Got a 500CM. And now?

[leo_cavanha]

Hello,

 

I am new in this forum as well as to MF. I have just bought from my

father an Hasselblad 500CM - I still don't have the camera in my

hands, but it is an 1978-9 (?) with a 80mm lens (probably compour?)

and macro stuff. The camera should be in new state, since it was

bought new in 79 and it has been very rarely used since then (no

more than 20 films, surely). My questions are:

 

1) If the equipment seems to be ok for lens, light leaks, dyaphragm,

synchro (what else?), is it still recommended to make a revision in

the camera?

 

2) Compatibility - what kind of newer generation accessories

(lenses, finders, digital backs, etc) for the 500 series I can buy

and use in the 500CM?

 

3) My favorite lenses to take pictures in airshows with 35mm cameras

are 275 / 400 mm. Which equipment (lens+finder) is good to be used

with a MF? I have no experience with that stuff.

 

thanks very much,

 

Leo

[John Crowe]

1) "revision" ? If you mean get it serviced even though it seems fine, I would say no. Why spend money and why fix what is not broken.

 

2) It is compatible with a great deal of Hasselblad equipment. Someone else can give you some websites for reference, or try Hasselblad's site.

 

3) Do not expect to replace your 35mm equipment with this camera. There are many limitations to medium format, and long telephoto is the main one. As a rule of thumb you double your 35mm focal length lens to achieve the equivalent in 6x6. So, a 250mm lens for your 35mm would have to be matched by a 500mm lens for your 6x6. I believe this is still the maximum lens size for Hasselblad and it is extremely expensive!

 

You will be amazed at the quality of negatives and slides your new camera will bring you. The 80mm focal length is the "normal" focal length for 6x6 but will seem wider than your 50mm lens, more like a 40mm lens, on your 35mm because you are looking at a square image as opposed to a rectangular image. You will appear to have much more foreground than usual. The 80mm is a great start, so get out and enjoy your new experience! Slow down and use a tripod on a regular basis! Good luck!

[nick_wilson2]

Leonardo

 

I think that if the camera works, it works! One advantage of a mechanical camera. It is often good to get things serviced as a general practice, but it is often not necessary.

 

Check that the shutter is firing at all speeds and the apeture is opening correctly and clean. Fire some shots with the back off and check that the curtain is getting out of the way and coming back correctly.

 

If you can, try to run through using the film back without film. Depending on the back (is it an A12), it should wind on until it stops (leaving a little white dot on the right near the frame number),then take 12 pictures and then finish. SHould work as if there is a film in it.

 

ALL accessories for the 500 series will work (eg C, CF, CB lenses). The only ones that won't are the F lenses for the 2000 series without a shutter in them.

 

You will find it hard to substitute for long telephoto lenses (not really the MF forte). THe 500mm H'blad lens is only equivalent to about 300 mm in 35mm and is a monster in size. Quite expensive, and much heavier to use following planes. Results will be great though.

The alternatives are a 2 x convertor on a 250 lens, say.

 

THere are both metered and non-metered prisms for eye level viewing (H'blad or much cheaper Kiev). The normal viewer is waist level. You will probably find an eyelevel viewer with the big telephoto on a tripod is best if you want to go that way at airshows.

[rod g.]

#1 rule for Hasselblads is to check that you've wound the film advance knob or crank handle before attempting to change lenses.

 

More useful info can be found here:

 

http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/hassybuy.html

 

There are several links to various useful articles on bodies, film backs and lenses. Best to do a little research before attempting to marry up various components, while most are interchangeable within the 500C series certain modern prism finders only work with accumatte view screens and, I believe but could be wrong, older prisms won't work with the accumatte screens.

 

Be very careful not to accessorize your '500C' series camera body with 'F' series lenses. Hope you have fun.

[feli]

I'm not sure how familiar you are with a Hasselbad, so I will start with the basics:

 

Read the manual. The camera uses a series of interlocks. As an example, you can't

unmount the magazine without the darkslide inserted.

 

Always make sure a lens is "cocked" (wound on) BEFORE you take it off or try to

mount on a body. If the lens is not cocked when you mount it, you may experience

the "Hasselblad jam". It's one of the only quirks of the camera. There are countless

threads on this subject on this list. Just follow this rule: Always cock a lens before

unmounting it. Always cock the camera before you mount a cocked lens.

 

If the camera has been mostly sitting in a box since 1979, it may be time for a CLA

(clean, lubricate, adjust). Lubricants dry up and turn to gum. Imagine running a car

with no oil in the engine.

 

If you take off the lens (cock it first) and look into the front of the camera you will see

the mirror. Now if you look inside at the top front of the camera you will find a piece

of foam. This helps cushion the mirror when it flips up. It tends to rot over time and

you will experience a steady shower of foam bits that will land on the mirror and drive

you nuts.

 

Don't forget that the shutter for the camera is in the lens! The body contains the SLR

mirror and at the rear two light tight flaps that open up, revealing the film in the

magazine, when you fire the trigger. To check the shutterspeeds the lens must be

examined/serviced. If you can only afford to send in one item for a CLA, I would make

it the lens.

 

One item that often needs to be replaced is the light trap foam inside the magazines,

where you insert the darkslide. They are very cheap from Hasselblad (about $10) and

easy to replace. A bad one will fog your film.

 

Now that that's out of the way enjoy your camera. It's one of the best designs in the

history of photography.

 

Cheers,

 

feli

[desmond_kidman]

First, in using Hasselblad for 20 years I have had only 1 real problem: 1 jam! I accidently hit the shutter release while removing the lens. If you do this JUST RIGHT, it will totally jam it and an unjamming tool won't unjam it! But 5 minutes at a repair center and all was well.

 

So follow the other posters' advice, totally cock camera before removing lenses, and DON'T TOUCH THAT SHUTTER BUTTON while removing or installing lenses.

 

Then just ENJOY! Have fun viewing a larger screen than you are used to, which to me is an aid in composing the image. Enjoy the challenge of making things look good in the square, which can be a little different than working in an elongated rectangle.

 

Forget the rules, trust you intuition about the balance of the image, the clarity of the flow of the eye, the feel. Spend a lot of time looking at your transparencies, negs, or proofs with a lupe and cropping cards: find what you REALLY should have shot in the images that disapoint you, this is a great way to learn. Have fun, and take delight in knowing if the image is not good enough, it can't be the camera! Shoot, shoot, shoot, that's the answer to "and now?"

[leo_cavanha]

Guys! Thanks Very much for your attention! I think that the biggest lesson i've lerned is to not press the g* d* shutter while changing the lenses!!! Thanks for the advises, I think I will be able to play with my new toy in 2-3 weeks. Only one thing that I perhaps missed: which should be the best lenses series (CF/FE/etc) in terms of price, coating and maintention - forget about optical quality, It's Carl Zeis (yes, I love'em both in Leicas and on Linhoff Technicas, and now on Hassels). Of course, I'm considering only to buy used items.

 

Thanks very much, again!

[nick_wilson2]

Leonardo

 

Look at The Hasselblad Lens Guide for the ranges of lenses, although needs an update. http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/hassylens.html

 

You do not need the CF lenses for function on your camera. However, I think that it is a good principal to get later lenses as they should be easier to fix (eg shutter was changed in 1982, from memory).

 

So I stick with CF lenses for a C/M. T* coated C lenses will be cheaper and should generally be as good. Some lenses such as the 40 mm have had a redesign and might be better for close up work etc in the latest incarnation, but will be very, very expensive.

[r s]

Wildi's books helped me A LOT.

Get them. :-)

[leo_tam1]

Use the shutter release lock before you change lenses if you are paranoid

[gene crumpler]

I've been using a 500cm for about two years and for the life of me I can't see how one could take the lens off of a non-cocked hasselblad unless you used a 16" pipe wrench. The same holds true for installing a lense. Do people actually treat their equipment that harshly?

[ken davis]

Leonardo,

 

I'm late on this thread, but wanted to contribute.

 

First of all, congraduations on your new camera. I trust by now you've had a chance to experience the new wonderful world of crisp, clear 6x6 images and the satisfying 'cah-thlump' when you take the picture.

 

My wife bought my Hassey for me while on my honeymoon in Italy (I love my wife!)and I've been hooked ever since. It looks like you've gotten answers to your questions here, so I'll not reinvent the wheel. However I would like to offer a couple of other things not noted here.

 

First of all, rent lenses and accessories prior to or instead of buying. The cost of lenses, prisms, etc. can give you sticker shock if you've been shooting another format such as 35mm. I did find that I really enjoyed the PME prism better than the waist level after renting one, so I bought it for a screaming deal in Albuquerque for $300.

 

Secondly, get a copy of Ernst Wildi's Hassleblad Manual and read it. I have read mine cover to cover at least twice. An exceptional collection of history, useful advice, instruction, and definition of the entire line. The 'blad is a modular system with several accessories that are compatible across most bodies but a few are not. www.ernst-wildi.com is also a great place to see the work of this extraordinary photographer and what he could do with a camera.

 

I bought light seals on ebay for about $14 a set and did both of my backs at the same time in about an hour. Pretty easy work. CLA about every two years unless you use it a lot.

 

Finally, and with utmost enthusiasm, read and participate in this forum. I would also ask that you also contribute by paying the membership fee and supporting the sponsors. There is no better source for MF than www.photo.net and it's a bargain at $25 a year. The talent, experience, and friendliness of the contributors here is truly a gift to the world of photography.

 

Look forward to many picture posts from you! Enjoy!!!!

 

 

Ken