Hmm? Only 11 frames?

[helinophoto]

<p>Hi<br />Fresh owner of a Hasselblad 503 CW here, pretty familiar with 35mm film cameras, but the Hasselblad is new territory for me.<br />Question:<br />When you've loaded an A12 back with film and you've winded the crank on the film back so that "1" shows in the little window, are you then supposed to crank the camera (cock the body) as well _before_ you mount the back to the body?<br />I did not do this last night when I had my first trial-run with the camera, and I only got 11 frames in the end.<br />I took photos until the main crank of the camera wouldn't wind the film forward any more, so I am sure that there were no more frames left on the film-roll.<br>

- I was shooting a fresh roll of Fomapan 100 ASA<br>

<br />Tips? =)</p>

[diegobuono]

<p>Yes, you need to cock the camera first, otherwise you loose a frame as happened to you. On the contrary if you detach the back after the shot, then cock the camera and then attach the back you obtain double exposure on one frame.</p>

[jonathan_montague]

<p>i have found with 120 film you tend to learn quickly from your mistakes ;)</p>

[helinophoto]

<p>Ah...!<br>

Ok, I see.<br>

Well this mistake stems from watching a youtube clip where some guy shows how to load the back with film, as he states, this procedure is the same with or without the dark frame.<br>

Thus, I concluded that when you wind the back, you're not really winding it to frame no. 1, the camera will somehow do that for the first picture, or else you would ruin your film if you infact didn't have the dark slide on while cranking the back.<br>

Thanks for the help, I will make sure to wind the camera as well, before I put the filmback on the camera after loading and cranking it to "1". =)</p>

[russ_britt3]

<p>Hasselblads are supposed to always remain cocked, this is a habit you need to get into. Otherwise you will next remove a lens with the body uncocked and try to put another one and get a locked up body lens combination.<br>

If you always cock the camera after every exposure you will be fine.You will not lose frames or lock bodies.<br>

<br />The cameras ans lens are even supposed to be stored cocked.I know some will disagree, but I was told this by no other that Ernst Wildie at a class I attended with him in 1980. He wrote the book....</p>

[helinophoto]

<p>Thanks Russ, yes I noticed this while I was trying to understand up from down on the lens on it, I could not remove it when the camera wasn't cocked, kind of used a few minutes on that one. =)</p>

<p>After googling I found that you can "lock out" a lens from the body if you are not careful (and need a special tool to re-cock the lens), so I take it pretty slow, as I am unsure of any other hidden features that might ruin my day. =)<br /> By the way, Fomapan is pretty cheap. It's €2.30 per film when you buy 10 or more rolls from fotoimpex.de, luckily I know some German, so I was able to complete my purchase with no problems. (the shop is in German, but you can order in English via mail from their brochure.)<br /> I ordered by email the first time and got a quote and a pay-pal request via mail, easy-peasy.<br /> <br /> Still, seems like every lesson so far has been, fail once, never again.</p>

<p>Just a positive thing, feels good to use my head for a change :)</p>

[al_bowers]

<p>The V-system cameras (especially the 500 series) tend to be pretty simple and robust. Treat them well, and they will take very good care of you. My trusty old 500CM is 40 next year, and it has served me exceptionally well since the day I bought it in the '70s...<br>

Al Bowers</p>

[q.g._de_bakker]

Best advice (but all too often ignored) for all fresh owners of all sorts of equipment is that old thingy that has been given in advice to fresh owners so darned often that it has been awarded its very own usenet/internet abbreviation: RTFM.<br>;-)<br>In the case of a 503 CW the manual is rather thin, yet covers almost everything you need to know. Some things are left to you to figure out. Things like the one you ran across: the wind crank winds film, so when you attach a magazine, then wind the film on, you will have advanced the film in that magazine by 1 frame. ;-)

[jonathan_montague]

<p>As a relatively new user (2 years) of the V system I heartily recommend the Ernst Wildie book. totally invaluable IMO..</p>

[helinophoto]

<p>Bakker: Yes indeed, you are totally right.<br>

I got the link to the user manual on another forum and I have actually printed it out on my printer =) It's a stupid mistake indeed and I kind of suspected that the camera must be cocked before attaching the back. ^^<br>

I will read the manual carefully when I get the time between work and everything else though, because I plan to use the camera in the studio, on location with some canon speedlights via pocket wizards and maybe with a digital back in the future. :)</p>

[q.g._de_bakker]

I didn't say it was stupid! It's quite normal to be in a mild state of bewilderment when first confronted with any new apparatus.<br>The thing to do is to restrain your enthusiasm a bit and before trying to 'work' the machine, take a short while to think about what the different parts are, what they do, and how they function when put together.

[al_bowers]

<p>Knack,<br>

Not stupid at all. These cameras were designed in another era, and have a different mode of operation. Having spent some time with an 8x10 view camera, the process of making an exposure is so similar. The Hasselblad is a bridge between the past and the present. I find the art of photography to be more intentional this way. Its deliberate. And that they can be made digital as well, well that's just amazing to me.<br>

Al</p>