Are Hasselblad products more unreliable than other brands?

[graphicjoe]

I do not own a Hasselblad, but have given thought to acquiring one on

several occasions. But as I follow the medium format threads here I

get the impression that there are a lot of problems with Hasselblad

products. There seem to be an unusually large number of posts related

to Hasselblad problems and not many about other medium format

products.

 

Is this simply because there are a lot of Hasselblad cameras out

there in comparison to other brands, or is there really an issue with

quality and reliability?

 

Thanks,

 

Cheers,

 

Joe Stephenson

[Ed_Ingold]

It's like looking at cars in a repair shop -- everything's broken. Here, people talk about problems with their cameras more than what's going well.

 

You'll notice the same problems appear repeatedly: the lens jams (misuse), light leaks at the darkslide (maintenance) and poor spacing in the magazine (maintenance).

 

There are a lot of really old Hasselblads in daily use. Mine was made in 1973. After a CLA at Hasselblad in New Jersey, it's working like new for a year and a half now.

[s._fisher]

I think mine (500C) was made in '65? Hasselblads have a few "features" that are easy to get around, like having to recock the shutter manually (carry a penny), but considering how often they're used for how long they're used they seem reliable.

 

My Hasselblad is almost 40 years old and works great, my Canon EOS Rebel lasted about 3 years. ;)

[nicholas_t.]

An uninformed post :-)<p/>

I've not used a Hassy, but, from what knowledgable users tell me, there is not much to go wrong with the standard Hasselblad bodies. In fact, this knowledgable person questioned why they cost so much. Simple. Rollei's, now thats another story... ;-)<p/>

Perhaps, Hasselblad's are just coming up for their round of CLA's. Everything has a life cycle - Hassey's included. Rollei's by and large (TLR's) have had their full service by now, if they haven't watch the slow speeds (I'm talking about the single alpha series, D, E, F...).<p/>

Catch my drift? Anyway, I would be more concerned about the lenses than anything else, there is probably twice as much machinery in any one of those beasties than in a body.

[kelly_flanigan1]

My Neighbor had problems with his 1600F ; but the Kodak Ektar lens was good! <br><br>Later; he got the 500C; when it came out.

[cg]

I've had my Hasselblad 501 CM for almost four years. No problems with the lenses or body with moderate professional use. The A12 backs had to be serviced once for spacing and light seal replacement. I've not had a jam either so in my experience this is a very reliable system. The Hasselblad 500 series is a mechanical system so it's going to need some form of regular maintenance to stay in top shape. The professional Hasselblad users I know, either maintain their Hasselblads regularly or use them until things start failing and then send them in for repair. I'm inclined to think that many Hasselblad users in this forum have cameras that have not been maintained for years and encounter the usual mechanical problems that are easily remedied by a good CLA. The good news is, a properly maintained Hasselblad is a pleasure to use and gives great results for several decades. Having used Mamiya, Bronica, Pentax, and Fuji MF products, IMHO, the Hasselbad 500 series is possibly the finest mechanical medium format system ever made.

[h._p.]

I rather think Edward has put his finger on it. Personally, I've used several Hasselblads

and never had a problem - perhaps things have gone wrong after I handed them

back...

 

:-)

[dick roadnight cotswolds]

With most cameras, if you have a problem with them after a few years regular use, you fling them.

 

With Hasselblads, if you get a problem after a decade or two, you have it serviced and look forward to another decade or two of service.

[thomas_t]

Joe:

 

First, Hassies have been around for ages, so a lot of used older equipment needs to be CLA'd or serviced first (but this is true of all older cameras, if you're not buying new). Second, by sheer numbers alone, Hassies have been used by a ton of professionals, again contributing to the sheer number of feedback you are likely to hear as well as second hand ownership. How often do you hear people complain about the Fuji 617 systems? Not often, as fewer people own them. Moreover, people are more likely to chime in to complain rather than to compliment their equipment. After all, there is little advice to seek if your equipment is functioning perfectly, such is the nature of forums, especially tech-oriented ones like this one. Third, most of the "problems" can be attributed to people who are either new owners or purchasers of second-hand equipment without instructions, or worse yet, who do not read the damn instructions! While Hassies are simplicity in design and pretty bomb proof, one does need some basis of understanding of its functions before competently working it. Other MF systems are different, particularly Pentax 67 (which work like steroid enhanced 35mm cameras), Mamiya rangefinders (which, surprise, work like rangefinders), Rolleiflex (TLR) etc, and there are certain eccentric characteristics of Hassies that need to be observed, such as the old: cock your lens before trying to removing it. How many times has an inexperienced owner written in to complain about that source of a jam? Simple to avoid by reading the manual first.

 

I've had various Hassy systems for over 10 years and they have worked perfectly, knock on wood. For sheer elegance of design, simplicity, reliability and interchangeability, I can't praise it enough. Give it a try, you'll like it :) Cheers.

[ian_everhov]

I´ve used my 500cm, 3 x A-12, 50cf, 80cf and 150cf extensively since i bought it 1989, never had a problem. Some uneven spacing on one of the mags, that´s all. Don´t exactly know what others do to their hasselblad gear, but i do not treat mine with silk gloves. My experience is that hasselblads are extremely rugged.

[luciano_capitanio1]

Most of the posts refer to very old bodies and lenses, with many many years of hard work done. In the same conditions many other cameras simply don't work or don't exist any more: Hasselblad is extremely realible, if used in the right way (but it seems some people don't read carefully the owner's manual and then ask: "why the lens is blocked?" or similar question).

[david_cummings1]

I've owned six Hasselblad bodies and eight of the lenses over the years, and the only time they have been 'unreliable' is when I did something wrong myself. They are strong, wonderful tools and with care and proper use, they are quite reliable. Most of the people complaining about them, in my experience, just haven't familiarized themselves with the necessities of proper operation. I have a friend who jumped into the system after years of an auto-everything 35mm camera, and just can't seem to load it, change lenses, and complete an exposure cycle without something jamming or not working right. I have had her come to my house for me to show her how to mount a lens all the way on, how to cock a lens from behind, and how to make sure the X sync tab is in the right place (older C lens). She's starting to grumble about it "never working right..." I think she should go back to her Canon.

[christopher perez]

As a hobbiest (and one-time pro in my youth), I have tried just about everything under the sun in all formats, countries of origin, shapes, and sizes. Some of the equipment was purchased new and some of it wasn't. In all my years of photography (going on 35 years thus far) I have never had a camera fail. Oh yes, there were stupid things that I did. But every camera forgave me and kept going without visiting a repair shop.

<p>

Every camera system worked perfectly, as advertised, except one. That single exception had the power to stop me in my tracks and to reconsider my purchase. I realized that it was the small niggly things that were driving me nuts. Things that I had never experienced before. "Double firing" a shutter to cause a flap door spring to bend. Light trap failure causing leaks. Frames one and two overlapping on brand new film backs. None of these were <i>discoverable</i> until a few rolls of film were processed and several images were lost.

<p>

What I find facinating is that I get two responses when tell people of my experience. One is <i>see, I told you so. Hasselblads are great when they work. Get two of everything as one will be in the shop and the other will be on it's way.</i>. The other is <i>Obviously the thing has not be well cared for. Or your repair guy doesn't know his head from a hole in the ground. These things are reliable as Chevies. What's your problem? Have <u>you</u> been abusing the poor dear?</i>

Who would guess that such passion could be generated around a piece of camera equipment?

<p>

So I waffle and wonder if I shouldn't sell this incredibly beautiful camera system and buy a Rollei TLR. Obviously many many photographers have been using Hasselblads successfully for many many years. Some of the finest images on the planet have been taken using this make of equipment. My experience may sound like whining in the face of such brilliance, but I hope this helps. YMWV.