Hasselblad CFE 4O FLE problem: soft image

Hi all, few days ago, I examined recent scan and I noticed that the the pictures shot with the CFE 40 TELE are soft (I exclude scanner issue: the other pictures are sharp, the scanner is an Hasselblad Flextight); the second focusing ring was properly set.

Yesterday I used the lens on the body of a friend provided with a Phase One P25 Digital Back; comparing the picture shot with my CFE40 and his CF40 the difference is astonishing at full aperture and short distance and even at medium aperture (f 8 - 11) at short distance; at medium aperture at infinity no difference visible.

Some years ago I slipped on wet rocks and the backpack on my shoulder with camera and lenses bitted the ground (the shock was quite hight, the focal plane shutter of mu 203 FE opened but the mirror did no go up. After The reset of the camera, with the "double exposure" button, all seems to work OK) could this could be the cause of the problem? Lens misalignment?

I will bring the lens to the Italian repair center but I am worried about the possibility the lens can be repaired. Is this a work that can be made by a properly trained technician or the lens should go to Hasselblad? Do the technician needs some particular instruments the no all technician have, or it is something that they should do without problem?

I hope some of you with experience in lens repair (David Odess comes to mind) can explain me and give me some tips on further test I should perform before bring the lens to the technician.

Thank you in advance.

My experience with a CF 40 (what means "Tele") is that it is sharp throughout and the distortion is negligible (< 1%) with a digital back.

 

Hitting the ground is not conducive to proper operation thereafter. Problems that ensue do not fix themselves. The fact that the mirror and shutter continue to operate can be attributed to good luck.

 

Both the camera and lens should be sent to the attention of a competent repair agency, and Hasselblad New Jersey should not be ignored. Be prepared for a (financial) shock.

Think Ed for your reply.

I want add some further details: the camera body was CLAed for other reason (to change the light trap at the base of the mirror); the body thai I use now is the second body I own (bought 2 year ago and soon after CLAed).

I can non send the lens to Hasselblad New Jersey because I live in Italy.

Do you think that if the bloblem is due to that accident can the lens be fixed? (Anyway it is strange I never notished before).

Edited April 8, 2018 by diegobuono

Ed, "TELE" is a typo, I wrore FLE but the software corrected it inot TELE. thank you ("think" in the previous message sas "thanks" obviously).

I understand about New Jersey, but there should be Hasselblad service accessible nearby, even Sweden. Factory service is expensive, but first rate in my experience. Not everyone who posts a repair shingle is competent. In any case, the factory will give you an estimate before proceeding if you prefer. There is minimal charge for this service if you decline. Although the lens mount is on a casting, it's possible that the mount was bent and no longer parallel. The factory has the resources to make this determination.

 

I too find spell correction makes me "say" ridiculous things at times, but it's far worse without it. I make free use of the ESC key.

Today we performed further tests and now the lens seems to perform ok. It came out thai I focus differently than my friend and when he focus my lens the two lenses perform the same way. Furthermore we notished that probably the mirror in his hasselblad is non adjusted properly, in fact every picture seems to suffer from back focusing and when the lens is set to infinity the image on the mirror (with split image) is not still in focus. Anyway the pictures shot with both lenses set at infinity are equally sharp.

I came to the conclusion that probably the scanned image from wich my doubt arise was not correctly focused; I suppose I tried to have all in focus (there was 2 main subjet some meters apart with nothing in the middle, if I focused between the two subject and stopped down I ended up to have nothing in perfect focus, at least when viewed at 100%).

I Will perform further test with my Hasselblad just to be sure. I will let you know.

Again meny thanks.