way the ZM is so fragile.

[45tim]

i had the same issue after bumping the ikon several times and it did affect the entire range. i sent it to zeiss in oberkochen and got it back clean and repaired less than two weeks later. fortunately it was still within the three years extended warranty period so they fixed it free of charge.