A Hasselblad, more than 40 years after first looking.

Vince Lupo said:
Hmm that’s interesting that you’re having that issue with your camera - I regularly use the back with an old 500c and automatic bellows on a copy stand and haven’t had that issue at all. Hopefully I haven’t just jinxed it!
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I think it's a one-off issue with my 907x/CFVII-50c ... I haven't heard of anyone else having this specific problem at all. At first it seemed an issue with the orientation sensor not being properly initialized on startup and setting a user calibration for the level display seemed to fix it, but lately it's been a problem no matter what I did. And it's intermittent ... Sometimes I cannot get it to express at all, other times I can't get the camera to work properly at all, with no difference in how I handled or set up the camera.

Hasselblad has been very good at trying to help. I was avoiding having to send it to them, but I figure a year on and it is still a problem, I want them to analyze it completely and maybe replace a ribbon cable or logic board, be done with it. I love using this camera and it's a long term purchase, so I want it right.

I'll just shoot some film with the 500CM for a while. Or grab one of my other digital cameras ... the gods know I have enough different cameras to keep me happy with shooting, eh? :)

G
 
Lost some tulip shots. (SNAFU number 11....). I think the Time Exposure Lock collared with the shutter release was semi engaged. It's not meant to work with the cable release in. I was suspicious as I heard a click a little time after the cable release piston was withdrawn. That was the end of the lens exposure via the leaf shutter closing, after the rear shutter was closed. Sure enough the exposures were extremely dim but something on the image. Will be more careful in future.
 
Benjamin Marks said:
No connection to the linked-to sale, but your focusing ring complaint has a pretty easy fix -- the aftermarket focusing lever. For instance, see this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hasselblad-Focusing-Handle-2-Quick-Focus-Ring-Lever-/153887010737
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You don't need an aftermarket focusing lever ... Hasselblad made a rapid focusing lever (in two sizes) for the C series lenses. For instance
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Near-MINT-...Ring-Lever-handle-EX-From-JAPAN-/313699144857

I have the one that fits my 50 and 150 mm lenses. It works very nicely when you need faster operation of the focusing ring.

G
 
Godfrey said:
I think it's a one-off issue with my 907x/CFVII-50c ... I haven't heard of anyone else having this specific problem at all. At first it seemed an issue with the orientation sensor not being properly initialized on startup and setting a user calibration for the level display seemed to fix it, but lately it's been a problem no matter what I did. And it's intermittent ... Sometimes I cannot get it to express at all, other times I can't get the camera to work properly at all, with no difference in how I handled or set up the camera.

Hasselblad has been very good at trying to help. I was avoiding having to send it to them, but I figure a year on and it is still a problem, I want them to analyze it completely and maybe replace a ribbon cable or logic board, be done with it. I love using this camera and it's a long term purchase, so I want it right.

I'll just shoot some film with the 500CM for a while. Or grab one of my other digital cameras ... the gods know I have enough different cameras to keep me happy with shooting, eh? :)

G
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Oh yes: The 907x/CFVII 50c have been back from Hasselblad for a while. They analyzed everything and couldn't find any faults. Subsequently, I found I could incite the bad behavior by mounting a non-native lens before electing the eshutter operating mode. I solved it by resetting the camera and now always set the eshutter mode before I fit a non-native lens. It's worked flawlessly since I started doing that, about 3000 exposures ago. :D

G
 
Godfrey
Have you notified Hasselblad about this? I suspect they would not be fond of the idea of mounting non native lenses, so use at your peril.:)
 
hap said:
Godfrey
Have you notified Hasselblad about this? I suspect they would not be fond of the idea of mounting non native lenses, so use at your peril.:)
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Um ... "non native lenses" includes Hasselblad V system lenses mounted with the Hasselblad XV Adapter. Fully supported... :)

But yes: I've had extensive discussions with both the the HUSA Customer Support rep in NJ and with Hasselblad Sweden's engineering team, and given them all my notes. The issue seems to be an odd anomaly in my particular 907x Special Edition unit, not a generalized issue.

G
 
I would anticipate that most photographers who invest in the XV system would also have at least a small collection of V system lenses which they would wish to mount. And Hasselblad would also be aware of that with some level of compatibility. That is why I considered the category of non native lenses as not including legacy lenses. However, your point is reasonable.
 
hap said:
I would anticipate that most photographers who invest in the XV system would also have at least a small collection of V system lenses which they would wish to mount. And Hasselblad would also be aware of that with some level of compatibility. That is why I considered the category of non native lenses as not including legacy lenses. However, your point is reasonable.
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"Legacy" lenses ... That term–"legacy"–means nothing in this context.

V system lenses are non-native when adapted to the 907x's lens mount and operate in exactly the same way as any other non-native, adapted lens. The XV Adapter is just a nicely made tube with the different lens mounts at each end. You mount one end on the camera, the lens on the other end, and you stop the lens aperture down. All exposures happen with the body/back using the back's eshutter. There's absolutely no difference whatever between that and using my Leica R or M mount lenses on the 907x with appropriate adapters.

And it made no difference to the odd behavior I was seeing either. It happened the same way no matter what non-native lens was fitted. But I've got it sorted now, and it's not a problem.

G
 
The first post in this thread reminded me of my visit to the Hasselblad factory in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1988. I was still a high school teenager. During summer, I traveled alone through Scandinavia via Interrail and hitchhiking. I had lots of memorable encounters, including meeting the coach of ski racer Ingemar Stenmark, who kindly gave me a lift in Lulea, Sweden. Already an avid photographer at that time (using Nikon FE2), I decided to visit Hasselblad to see whether they had some public exhibition room. I arrived there after several weeks of backpacking, i.e., looking poor (well, I was), unshaven, and in need of a good shower and fresh clothes. It turned out there was no exhibition room. Instead, they gave me a private tour through the factory, which lasted for several hours! I even got to see a multi-projector slide show that the company had prepared for the Photokina in 1988, that took place in Cologne a few weeks after my visit. Before I left, I received the little 500C/M model in the attached picture, which never has left my key ring since then. I was highly impressed by the attention given to this young teenager. To this day, I feel guilty that I never bought a Hasselblad afterwards.
500CM.jpg​
 
I waited over 40 years before spending most of my Government Pension Retirement 'Lump Sum' in 2002 on a new 501CM + 80mm f2.8 CFE Planar T* + A12 back + Prism ! I found the LENS was not as good as the one on my 1984 'Gift' Mamiya C220 -- maybe I got a 'Friday night' one when the Germans in ZEISS were rushing home to have their Bockwurst mit Sauercraut . I did a VIDEO called 'an Expensive BOX !! ' which you can see here , with sample photos---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeE-uPO8ACg
 
Prices are way up there too for a used 500C/M and 80 Planar. I wouldn't mind having that rig again with a CF Planar but not at present prices.
 
Prices in Australia for second hand cameras are completely ridiculous, especially Hasselblad. The difficulty of filling out the appropriate forms for customs, the cost of shipping, and from the US now the abandonment of Australia by the USPS, for the moment, means we are pushed much more to buy locally.
 
There's always some discussion here about the "ker-WHUMPF" of the Hassie. I've always considered it just part of the experience, but annoying. Recently, I sent one of the 500CM bodies in for an overhaul (there was a slight issue with the mirror lock) and was shocked by how quiet and vibration-free the camera now is. I'd call it a "fwip". Not Leica quiet, but really nice. If you find the noise and vibration to be an issue, maybe it's time to treat your precious to a spa treatment.
I think that perhaps Hassies are so well built that they can continue to function well long after they're due for a CLA. Nevertheless, the maintenance should be done. They aren't making any more of them, as we are all too well aware!
 
Fwip. Well coined. I think that's how mine sounds. I like that sound. I have a couple of Barnacks that need a CLA: they are more eek than snick. My M2 was CLA'ed by a Wetzlar expert in Melbourne when it was 49 years old. Not its first service, at least its third. The rewind clutch function being restored to factory spec was the most impressive part of that. The service was prompted by the very slow speeds holding up slightly.

I was reading last night about focus with Hasselbald 500 cameras being affected by the foam stop for the mirror needing replacement. I haven't formally tested focus in my camera. Seems to be pretty good from some of the shots I have with longer lenses.
 
I've not heard that about the foam, at least on a Hassie. It is the case on some other cameras, specifically Bronicas. Something to watch out for.
On the subject of maintenance: Though I like the occasional new trinket, I'm finding I get more pleasure these days from getting a good CLA done on an older camera. Sometimes, as with my Hassie, it's like getting a new camera, cheap! The peace of mind alone is worth it; the opposite, in a way, of the low-level anxiety involved in purchasing those "mint" e-bay trinkets.
 
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