david_freedman Posted October 3, 1997 Share Posted October 3, 1997 Here's an unpleasant surprise: Hasselblad USA's current promotion under which 500C/M bodies are worth $600 in trade toward a new 503CW convinced me that it was time to retire my 15 year old 500. I received the 503 yesterday, cocked the shutter, snapped on an A16 back, PM90 finder and 100mm/3.5CF lens and headed out to shoot some pix. First time I pressed the shutter, the mirror swung up and .... nothing! The camera locked up tight. I couldn't insert the dark slide so I couldn't get the back off and, therefore, couldn't remove the finder. With Hasselblad on the phone, I was instructed to try to force the slide into the magazine. That worked so the back and finder were freed. Alas, that did nothing for my prized 100mm lens which was still held captive by the body. Out of ideas, Hasselblad told me to ship the camera back to them (at their expense, of course)for replacement. FedEx picked up my $1800 + lens boat anchor this morning. <p> The person I spoke with at Hasselblad couldn't have been nicer but I'm still very disappointed. My old C/M has chugged on for 15 years without a hiccup. <p> There is a question buried in here: Has anyone else experienced a similar camera lockup and if so, is there a way to recover from it in the field? What causes it? I've seen unlocking tools but I always assumed that this was for use on older bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne_firth Posted October 7, 1997 Share Posted October 7, 1997 Your situation doesn't surprise me. We use Hasselblad here at the U.S. Capitol building and they just are not what they used to be. I plan to replace the entire system next year. I have just had enough jams, poor factory service, and a lot of minor irritations that add up to a lot of aggravation when you are trying to just shoot a job. I have experienced the same kind of jam many times. Some people attribute it to turning the film crank too fast or not turning it far enough. One of the photographers here goes in through the back shutter with a screwdriver and somehow releases the the lens so it will come off the body. I'm sorry but I don't think you should have to baby an expensive professional camera to make it work. The newer cameras are worse than the older ones. Sorry for the rant, I feel better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_tran Posted October 8, 1997 Share Posted October 8, 1997 Maybe it just your unlucky day!!! I hear that quite a few people are using this 503CW for wedding photography business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian_seah Posted October 9, 1997 Share Posted October 9, 1997 Well I'll think it more than just unlucky. My 503Cxi has jam for the second time. It is currently still with Shriro the dealer in Singapore. They are having problem removing the lens this time. Somethings is probably broken. Looks like is it going to cost. As far as I gather from the MFD, this problem seem to happen only to hasselblad. <p> It there any other medium format users out there with the same problem. I think it's time that hasselblad comes out with a solution for this problem, I am really having second thought about keep this camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derick_miller1 Posted October 13, 1997 Share Posted October 13, 1997 October 11th 1997, The Economist: <p> "In early 1996 Hasselblad was sold by Incentive, a holding company owned by the Swedish Wallenberg family, to USB Capital (a subsidiary of Union Bank of Switzerland), CINVen (a British venture capital firm), and Hasselblad's managers. The new owners want to make Hasselblad more profitable and then float it on the Stockholm stock exchange." <p> Hmmmm..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene_crumpler2 Posted November 25, 1997 Share Posted November 25, 1997 Do I hear a disparaging word about the "rolls royce" of MF cameras??? A happy, still solvent!, pentax 67 user. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m.b.___ Posted April 11, 1998 Share Posted April 11, 1998 My 500cw was also dead on arrival.If you can remove the film magazinejust go in through the back and push up gentle on the mirrorback and thus allowing you to turn the crank and remove the lens. I am glad myRZ 67 pro II always works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_freedman Posted April 11, 1998 Author Share Posted April 11, 1998 Since Mark Bruner picked up on this thread yesterday, 5 months after the fact (!!), I thought I'd let you folks know the ultimate resolution of my problem. <p> Hasselblad examined the returned 503CW and reported to me that the mirror assembly was faulty; one of the hinge points had apparently come loose. End of story. Of course, they sent me a new body immediately. <p> The only slightly disappointing aspect to this (aside from the fact that the camera failed in the fist place) is that rather than just take a new boxed 503CW out of the warehouse and ship it to me, they sent the body only, removing everything else (e.g. strap, manual). As I already had the manuals and strap from the original it really didn't much matter but still, considering the circumstances of the exchange, I would have felt less "nickle-and-dimed" and that they were actually sorry for the inconvenience I had suffered had a complete package been sent. <p> As an addendum: I just picked up a CW winder yesterday. Haven't tried it yet. I've got my fingers crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_hoffberg Posted August 15, 1998 Share Posted August 15, 1998 Some years ago the management team bought Harley Davidson back from AMF (which loyaly HD owners referred to as "awful mother . . ."). Thus began a rennaisance of a brand and a company whose technology was at least as dated as H's and whose quality had slipped beyond the point where you could even use the word. While the technology is fundamentally unchanged, HD has recaptured the essence of it's heritage to the thrill and delight of its loyal owner group (an a whole lot of newbies as well). If anyone at H is paying attention, get yourselves over to see the nice people at HD just as quickly as you possibly can. There's a lesson there you may want to learn: strong brand + renewed commitment to quality and your owner group = a big success for all involved. If not, say goodnight Gracie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony_bunn Posted January 19, 1999 Share Posted January 19, 1999 I have this problem as well, last Friday when I received a brand new 501 CM in a mail ... the shutter did not completely fire (I had to turn the wind crank a bit to have it complete ... and the back did not show red or white dots for the indications ... I heard about this "dead upon arrival" story from David Freedman posting a while ago, so this did not surpirse me very much .. Just my prey did not work out ... <p> I then sent it back and wait for a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_nicholls Posted January 21, 1999 Share Posted January 21, 1999 I have often considered the change to a more modern 'Blad however ... WHY?? my very early '70s c/m and elm never miss a beat. Mind you they aren't as pretty as the new children, and oh yes I only have the chrome lenses which you would need a .45 to get from me. <p> Is modern always best???? <p> Harley seem to have fixed their problems I hope Hasselblad aren't heading in the same direction because of the "bottom line" <p> They are the Rolls Royce of MF, but I suppose I am biased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artie Posted April 10, 1999 Share Posted April 10, 1999 Hasselblad is the Rolls of Med. Format. My 500cm and 553elx work constantly day in and day out with out a problem. I've put thousands of rolls of film through mine and they always work. I purchased mine through Sweden (I'm not in the US) however when ever I have a question I call the Hasselblad people in the US and they are fantastic. On lock up, My 500cm jamed the first time I used it but I unjamed it using a screw driver. Later I found out why it did. If you inadvertainly press or touch on the shutter release while putting on a lens (us left handed people tend to do that ) than your lens and camera body will mid fire but you will not know it. Any one that I know that jammed a body lens together upon reflection touched the shutter release and it only takes halfway to do it. Comparing anything else to the quality of a BLAD is ridiculous. And to mention rb's or RZ's as not having problems? The reason Hassie found a broken part in the 503cw is probably you broke it trying to rip the lens off, and any Hassie owner knows YOU DON'T TRY TO TWIST OFF A JAMED LENS. Quality, Hassie has it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_b. Posted June 21, 1999 Share Posted June 21, 1999 Well, I would also like to comment on this topic. I was put off by RZ's "non"-portability and "unhandholdability(?!)" and sold the entire system - 50,90,180 lenses, winder prism, polaroid body, back & grip. Otherwise it performed flawlessly, but I do almost all of my work outdoors and thus the Hasselblad seemed really adequate for the job. The 553ELX I bought came from Sweden directly to the distributor here. Upon inspection I realised that the bayonet ring and the protruding pin inside the bayonet were (you won't believe this) RUSTY!!! The body was sent back immediatelly and repaired free of charge (of course), but I also found out that the second body, also a 553ELX which came to the distributor parallel with mine had a defective battery compartment and was also sent back. Hmmm.The lens (80/2.8 CF) came brand new with a broken (cracked) EV coupling pin and scratched rear stray light shafts. It also was sent back. It was ALSO weak at infinity and not at all pin-sharp wide open. Hmmmm. I also saw a brand new C (latter version for 501) lens with defective diaphragm closing lever (to see DOF). Nope, Hassy is no more what it used to be. I fell for it. People I photograph say WOW, a Hasselblad, but I feel cheated. I miss my RZ!!!!(I also HATE the 6x6 format - this may sound silly but I put a mask on my acute-matte which mimics the 6x7 ratio). But what is true is true - it still works perfectly and there isnt't a smaller and more usable leaf-shutter, polaroid-capable, motorized workhorse on the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_b. Posted June 21, 1999 Share Posted June 21, 1999 It should read winder, prism, polaroid back and 120 back... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_____ Posted June 21, 1999 Share Posted June 21, 1999 Well, I guess then that it is true: the Hasselblad is indeed the Rolls-Royce of MF. Ever tried to maintain and keep a Rolls-Royce running recently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rendy_cheng Posted June 21, 1999 Share Posted June 21, 1999 I had sold my 503cx and purchased Rolleiflex 6008.The best system I have ever used. rendy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_wilson1 Posted June 21, 1999 Share Posted June 21, 1999 And so the "Hasselblad Turns", or rather DOESN'T-DIDN'T which is why I too had to have a new lens (CB 80 JUNK, what should I have expected?) and TWO new backs repaired. It seems though as Hass.USA has a MUCH better handle on things than the factory, they were very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc453 Posted July 12, 1999 Share Posted July 12, 1999 Hmmmmm!? I was considering trading in my Bronica ETRS's (two of them) and moving up to Hasselblad. I've owned them for five years and had a lens on one of them repaired once. Picture quality is excellent (I think, but what do I know. I haven't had a complaint from a client yet.) Still the Hassleblad mystique keeps calling. From what I'm hearing on this forum, it's not a mystique, but a bunch of sirens on a rock, waiting to sink my ship. I think I'll steer clear for awhile. Marcus J. Wilson P.S. The ETRS does have a motor drive and polaroid back combo that's a lot cheaper than the Hasselblad's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_hayes Posted October 9, 2000 Share Posted October 9, 2000 Help! The SAME thing happened to me yesterday (10/7/00). I was shooting an important assingment with my 503CW then bam! My camera jammed. I used my Nikon for a back-up. This will limit the number of quality enlargements I can produce. I've had this camera for less than a year and have been through less than 50 rolls. I will call Hasselblad tommorrow. I tried the screwdriver in the back trick. It did not work. I tried pushing up on the mirror. No luck there either. Did I purchase a dud? Enquiring minds want to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_daly Posted November 26, 2000 Share Posted November 26, 2000 Gene Crumpler: Even Pentax 67s jam. They are horrible things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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