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Focusing Screen upside down??


mjamesm

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first and foremost i would just like to thank everyone for their contributions

to this website and the wealth of information they have provided. i recently

took the jump from 35mm to medium format and have found this site to be an

invaluable resource that has helped me every step of the way.

 

With that being said, here is my issue. i purchased a used hasselblad 501cm

from KEH and i think the focusing screen may be upside down. i have done a few

searches and found that it is an acute-matte D split imaging screen however the

two "D" notches are only visible from the inside of the camera body when i

remove the lens. from everything i've seen online, it appears that i should be

able to see them simply by looking down the WLF. also, another person mentioned

that the shiny side should be up and the matte side down whereas mine appears

to be the opposite. basically i want to know if it is in fact backwards, is

this something i can fix on my own, or should i have it done by a

proffesionally camera repair expert? would it be worth it to send it back to

KEH (i just recieved it today)? and also, what could have been the reason for

their error, a simple mistake or should i be wary about the camera altogether?

lastly, if i can change it myself, would it be ok the rotate the screen so the

split image is horizontal and not vertical seeing as i shoot mostly landscape?

any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

-Matthew

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Matthew,

 

The 501cm was made so that you can remove the screens. It's the same with all Hasselblad bodies accept the 500c and the 500el models which did not have removable screens ( unless you knew what you were doing ).

 

So take off your waist level finder and you will see the screen with two little clips on each side. push those clips over and remove the screen. If it is a D screen it will definitely have the two notches and the notches should be on TOP when you place the screen into the camera.

 

So do that and see if it works. Absolutely no need to send it to anyone. It is very user friendly and you'll learn as you go. And you can rotate the screen to make the split horizontal or vertical or whichever way you like.

 

So know that this is a simple thing and you have nothing to worry about.

 

Let us know if this resolves your problem.

 

blessings,

Ken

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thank you both for your quick response. i figured it wasn't a big deal but i've only had it for a couple of hours and considering what i spent on it i wanted to be sure what i was doing before i started tinkering around with it. i'll let you know how it works out. thanks again.
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Hey that's great Matthew. Charlie, I would say this holds for any similar screen. Shiny side up. Not sure why people would put them in upside down. That just goes to show you that places that sell all kinds of differing camera gear may know a "little" bit about a lot of different gear but don't know a lot about one specific brand. I see stuff like that happen all the time.

 

So turn it the other way and see what happens Charlie.

 

all the best,

Ken

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Hasselblad is the best system around. How many cameras from 1955 can you put a digital back on?

 

It's a slight learning curve, but once you get it, you'll love it.

 

And KEH is a great place to buy gear from. They are top notch people and have a great return policy.

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