Hassel 500 Identification- Need Help

[fc.moreira]

Hi Everyone,

I am buying a Hassel 500 but I don't know if it is a CM or not. The

owner just informed me the id nbr on the back. I believe there's an id

nbr on the body also to decode. If so, can someone tell me where in

the body can I read this number? I waana make sure it is a CM or not.

In the case it isn't a CM is there something wrong with olders models

beside the fact of no interchangeable screens? Many tks for your help.

Fernando.

[berg_na]

The ID tag on the side of the camera should clearly read '500C/M'.<p><img src="http://img345.imageshack.us/img345/692/500cm0ea.jpg">

[john_wehlitz]

I believe that some of the early 500C/M cameras still said 500C on them.

[richardw]

Hello Fernando,

 

if you remove the finder and look at the screen from the top you can find out if it's a C/M or a C. The screen of the C is fixed with 4 screws on the corner of the body, the C/M has in the middle on the left and on the right a clip that holds the screen. Therefore you can exchange the screens easier.

 

hope this helps - regards Richard

[fc.moreira]

John and Richard, I thank You very very much for your help

Best Regards,

Fernando.

[mike pirie]

Fernando, If you want to give me the numbers from the body and back, I can get the build dates for you. Regards,Mike

[q.g._de_bakker]

Even better (so you will not need to rely on other people), here's how to date Hasselblad items yourself.<br><br>The serial number contains two letters. Sometimes thee, but then only the first two are important.<br>These letters are a coded version of the year of manufacture.<br>To decipher the code, you need the 'magic word'<br><br>VHPICTURES<br><br>Easy to remember: it is "VH" for Victor Hasselblad, and "PICTURES" as in the things you make with them.<br><br>These letters, in this order, stand for the numerals<br><br>1234567890<br><br>Such that V=1, H=2, etc.<br>A 'for instance': "ES" stands for "90", "TC" for "65", "SP" for "03", etc.<br>You will have to figure out what century this decade and year fall in, but that should not be too difficult for the next 40+ years (they started using the code in the late 1940s).<br><br>You cannot date lenses this way, since they are not made by Hasselblad. There is a rather intricate code on most (not all) lenses too, but the easiest way to know when a lens was made is by looking the serial number up in the tables in Richard Nordin's most excellent book, "Hasselblad System Compendium". Get a copy!

[35mmdelux]

If its a CM it will say so on the body. Otherwise its probably very old precursor to the CM. FYI, the C model isn't a CM either.

[q.g._de_bakker]

Paul,<br><br>A "500 C/M" is a "500 C" with user interchangeable focussing screens.<br> A "501 CM" is a "501 C" with larger mirror.<br><br>So let's assume it is a "500", not a "501" (the image isn't available anymore?). Then, one should know that the first cameras with user interchangeable focussing screens were not labeled C/M, but still just C.<br>So if a camera doesn't say "500 C/M", but "500 C" on the body, yet has user interchangeable focussing screens, it is a "500 C/M". These cameras are sometimes called "transitional 500 C/M" or "transitional 500 C".<br>That "very old" precursor of the "500 C/M", will be the "500 C", which could be less than a year older. ;-)

[seanpark]

This will help.

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?Hasselblad500.html~mainFrame