Hasselblad CF lens Adapter

I have a problem with my Hassy H3DII and my newly bought “H System CF Lens Adapter”. After exposure I get a message on the handle “ Lens cocking lever problem”. I use C-lenses 50, 150 and 250 mm. Anyone got an idea?

What happens when you cock the shutter of the lens with the lever ? It is normal that you have to manually cock the lever of the lens after each picture with C or CF lenses

What happens when you cock the shutter of the lens with the lever ? It is normal that you have to manually cock the lever of the lens after each picture with C or CF lenses

The shutter simply cocks. I follow the instructions (Hasselblad manual for the adapter) precisely. Including the functions that must be disabled. The next exposure is just a blank black file.

I may be misunderstanding, but you said you are using "C" lenses with this adapter. Do you mean the older, all-metal C lenses in silver or black finish? The ones with always-on EV lock, where you pull back on a metal tab to adjust aperture separately from shutter speed?

 

If so, the lenses themselves could be causing your problem. There is a reason Hasselblad officially named this adapter "For CF Lenses" specifically: there is a known issue of the flash contact mechanism in the old pre-CF lenses being unreliable for triggering digital backs. Some of the old C lenses have compatible shutters, some don't. It is impossible to tell for certain which lenses will successfully fire your particular digital back until you try each one. If you consistently get blank or oddly-exposed frames from a particular C lens, you cannot use that lens to trigger a back (although it will work fine adapted to a different camera system with independent focal pane shutter, like Pentax 645 D/Z or Fuji GFX50). Note this problem cannot usually be solved by a service tech: something inherent in the old Compur shutter mechanism simply has poor timing unsuited to triggering digital backs. The newer Prontor shutter in the CF lenses has a "faster" flash sync trigger that is more reliable.

 

You would need to test your H3DII + adapter with a couple of CF lenses to be absolutely sure the blank frame issue is caused by your C lenses. If you can repeatably get good frames from CF lenses, but not your C lenses, then it is definitely your old lenses. However, you may find the system gives you blank frames with all lenses, both CF and C. If that happens, you will know there is an issue with the camera/back/adapter combo. Take it to a Hasselblad dealer and have them evaluate it for you, perhaps using their own CF lenses. Good luck!

Yes, I have only the old C-lenses. I bought the adapter as the manual says “The Adapter allows the use of all C-type lenses from the V- system on H cameras”. Maybe that is meant only for the use of film and not for a digital back. I have now sent the adapter to my Hasselblad dealer for testing

The C lens shutter was designed decades before digital backs, or even advanced flash systems. At the time, a simple split-second closing of a switch to the flash contact was sufficient for any need. Digital backs generally require a somewhat more elaborate switch: the back wants to monitor a sustained connection from the flash contact that lasts the entire duration of the selected shutter speed. Hasselblad's later CF, CB, CFE, and CFi lenses with Prontor shutter do offer this sustained contact as part of their design, but the older Compur shutter in the C lenses is unpredictable depending on age and shutter variation of each specific lens. Some C lenses do manage to reliably indicate proper exposure to backs, some are randomly successful, and some simply don't cooperate at all.

 

If the C lens cannot sustain the flash contact for the entire duration of shutter speed, the result is a misfiring of the back. Depending on the particular Compur shutter, you could get a completely blank frame, a badly exposed frame, or a frame with extreme color cast. The camera display indicating "Lens cocking lever problem" is a catch-all alert that something has gone wrong in the lens>adapter>camera sequence: might mean the adapter needs adjustment, or the lens is incompatible with digital, or whatever. Of your three C lenses, I should think at least one would be able to make digital exposures: try again after Hasselblad recalibrates the adapter and returns it to you.