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Hasselblad help


Sabertash

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Just picked up a hasselblad 500c cheap but I'm having an issue of course... I figured out how to "unjam" everything but now, when I fire the shutter, the mirror and the rear curtain go up as they should but the shutter won't fire unless I push lightly on the upper rear curtain. Then the shutter fires and I can advance everything as it should. Is there something I can lube or adjust to fix this? Any advice would be appreciated!

 

IMG_20181228_154026.thumb.jpg.de3b9c762a47f87ee93c07a284522ef6.jpg

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Not trying to be snarky, truly, but this question is like asking "I just picked up a vintage 1968 Ferrari for cheap, I know how to rotate the tires, but the cylinders are firing erratically unless I leave the hood up while I'm driving at exactly 17MPH. Anybody got a quick DIY fix suggestion?"

 

IOW, there is no such thing as a "bargain Hasselblad". Oh, there are certainly "cheap to buy" Hasselblads, but give it a few days-weeks-months. Sudden failure, and you discover the repair costs for the lens-body-back are double the price you paid for the camera.

 

Hasselblads at the core are too-clever-by-half Rube Goldberg contraptions: more springs and gears than you have hairs on your head, each one dependent on the next to move a precise distance with exactly the right amount of force at specific intervals. The entire concept depends on frequent use to keep everything limber: once stored away for a year or ten or twenty, breakdown is a foregone conclusion when they're picked up again by a new owner.

 

There are many threads here and elsewhere describing various Hasselblad failures, with a few adventurous (and very lucky) tales of DIY disassembly and repair. Other than clearing simple jams, DIY is a risky choice that rarely succeeds: proceed only if you paid very very little for yours (i.e., less than the going rate for a defective Hassy on eBay). The particular fault you're having with the rear flap is most likely a spring tension issue: the flaps are one of the trickiest parts of the body to service. As they age, the tension springs on the flaps can weaken (esp if fighting against congealed lube in the rest of the trip mechanism). There is no way to address this without substantial disassembly of the camera, which all too often reveals additional gremlins that need service. Depending on 500c serial number, there could be a decayed brake system dragging on the flaps. And you might also have a supplemental glitch in the lens mechanism which is not cooperating: lenses go out more frequently than any other piece.

 

One simple thing you can try is to just keep winding and firing the camera as often as you can for several days. Sometimes the exercise loosens up the old lube and springs enough to get things running properly again, at least for awhile. But the camera won't be dependable until professionally overhauled. The 500c was last sold around 1970, so is at minimum 49 years old. If it sat unused for years before you acquired it, its in dire need of full servicing. Once overhauled by a trained tech, the 500c should remain fairly reliable under non-pro use for 7-10 years (as long as it doesn't spend long periods sitting on a shelf). When originally sold, Hasselblads were niche professional tools expected to be used daily and serviced annually: these requirements are baked into the design. They don't take well to sitting around unused or not being serviced for decades.

Edited by orsetto
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How far from the mirror does the barn door flap stop?

 

One of the classic issues with the older 500c's is the barn door out of sync with the body. This is caused by a worn rubber brake, which causes the rotating barn door shafts to stop abruptly with a shock, causing them to slip on the shaft. The barn doors have to be clearly open before the shutter key is allow to rotate enough to release the shutter. Reposition the barn doors will allow the body to release, but if you do not fix the brake, this is temporary.

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"Manfred, there is a design problem with that camera...every time you drop it that pin breaks"
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Lol! Thanks! Yes, I understood the risks when I bought it and it's currently my most modern camera! I just sent it off for a CLA so hopefully that will resolve it. I get that hasselblad's are finicky beasts so I was just trying to see if there were any tricks folks had up their sleeves and pretty much all the trouble shooting info I found was on jams. I did try cycling it a bunch and it helped a bit so hopefully the CLA will do the trick!
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Perfect timing, andyfalsetta!

 

Your recent nicely-illustrated thread documenting the ups and downs, then eventual success at DIY overhauling a similar "bargain" 500c is exactly the kind of super-helpful info I wanted to refer Sabrrtash to, only I forgot that was you til you checked in just now!

 

Sabertash, look for that DIY thread started a couple months ago by andyfalsetta. Even tho you took the more traditional route of sending yours in for professional repair, its worth a read for his generous running commentary on his experiments (what worked, what didn't and why). Might also make you feel better about paying a pro after seeing just how tricky the 500c can be to DIY service from scratch (even for someone with pretty extensive prior experience working on other cameras).

 

Post back with some pics when yours is functional again! Have fun, the 500c is a blast when its working properly!

Edited by orsetto
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