A nice 3F is a wonderful thing indeed - it transcends mere machinery.
http://www.cameraquest.com/3frdst.htm
Enjoy.
AndrewF
In the body of the camera there is an indent in the shape of the cam. I assume this is by design. The cam does move freely back and forth with noticeable spring tension and it stops in the indent but it is not an exact fit. There is about 1 mm of space between the cam and the indent because the cam does not align perfectly with the indent so it hits the edge before seating properly.
I should check the close focus as you recommended without the lens attached. I checked both the 35mm Summaron, a 50mm Leitz and a 50mm Amatol and none of them move the rangefinder at distances closer than approx 1.5 meters. But on all 3 lenses, the 'rangefinder barrel' on the lens does not extend past the lens mount at these distances.
Even without putting a roll of film through it yet, it has given me immense pleasure just listening to the shutter fire at slow speeds. What a beautiful piece of art. I've never heard a camera that sounded that silky smooth. I looked into cleaning the rangefinder glass. The instructions I found started out with 'this is difficult'. By step 28 you've got 53 pieces off the camera and another 37 steps until you get the top plate off! So I think I'll just run a roll of film through her for now since the rangefinder is clean enough to focus.
Greg
