A Hasselblad, more than 40 years after first looking.

Richard G said:
That colorisation is impressive.
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Yeah actually does a pretty fair job of it -- sometimes you gotta love technology 🙂

Another with the Lennart Nilsson 1000f. With its 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar and Ilford HP5. I tell ya, as much as I’ve been shooting a 35mm format for so many years, there’s something about the square format that feels oddly satisfying.


Cedar Creek24 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
 
Agree. The choices for composition are less imposed. Rule of thirds is out to a great extent or entirely. The possibility of choreographing within the square seems greater. The figures in my few Hasselblad shots with figures are not the figures in my 35mm shots. They stand differently. They are doing less. And they are more striking. Could just be the lower vantage point, but maybe it’s the slowing down.
 
This thread has inspired me to resume work on my cheap/broken 500c outfit. I had previously brought an old chrome 120 S-Planar lens back to life, and now it's time for me to tackle the 500c camera body, WLF and A12 film back. I have worked on a 500c before, but have gone into much more depth this time, going so far as to remove the mirror and replace the foam behind it, as it had crumbled away long ago. For general servicing not including the mirror, I got some help from the following series of videos, although technician Jim mostly skips particulars about re-installation of a pair of springs for the mirror, and even with the service manual, it took some time for me to figure out how to proceed. Hope to complete mechanical work on the 500c body within the next few days.

Lessons learned so far: If a procedure seems especially difficult, it's probably because it's not being done the way the factory anticipated!

The first installment of the videos in question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOFdK7ySkj4&t=719s
 
JeffS7444 said:
This thread has inspired me to resume work on my cheap/broken 500c outfit. I had previously brought an old chrome 120 S-Planar lens back to life, and now it's time for me to tackle the 500c camera body, WLF and A12 film back. I have worked on a 500c before, but have gone into much more depth this time, going so far as to remove the mirror and replace the foam behind it, as it had crumbled away long ago. For general servicing not including the mirror, I got some help from the following series of videos, although technician Jim mostly skips particulars about re-installation of a pair of springs for the mirror, and even with the service manual, it took some time for me to figure out how to proceed. Hope to complete mechanical work on the 500c body within the next few days.

Lessons learned so far: If a procedure seems especially difficult, it's probably because it's not being done the way the factory anticipated!

The first installment of the videos in question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOFdK7ySkj4&t=719s
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Looking forward to seeing some photos once you've gotten it all sorted out. BTW I do admire your 'bravery' in working on a Hasselblad -- way beyond my capabilities to be sure.
 
Vince Lupo said:
Looking forward to seeing some photos once you've gotten it all sorted out. BTW I do admire your 'bravery' in working on a Hasselblad -- way beyond my capabilities to be sure.
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Oh, I question my sanity in taking on these DIY projects all the time! But the pain has it's rewards, and maybe it slows down my GAS a little bit.

500c is running behind schedule: Thought I was about done, when I realized that one of the "barn doors" was drooping enough to intrude upon the image. Upon closer examination, I discovered it had developed cracks at some point, and someone applied liberal amounts of paint or adhesive in an attempt to patch it, and I think if I try too hard to correct it, I'll just wind up breaking the door into two pieces. Fortunately, found someone selling a (used) replacement, hope it's in better condition.
 
Vince Lupo said:
Looking forward to seeing some photos once you've gotten it all sorted out. BTW I do admire your 'bravery' in working on a Hasselblad -- way beyond my capabilities to be sure.
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I have a Hasselblad but it almost never gets use. It's more art than tool for me and art can be despoiled.. I guess I could be roundly criticized and may actually deserve it. However the whole thing inspires me......to get a Bronica S2a and a couple of lenses and never look back when it comes to use it.
 
Like others, until the last several years, Hasselblad was out of reach, money wise. But several years ago I ran across a dealer with Hasselblad equipment. He had a 503CW fresh from service at Hasselblad. I bought it with matching A12 magazine, also serviced. I've added another A12 magazine, a 50 f4 CF, 150 f4 Sonnar CF with prontor shutter, and an 80 f2.8. I've got two different viewfinders, a 45 and a 90 degree both with meters. I'm the first one to admit using the waist level VF handheld, is difficult. Not focusing but remembering which way to move the camera. The images are lovely.
 
The 45 degree prism is very useable and allows a higher vantage point. I think focus is easier, but you can still miss. The waist level finder reduces the weight, so that coupled with the 80mm lens it’s the most compact and lightest carry possible. As you get older hovering neck-bent over the WLF becomes a problem it seems, even for just standing still I’d reckon (not me, yet, at 62…). A monopod does a lot to counter that body sway. Ernst Wildi extolled the virtues of the monopod for Hasselblad and it is nothing to take it with you and it doesn’t restrict you much and doesn’t slow you down much either. I hardly ever carry more than the camera and one lens. Serious OH&S problem carrying the whole bag too often. If I have some equipment beyond camera and one lens it is in the boot (trunk) of my car to dip into.
 
Hibiscus, from a wonderful tiered public garden near here, so often completely empty of people, with some wonderful exceptions in the early days of the slight release of lockdowns of the pandemic, very severe and prolonged in Melbourne.



010053970007.jpg by Richard, on Flickr
 
My 500c "barn doors" have arrived from Westborne Camera, and although used, they appear to be in fine condition. I expect that installation will be a leisurely one-afternoon project. And at that point, my camera body, back and WLF ought to be ready for use.

The same cannot be said for the 120 S-Planar lens: Had initially replaced broken parts (someone forced a jammed lens?), but this is a project which keeps on expanding! A tiny spring fell out, and it turned out that it belonged on the underside of the shutter housing, where I hadn't intended to venture. But since I had things apart, I figured that I'd deal with the excess focuser grease which had migrated everywhere. Cleaned and relubed with far less grease (Japan Hobby Tool JHT9110) than the previous tech, and the result is light and buttery-smooth.

Admit that I spent hours baffled by problems with the Compur shutter, which is simply snapping shut at higher speeds - funny, it had been working following my initial repairs a few years ago. At 1/500th sec, the speed escapement is totally bypassed, yet the problem persists, though if I slow the shutter's cycle by hand, it works! Though the shutter and aperture blades appear clean and dry, the shutter action doesn't seem particularly smooth and snappy, so for want of a better idea, I'll be dismantling and cleaning those assemblies next; those are the only areas I haven't already touched.

Meanwhile, I got to thinking that while the 80/2.8 Planar is a nice compact lens, I've already owned a couple of them. And while I've always liked the 50/4, it's not the smallest lens. That got me thinking about a 60 mm lens instead! And the 60/5.6 looks like an intriguingly compact wide/normal option. Sure, why not? It seems that nearly everyone opts for the 50-80-150 trio, so I might like to try the 60 and 120 duo to be different.
 
If you want a really nice compact lens, the 60/4 is another option. Not as easy to find though.

BTW KEH has an ‘ugly’ 60/5.6 if you’re interested in another potential project. However sometimes I’ve been pleasantly surprised with their items rated as such.
 
Two thumbs (and both big toes) up for the 60mm focal length! I have the 60/3.5 C, and it's become my "normal", rarely coming off the camera. It has the same feel as a 40mm on a 35mm, and the rendition is pure Zeiss. Unfortunately, it is bigger than Vince's beloved 60/4, or the f5.6, but that little bit of extra speed is nice to have. I would guess the f5.6 might be a bit difficult to focus, as well.
 
Current plan is to just use 120 S-Planar as my only lens for awhile, and see what transpires. Because I know that if I rush to get a wide or normal lens, I'll just fixate on that and never really get to know the longer lens.

But first I need to get a working outfit assembled! I've encountered another delay, because while the original 500c rear casting / mirror / barn door assembly (top) is easy to disassemble, the 500CM parts unit appears to have been taken from a water-damaged camera, and while most parts look perfectly usable, there's a couple of rolled steel pins which are totally frozen in place and need to be drilled out. Started the process with a 1 mm drill bit, but it wasn't super-sharp to begin with, and I've had to order new ones. It might not look like it, but once I've got the replacement door transferred, reassembly of the 500c is pretty quick.

As for simply swapping out the entire assemblies, there are enough differences between a 500C and CM that it won't fit without also replacing other major parts, and I'm not feeling any great urge to do that. It's easy enough to replace the focusing screen of a 500C, and how often will I care to change the things?
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The news is better on the the lens front: After tinkering with it for so long, I got to know it pretty well and could practically reassemble it in my sleep! Will need to do one last, light teardown in order to adjust too-fast shutter speeds, and after a good night's sleep, I just realized how that's accomplished. Below, partially disassembled Compur MXV shutter prior to deeper cleaning. "Spare" spring used to be part of the bulb flash delay mechanism, which a former owner disabled. But why the spring was left rattling around loose inside the shutter housing, I have no idea. I've taped it into place should someone wish to restore that functionality.
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As originally received, the shutter had "a few" problems.
PA040007.jpg
 
Vince Lupo said:
What year is your 500c Jeff? Reason I ask is that you have an early waist-level finder. I've always liked that version.
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Vince, here's a similar early-type finder currently listed on That Auction Site:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304684720633

My 500C dates back to 1966, but I purchased the finder separately, and I deliberately chose the older style because I thought I wanted my camera to have more of a vintage vibe. But be advised that this design has some tendency to pop apart at the hinges, and I've got the main hinge pin of mine held in place by tiny drops of clear JB Weld. It's too soon for me to know whether this is an effective fix or not.
 
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