Off-center pics

[blacknet]

hello,

You are looking for alignment. Not sure if your camera has it but if you can change the shutter speed turn it to the slowest speed possible, it's much easier if you have a 'b' (bulb) mode.

May be best if you have it serviced.

Ed

 

[joewr]

Greg,

The focal plane is where the image focuses. When you open the camera, you will see a rectangular opening where the film that becomes the slide sits as the exposure is made. It will have some black material that covers the hole from the lens side of the camera--that is the shutter.

If your camera had a "B" setting on it, you could open the shutter and look at the image on a piece of tissue or frosted glass--just like the old timers did. The "B" stands for "Bulb"--the gadget they squeezed to open and shut the shutter.

Now, if you put an hypothetical rod at 90 deg to the plane of the flat of the film (the famous focal plane) and centered it in the middle of the film, it should run right down the center of your lens and the arms of your macro.

From your description, long sides of the gadget (I am trying to avoid technical terms!) that is attached to your macro lens and runs out to the two aiming rods that stick up is at right angles to the front of your camera.

And, the two aiming rods are at right angles to the bottom of the camera.

And the center of the lens is lined up with the center of the two aiming rods.

And now you know why they say one picture is worth a thousand words....

It all that is true, you have a problem with the lens or with the camera. There are many problems possible and none that you can fix. So, I will not list them.

A few more questions: was the camera always like this? Of did you first notice it when you started taking macro?

Is this helping?

Joewr...pacing and wondering if Greg is ready to launch a missle?

 

[Greg G.]

Ok, I get it now. Ed's experiment won't work with mine. Phew! I thought I was going blonde there for a while!

An update: In examining the macro lens/framer set up, guess what I discovered? The framer is loose! Enough to let it wiggle some up and down and side to side. Is there a way to tighten it myself? I see what looks like an inset rivet or something on the top of the framer where it mounts to the lens. That would explain the cock-eyed macro shots, but not the regular lens. I have an 8X11 piece of white plastic slate I used to use for mapping, I'll set it up the way you suggested and see if it's truly the camera lens.

P.S. I bought the camera in Seattle, I'm now in SE Floriduh, so it's more practicle to take it to a service center in this area if need be. One other thing, I lost the cap that goes over the strobe connection, can anybody recommend a dealer in this area (greater West Palm Beach) that I can order the parts from? I called 3 shops that are supposed to be authorized Sea&Sea dealers, but got really rude service and no help.

Originally posted by joewr
Greg,

Ed is so used to fiddling with pricey cameras that he is probably not familiar with yours. If you had a B or a T setting on your camera, you could do what Ed suggests: basically, what you do is place a piece of translucent material at the focal plane and open the shutter. You could then see the image on the translucent material. However, your slowest speed is 1/15 sec and that would make viewing the image nearly impossible.

I also do not think he has played around with the macro system your camera uses...it is very sturdy as I remember it.

So, I have to stick with my original thought--if the arms are lined up with the center of focus, do the test and take the results to your camera store.

Joewr...who loves all cameras, great and small (to paraphrase "James Herriot")

 

[joewr]

Okay, Greg,

We are making progress! But this is not the most efficient process.....

Back when we started this I made a few assumptions:

(1) Which camera you had...that seems to have been correct.
(2) That you were using a 2T or 3T macro...that seems to have been correct.
(3) That the effect was only with macro--I did not read carefully enough...two point penalty to me!
(4) That the arms were lined up with the center of focus...that issue is still in doubt...

So far, so good?

Joewr...who will stick with you as long as my drink stays cold..

 

[joewr]

Greg,

I need to go fairly soon. It has been a while since I looked at the MMII-EX--would you believe that I own a Nikonos!--but I think at one time there was either a knurled screw, or a slotted screw, or a screw with an allen head that allowed you to tighten the band that holds the lens to the aimer. If they still make them that way, you should be able to tighten it. If not, and you do not feel too inept, you can shim the band with some none corroding material such as very thin plastic. This is basically a "field" repair.

However, if your 35mm lens or your camera is the basic problem, the offset macro, as I indicated, would just exascerbate the problem...sort of a leverage effect.

Joewr...bowing out for a time....

 

[Greg G.]

The answer is no. Now that I think of it, I do have some examples. Take a look at Alabaster nudibranchs # 1,2,4 (3 was with an Aquashot) sponge #1,2 and "stripe" on my Web site, http://home.earthlink.net/~brinysea/html/nwindex.htm
Scroll down and compare with Unknown critter, which I know was "squarely" centered in the framer (yes, I know it's a weird shape, that's why I took the pic ). That's when I first started noticing the problem, but at first contributed it to my error. The framer must have been coming loose at that point and has got progressively worse.

Originally posted by joewr
Greg,


A few more questions: was the camera always like this? Of did you first notice it when you started taking macro?

Is this helping?

Joewr...pacing and wondering if Greg is ready to launch a missle?

 

[joewr]

Greg,

The problem is recent and can be attributed in the macros to the loose framer band...can you tighten it as I described? Make certain that the "tongue" of the framer is coplaner with the bottom of the camera if you can tighten it yourself.

About the 35mm..are you certain that parallax is not the problem?

Joewr...who wonders if Greg knows what my consulting fee is?

 

[Greg G.]

No, I'm not 100% certain, but doesn't parallax have to do with the verticle alignment?
As for your consulting fee, I'll put you in my will or buy you a beer, your choice.

Originally posted by joewr
Greg,

About the 35mm..are you certain that parallax is not the problem?

Joewr...who wonders if Greg knows what my consulting fee is?

 

[joewr]

but, I just wanted to make certain we were still "communicating" and that I was reading your words properly.

Well, the test I proposed will help sort all that out I hope. By the way, you could make the "target" more elegant by putting 90 deg crosshairs on it, too.

Well, I suspect that I am older than you, so the will is out! So, let's have a drink together someday at some fantastic dive site! Speaking of which, I leave for a month in Hawaii on Sunday the 2nd. So, please let me know how things worked out sometime in October. Thanks,

Joewr

 

[Greg G.]

For those who've been following this thread, the problem with the macro shots being off-center was a result of the framer on the Sea&Sea 2T lens being loose. I was able to tighten it with a 5/64 allen wrench. As for the non-macro shots being horizontally off-center, I'll have to do some experiments to make sure it's not user error. I'll keep you posted.