adrian_tyler Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 I have a couple of Hasselblad CF lenses which the rubbish painted engraving is coming off, in one case I can't see 80% of it, this is annoying as I use hyper-focal focussing a lot and even more annoying as the lenses cost a fortune, my Leicas and Nikons are really engraved and never rub off. The question is if I can get them re-painted at a reasonable cost. Answer that Mr Hasselblad if you dare... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn_kroeger Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 Let us know if Victor answers, since he has been dead for about 30 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladimir_charchuk Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 Yes you can have the numbers put back on. I had one of mine done by Mr.Hasselblad ( did a fine job for a dead man )but there is a camera repairman in the Los Angeles area that does them also. You can find one of his small ads in the back of Shutterbug. Being a jeweler I have wanted to hand engrave them so it doesn't happen again but the lenses are an awkward shape and difficult to clamp up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapfoto Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 Hi Adrian, I'm not Mr. Hasselblad, but I have played him on a few holidays before. The kids just get a big kick out of it when on Holloween I give out lens cleaning paper and lapel pins. What a hoot! Now, specific to your question, I have been known to use the hand engraver [you know the one, it's the one you use to put your drivers license and SSN on the lens with], well don't just stop there, after you get all of your personal info engraved on the outside of the barrel, go ahead and "etch" the painted on numerals as well. It may look like hell, but then, it ain't like it's a Leica or Nikon or anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladimir_charchuk Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 Oouch Robert! Thats not the kind of hand engraving I was refering too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_mac_kenzie Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Hello Adrian, I was thinking of having this done myself, repainting the aperature numbers and lines that run to the distance numbers for depth of field, on a couple of CF lens I own. I have never got around to it. I did notice that Ross Yerkes has a small ad in the back of Shutterbug Magazine. In his ad it says " Hasselblad shutter speed & Aperature numbers". I asume that means he repaints them. I have never called or used him, but he has an excellent reputation. Give him a call: Ross Yerkes - Camera Repair 342 Kirby St. LA, CA 90042, Phone: 323-256-1018 Good Luck and let us know what you find out. Mark MacKenzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian_tyler Posted February 21, 2001 Author Share Posted February 21, 2001 Thanks for the advice I'll check the prices, I didn't mean any offence to Mr Hasselblad, it was a joke - I didn't realize he was real and you all knew him so personally! and of course I was getting a bit ironic about the fact that everyone engraves their lenses, so it can't be that expensive, can't be saving the Hasselblad corp. that much and it is annoying that in a few years of decent use you can't see what your doing 'cos all that cheap nickel and dime saving paint has come off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_campbell Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 Yeah, we all knew Mr. Hasselblad. Kind of a big guy. Liked to take pictures of birds. Was chummy with Ansel Adams. But you can call him Victor. We all did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob F. Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 Aside from their more favorable price, freedom from rub-off is one of several reasons I like the CT* lenses over CF. They really are engraved. I also like the automatic DOF indicators and EV cross coupling. I wonder what got into them to silkscreen the numbers onto such an expensive lens? Carl Zeiss take note. But I guess he's dead, too . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kornelius_j._fleischer Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Adrian, can you let me know the lens types and serial numbers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikael_larsson Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 I wonder if it is possible to let manufacture thin metal strips with the scale numbers screened into the metal surface (just like some of the scales on the black C lenses) and then mount them on the lenses. Such rings are most likely needed to be screw mounted on the lens barrel to stay in place. This means that it is necessary to drill small holes in the barrel of the lens, which is the biggest problem with such a customizing; it is not reversible. Even if it has nothing to do with photography, I really can not understand why Zeiss chose to paint the scale numbers when they designed the CF series. The original F lenses from 1977 have screened scales which gives an impression of true quality along with a longlasting value. Engraving the scales is the best way of preventing them from being rubbed of, but screened numbers lasts very much longer than painted scales. Have anyone tried this? Best regards, Mikael Larsson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian_tyler Posted March 18, 2001 Author Share Posted March 18, 2001 Kornelius, sorry for the late reply, the worst case is my Sonar 150/4 s/n 6652882 it is now mosly illegible, my SWC s/n 6778105 is losing a little paint but it hasn't dissapeared like the 150. The plastic ring which holds the rubber focussing grip on my 60 CF Distagon s/n 7393702 snapped but I superglued it all back together, I'm not complaining about the lenses, just the aforementioned little details to quality. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kornelius_j._fleischer Posted March 21, 2001 Share Posted March 21, 2001 Adrian, from the serial numbers our folks at Zeiss found this: your Sonnar 4/150 CF was sent from Zeiss to Hasselblad on May 7, 1984. The Biogon 4,5/38 in your SWC was sent to Hasselblad on April 17, 1995. Which means, either lens is roundabout one and a half decades old. In the meantime, silk printing processes have improved significantly. Zeiss takes from every lot of silk printed scales a sample and subjects it to severe abrasion testing to confirm that the process has achieved the required properties. So I am confident to say that you may hardly find any new generation CFi/CFE lens where scales show rub-off. Now, what can you do to get your CF lenses from the mid 80s fully back on track? Have you contacted the Hasselblad service facility in Fairfield, N.J. for an exchange of the scales? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brushmeister Posted December 10, 2002 Share Posted December 10, 2002 I just bought a beautiful chrome 150mm Sonnar whose previous (dead) owner personalized by hand engraving some secret code of numbers (maybe off his old dog tags) around the base of the barrel. No doubt he did this for some misguided security reason. Anyway, far as I am concerned what he did was ugly up an otherwise magnificently designed instrument, thereby lowering its value, and allowing me to afford it. Well, what I need to know is can I get that part of the barrel replaced with a clean ring? Would it take a second mortgage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland_schmid Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 That didn't happen with the old C-lenses, Dr. Fleischer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now