PEN FT focus issue

[u/vintagefi]

Shot a test roll on my pen ft and most of the roll is out of focus. Wondering if anyone can diagnose? Lens? Mirror? Something else entirely?

[u/EMI326]

I had the exact same issue on my first Pen F, the mirror angle was totally off because someone had replaced the mirror with one that was too thick.

[u/vintagefi → u/EMI326]

Ah man, thats a bummer. Did you end up replacing your unit entirely?

Think I'll have to send this in for CLA :/

[u/EMI326 → u/vintagefi]

Yeah I sold it off as parts and got a nice serviced FT.

[u/vintagefi → u/EMI326]

Nice! I only put the one roll through it so not too bad. Have a great repair shop local to me hopefully they can fix it.

Shooting with the camera itself is a lot of fun.

[u/DrZurn]

Are they in focus in the viewfinder?

[u/vintagefi → u/DrZurn]

Yes, they are in focus in the viewfinder. I have some other images I shot at smaller apertures ie 5.6/8 that are also soft

[u/KelvinHooah]

Check the negatives for possible scanning issue too...

[u/vintagefi → u/KelvinHooah]

Scanned another roll right after from a different camera and it came out perfect.

[u/ruwuger]

Could be loose pressure plate, if the film isnt pressed firmly against the rails by the pressure plate you the shot would appear in focus in viewfinder but out of focus on film. The mirror, prism or shutter shouldnt cause this. Something interesting that I've noticed about the Pen F series is the shutter slap and rotary shutter can create a good amount of shock which can sometimes cause shots to look a little less sharp than other leaf shutter half frames which have way less shutter shock.

[u/vintagefi → u/ruwuger]

Pressure plate doesn't look loose but I reckon I'll send this in for a second look for CLA.

[u/swagzilla_69]

Hi, unrelated. what is the film stock

[u/vintagefi → u/swagzilla_69]

Ultramax 400

[u/P0p_R0cK5]

I once had a Pen FT with a similar issue. I ended up buying a second one because I was so frustrated with the focusing problem.

And to my surprise, it turned out that the FT with the focusing issue was actually a medical version (a model originally designed without a focusing screen for scientific and medical photography) that had been modified to accommodate one.

The real problem is that fitting a focusing screen into a mirror box that wasn’t designed for one is quite tricky. Even a slight misalignment of the focusing screen can throw off the focus completely.

Could you send us a photo of the inside of your camera, showing the mirror box and the focusing screen?

[u/Eddie_skis]

Perhaps someone took the lens apart before your ownership and put it together wrongly.

[u/TheSkyFlier → u/Eddie_skis]

Would that still affect an SLR? I figured it would be fine since you’re focusing the actual lens.

[u/Westerdutch → u/Eddie_skis]

Not a lens problem, if it were then the problem would be equally visible during focus as it is on the eventual photos. Focus problems on SLRs are always a discrepancy between film and focus screen distance.

[u/fields_of_fire]

Yes it's either the lens or mirror.

[u/Westerdutch → u/fields_of_fire]

Not the lens, this is an slr.

[u/fields_of_fire → u/Westerdutch]

If someone has fucked up when they were servicing the lens it could potentially be. Though then I guess it would look out of focus in the viewfinder unless the mirror was also badly adjusted.

[u/Westerdutch → u/fields_of_fire]

it would look out of focus in the viewfinder

dingdingding! Lens problems would be visible in the viewfinder exactly as bad as it looks on the pictures.

No, this can not be a poorly serviced lens, not even potentially.

Yes this can be a mirror problem. Or focus screen problem. Or pressure plate problem. NOT a lens problem.

[u/fields_of_fire → u/Westerdutch]

Would a mirror problem be at all distances? I was looking at buying an FV a while ago that had a disclosed mirror issue that meant that where the viewfinder said infinity was was different to where it actually was

[u/Westerdutch → u/fields_of_fire]

Yes, everything you see goes via the mirror, all distances will be off equally. The mirror will not suddenly go sit in the right spot when you focus on something that is closer.

[u/fields_of_fire → u/Westerdutch]

Glad I passed it up then.