Metal element below "Made in Sweden by..." plate in 500 c/m

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I just purchased my first Hasselblad, 500 c/m in nice condition with 3-month warranty from the seller. I already shot 2 films, and everything is working like a clockwork. So far it has been the most elegant MF camera I have used (I worked with Pentacon Six, Yashicas, Mamiya C3, Mamiya RZ and other before). I don't think "user experience" could be any better than this; maybe with Rolleiflexes which I have not used. We will see about robustness and reliability -- but that needs time.</p>

<p>I had read a lot about the camera before buying, but somehow no-one seems to mention the excellent weight balance of this camera (with standard A12 back and 80mm Planar attached) -- it sits safely in my hand, with the lens beautifully counterbalancing the back. Very much unlike e.g. RZ67 or C3 which would do their best to escape from the grip.</p>

<p>Focusing is a bit difficult with my bright Acute Matte screen. When I "rock the focusing ring back and forth" as they advise in the manual, the subject seems to stay in focus on a too wide range of distances... but I guess that's the tradeoff I have to live with for the excellent brightness of the viewfinder.</p>

<p>Anyway, to the point: there is a small metal part under the "Made in Sweden by Victor Hasselblad" plate which seems to host a flash connector and an opening (for cable release?). The plate is apparently not there in the 500 c/m shown in my manual. What is this? Why some 500 c/m's have it while other do not?</p>

<p>Any other suggestions, hints or tips for a newbie highly welcome!</p>

<p>Adam</p>

The thing holds a flash synch contact, making when the rear auxilliary shutter doors are open, and a hole.<br><br>The flash synch disappeared first (in 1973, still 16 years since introduction), probably both because people did not understand what it was there for (using flash with lenses that do not have a shutter, for instance when using Zeiss Luminar lenses in high magnification photography. You cannot use the synch port when using the 'regular' Hasselblad lenses: the flash would fire before the shutter in the lens opens), and because very few people needed it.<br><br>After that, the plate only had a single hole: the cable hook receptacle (forming a ball and socket joint). The cable hook is a tiny hook (with a ball on one end that would 'snap' into the hole) you could hook the flash synch cabe in, to relieve some of the strain on the connection on the lens. The flash synch terminal on the original C lenses was - as was usual back then - a simple post the plug slide over, with nothing but a bit of friction to keep it from getting unplugged again. The CF lenses had a collar around the synch post, adding more friction to keep the thing in place. So when the CF lenses were introduced in 1982, the cable hook and the hole it was supposed to sit in were no longer needed and disappeared as well.

<p>Thank you very much for this detailed response!</p>