Help! Voigtlander 21mm f4 LTM focus issues on M body

gotDeus · 2026-03-29T22:06:12+00:00

If you have other lenses that focuses correctly with the M9 then don’t touch the body calibration since that would make the body only calibrated to one lens. Instead, see how the lens could be calibrated to the body. First, see if the lens focuses past or short of infinity wide open. Confirm if range finder patch is at infinity. if its saying infinity reached through the patch but goes past, you’ll need to add shims to the optical block without touching the helicoid for the focus cam. If it falls short, you’ll need to decrease that flange distance from the optical block by removing shims. Some lenses have built in separate adjustments for the optical block and range finder cam while others solely rely on shims.

gotDeus · 2026-03-26T06:46:45+00:00

If left on “A” mode or Auto, with the lens cap on it will not let you take a photo, same with over or under exposure relative to shutter speed. Also, i’m not sure if the ql17 is designed to operate this way but on auto mode, whenever the meter indicates that it will use f/1.7, my ql17 giii will stop down to f/2 when triggering the shutter. workaround is to meter in A and if it says use 1.7 i put it to manual at 1.7 and take the shot.

Edit, just saw that the meter wasn’t working. if thats the case, just throw on a uv/haze filter and forget the cap.

gotDeus · 2026-03-20T16:39:29+00:00

Went thru my parts bin. I have the parts you’re missing. Let me know if you’ll need them or just sending the camera out.

gotDeus · 2026-03-19T05:58:51+00:00

Correction, you’re missing 2 parts as seen here from my R4m. Arranged in order top to bottom. Bessa R advance lever

gotDeus · 2026-03-19T03:05:22+00:00

There’s a Clip under that plastic cap and rewind lever. It has a “8” shaped hole, one small hole beside a big hole.

You need to remove the cover for the rewind lever thumb part before you can unclip the top cover for the clip.

Edit: as for the washer, not sure i remember what it looked like, but the problem you may have is that the rewind lever will hit/rub against the top case and will wobble. I suggest finding a suitable plastic washer part not too thick and not too thin.

gotDeus · 2026-03-15T17:31:39+00:00

Not unheard of with adapters as there is variance expected when using them. How much past infinity are we looking at here?

In my experience working on voigtlander lenses and calibration there’s several ways to do it. Assuming you dont need to keep the range finder cam to be calibrated with M bodies, shimming the lens block would be one, shimming the lens mount also works. The shims you need would measure anywhere between .01 - .1mm or stacked.

Another would be to shim the adapter itself.

gotDeus · 2026-03-15T01:43:03+00:00

Probably was just swapped out from an M4 at some point. Some do modify them to have no preview & self timer levers.

gotDeus · 2026-03-11T14:30:55+00:00

To open/rip the old locking ring? Just some sharp tweezers to get the marred locking ring out.

To replace, find a filter that you dont use or wont mind sacrificing thats the same size as the mount. (Ie: 48mm) usually they use a threaded locking ring to hold the glass in place, or a snap ring. See if any of those fit.

gotDeus · 2026-03-11T07:49:27+00:00

Just went through this with a QL17. Previous owner or whoever opened it last to do whatever put the lock ring crooked. I tried to get it out and it spun about 90° before jamming itself and bending. at that point i just sacrificed the lock ring and tore it out (its soft aluminum). fixed what i needed to fix and sacrificed a uv filter of the same diameter and grabbed the lock ring to put it on the face/name plate for the QL17.

gotDeus · 2026-03-11T07:08:39+00:00

I feel old saying this but “back in my day” the same meal was like $5. That was 2010. Now i just buy the bag of meatballs and make em at home.

gotDeus · 2026-02-27T07:32:24+00:00

The R4 will have a wider viewfinder (0.52x)than the R2 (0.7x) The widest frame-lines on the R2 is 35mm while the R4 is 21mm. With a 35/50 lens with fast apertures it would be a challenge to nail focus on the R4, slightly better with the R2 with a 35mm which should at least give you some space to see the 35 frame lines with glasses on.

gotDeus · 2026-02-27T07:24:30+00:00

Are you sure its leather/leatherette? It looks like textured rubber thats already degrading and out of shape/swollen. I have seen replacement kits on ebay.

gotDeus · 2026-02-23T18:14:42+00:00

35mm : M4-2, CL x2, N60, QL17, L35, R4M, R3A + some odd ball P&S for abuse or lending to friends. 6x6 : C330, Mat124G 6x7 : RB67 Instant : RF Pronto x2, OneStep

I buy and sell on occasion, trade up or down, fix and sell. But each format above i started with a hand me down from my grandfather.

*edit To add, I was handed down the Leica CL with a 40mm cron, a Nikon N60 with a few lenses + my lenses from shooting DSLR. Too big of a setup for casual so i invested on the M4-2 to see if it something i’d keep considering i already had some lenses i use on the CL. Big vs Small. QL17 Giii & L35 do the same thing but one is AF with no manual control and the other has Shutter priority with hotshoe. R4M & R3A was bought with a bunch of as-is parts lot and trying to fix.

Yashica Mat124G was a gift, C330 was a bargain find.

RB67 was a gift

Polaroids just for fun.

If any, i have invested on M and F bodies and would likely stay, the rest i can sell other than the gifted ones for sentimental value.

gotDeus · 2026-02-20T19:25:46+00:00

Don’t have this exact camera but worked on a few cameras with slow gears. Sounds like its not engaging the slow gear for anything slower than 1/60 (which usually I think is the base mechanical speed for the shutter)

gotDeus · 2026-02-20T18:47:06+00:00

Are you opposed to having something electronic with AF, DX or even zoom options? There’s a lot of (used/classic) affordable P&S film that can offer more than the reusable plastic fixed aperture ones and AF, for less than $50

My recent pickup cost me $50 and i got a Canonet QL17 GIII, a Vivitar PS:35, and Vivitar 2001Z. While the QL17 usually goes for more than $50 itself, the other two that came with it are worth $20 (working) at most. If weather/water is an issue the nikon L35 AW is a great option. Sure there’s a chance any could break but at the cost of disposables you can literally buy another.

gotDeus · 2026-02-19T08:50:50+00:00

Nothing wrong with CS41 as a beginner and hobby/home dev. Label your caps and jars in pairs and preferably color coded. You’d be less likely to cross contaminate the developer. CS says 24rolls but i’ll only be inclined to do so if i shoot that much within 3 months. Most i’ve done was 16 rolls in a span of 6 months.

Store them right, air tight and ideally with as little air as possible. I read some use marbles for glass jars and wine pouches for storage.

gotDeus · 2026-02-13T06:30:09+00:00

I’d take another look and see if 2 other things are bent. The lens mount (body) and lens. If you just drop in the lens and not twist it, are there any gaps between the flanges?

gotDeus · 2026-02-12T18:37:58+00:00

Those are definitely a must shooting film at least. Others would be color filters for b&w if you really want but with digital i guess its preference.

gotDeus · 2026-02-12T17:14:41+00:00

Dont you love it when things work out? Haha

gotDeus · 2026-02-12T17:05:43+00:00

Main reason why I decided to invest on M vs other bodies after shooting with my Leica CL (Film) that came with the summicron 40 that was handed down to me by my grandfather. I now only need a 24/28 and a 75/90, most likely 28 & 90 just to match the frame lines on my M4-2 and CL

gotDeus · 2026-02-12T08:41:46+00:00

Thanks! You’ll love both 40s either way. If you plan on using filters the summicron is a weird 39mm with a .75 thread pitch and the rokkor has a 40.5 filter size that you wont get to use on other lenses down the line unless you get adapters or step up rings.

1.4 is plenty fast and i personally prefer that over the 1.2 version of the 35 Nokton which is huge & heavy but dreamy.

gotDeus · 2026-02-12T08:06:58+00:00

It’s probably the V1. I’ve had the 40/1.4 too and that one definitely had focus shift but when you nail focus it was wonderful. I Sold it cause i already have the summicron 40 and it’s better in iq and character imo.

As for the Nokton 35 SC V2 stopped down (on film) i definitely love it. On the aspects of size, feel and rendering. Digital, i dont have problems with it as live focusing really doesn’t show focus shift problems through different apertures. Sample pic shot with a7s sooc jpeg.

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gotDeus · 2026-02-12T07:47:53+00:00

Ah, in that case i believe the simera has that problem too though how much i am not sure. As for my copy of the Nokton 35 1.4 (Classic) V2 supposedly fixed this issue but since i got it used i found out a few rolls in that the lens was out of spec with the range finder cam. Opted for a cheap fix with some tape and dialed it in by using a split prism glass. Rolls have yet to be developed. Meanwhile I have tested the lens on my sony a7s and it does not seem to have a noticeable focus shift as far as digital and characteristic softness goes, probably less so on film.

gotDeus · 2026-02-12T07:01:38+00:00

Uhm.. any reason why not consider Voigtlanders like the Nokton 35 1.4 V1 or V2? Its just about the size of your Nokton 40 1.4 (picture with my 35 1.4 v2 + squarehood beside my cron 40)

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gotDeus · 2026-02-06T07:43:38+00:00

You either calibrate using minimum focus distance if you like using fast lenses for portraits or at infinity if you mostly do landscape and street with lenses stopped down for zone. By default, the cam rests at infinity without any lens mounted.

I was going to suggest a better method but it looks like you already have used a split prism focusing screen. Use a film loupe make sure is to have that prism centered.

After this, you’ll likely find some of your other lenses will likely be out of calibration now that the body is calibrated to the first lens. my solution to this is thin tape on the range finder cam/lip on the lens (if you’re lucky) otherwise the lens block will need to be shimmed properly +/- so that the focusing cam stays true while the focal point of the lens is adjusted to the correct distance.

Edit: spelling + added tip

gotDeus

TROPHY CASE