Hasselblad A12 Magazine problems? [TMB]

[jumpmaster]

Hello everyone...

 

I've been reading the archives on the medium format digest for some

time now and am quite impressed with the expertise demonstrated by

most of you! I have a problem and hope someone here will be kind

enough to speculate about what it could be...

 

I've been a photographer for about 7 years now and I just bought a

Hasselblad 500CM with 80mm 2.8 C lens...I also bought an A12 back.

All of the equipment was used and purchased from KEH. As some of you

may know, they tend to underrate their equipment. The lens

was "excellent" condition while the back and body were "bargain"...if

you're not familiar with what that means to KEH, "bargain" describes

the physical appearance of the item (brassing, etc) and not the

operation. Unless it is denoted as "ugly", it's supposed to work

fine. (So please don't try to tell me I bought junk...:-) )

 

I attempted to shoot a roll of T-Max 400 through the camera today.

Much to my chagrin, I was unable to advance the film while winding

the crank (on the body). Some background -- I read about 3 sets of

instructions and am certain I loaded the film properly, I do have the

original manual and have read it as well as Wildi's "Hasselblad

Manual"...so I'm sure everything was set up correctly...the

indicators on both the magazine and the body were white when mated.

 

What happens is when I attach the back, release the shutter, and wind

the crank, the gears on the back are not engaging with the gears on

the body and the back actually comes apart from the body slightly

when *trying* to advance the film. (It wouldn't advance easily

without manipulating the magazine and/or forcing it, so I stopped...)

 

Does anyone have any idea which part is at fault? As far as I can

tell from visual inspection, the gears look fine...no missing teeth,

not worn, etc...it makes a $1200.00 setup about worthless with a

problem like this and it's very frustrating. I don't know which part

to send back to KEH for replacement...(and it does irritate me that

it wasn't checked for proper operation before they sold it as working

fine if it turns out to be the magazine.)

 

Any constructive ideas will be greatly appreciated...BTW, I'm not

sure if this is a related issue, but the film indicator window stayed

red even after loading film...from what I've read, it should be white

after loading film...I'm trying hard to maintain my patience.

(Please, no "Why don't you trade it for a Mamiya?" comments...I don't

think those will help fix the busted Hasselblad...:-) )

 

Thanks for any help...

 

T. Bloxom

[s._fisher]

It sounds like the back is bad. I have a 12 back, though not the A, where a spring broke so one of the gears don't "rewind" back into its original position (the gear visible when the back is off the camera). Since the gear won't move forwards any further when you try to crank the camera, the two gears push each other apart, resulting in the back wanting to come off the camera.

[arden_howell]

There is nothing so frustrating as spending good money, setting high expectations, then finding that your purchase just doesn't work. Call KEH. They are reputable and probably thought all was in order. They know the equipment and will advise as how to proceed. When all is made right, you will love the results you get from your Hassie!

[jumpmaster]

Thanks for your helpful responses! Since messing with the camera a little more (very gently), I noted that if I (with the dark slide removed) press the release button on the magazine, it lets the back off just slightly enough to where it will engage the gear on the body. I think you're right though...it does sound like the back is messed up. I just hope it's not the hooks on the body or something like that -- they appear to be fine, but I don't have another one to compare it to.

 

As far as being frustrated after spending good $$$ for an excellent system, you're right there too...you're also correct about KEH...I'm sure they'll be very cooperative in getting this fixed or switched out. I've bought several things before from them and have always been very satisfied until the bad luck with this back.

 

I also discovered the shutter is slow on the 1 second shutter speed...sometimes the motor in there just sticks...that's a little depressing also -- the condition on the lens (80mm 2.8 C) was "Excellent"...maybe it just needs to be exercised a bit for it to eliminate that...

 

Thanks again for the good advice...

 

T. Bloxom

[struan_gray]

I am sure KEH will rectify any problems, but before you start

sending compenents back and forth in the mail I'd recommend

testing the rest of the system with another back. If you can't find

someone who can lend you one look for a rental - even here

in $$$weden renting a back for a day is very cheap. Some

places won't hire you a back unless you are also renting a

camera system, but if you explain the situation and impress on

them that you are a potential future renter of more esoteric kit

they'll probably relax that rule.

[frank_kimble]

Problems like this are the reason to buy used gear from reliable dealers who will stand behind it. Probably the back just needs some minor repair, which they will take care of. Just imagine if you had bought this on e-Bay, another couple hundred $$$$ for a CLA on the A12. The good part is once the back get fixed, it should be good for a few years of heavy usage.

[Robin Smith]

The back needs fixing - which is VERY common when buying s/h. Likewise one has to be prepared for the leaf shutters needing a CLA. KEH should do both for you at no charge. This demonstrates the importance of buying MF gear from a good dealer!

[jumpmaster]

Well, thanks again for the good info...I did call KEH and I spoke with Glenn...he was very helpful and willing to do as much as possible to make me a happy customer again. Here's what we're figuring...

 

We think the back is a dud as you guys have said was probably the problem...so I'm sending it back and getting an "excellent" A12 back -- the price was reduced because it had been notched for ID purposes...that doesn't bother me, so it's ok.

 

Now for the lens...a tougher decision here. The nice 80mm 2.8 C (Chrome) looks nice on the 500cm chrome body. The shutter motor is a little sluggish on the 1 second setting while holding the camera with the lens pointing toward the ceiling. I'm not sure when I would use that position except for maybe taking pictures of my skydiving buddies landing (Yes, I also skydive...:-) ) and in that case I'd be using a fast shutter speed (unless I want to try something creative like intentionally blurring/streaking the background), so maybe I shouldn't worry about it -- but it does sort of bother me. They said they won't do a CLA on it for me...I'd have to pay for the CLA and it would take about 2-3 weeks to get it back. They offered to exchange the lens but they have no more chrome 80mm 2.8 C lenses at the moment in "excellent" condition. They have a bargain one and they also have a bargain 80mm 2.8 C black T* lens.

 

Now...there are a couple of things that concern me about my decision. On the chrome one, it already had some wear on the shutter speed numbers that I carefully wrote back in with a superfine tip Staedtler alcohol-based marker. The black T* lens would be great, but I worry what to do if/when the markings on the lens begin to disappear there. It's easy to use black markings on a chrome lens -- I have no idea what to do about the markings on a black lens. I can't think of any very classy way to preserve the markings either.

 

The black T* would be nice but in "bargain" quality, they said it might have "cleaning marks" that shouldn't affect the picture quality. The "excellent" chrome one has really good optics...I can't see any scratches on it at all...the bargain one is about $100.00 cheaper than the chrome one I got so I can get a CLA on the black one and probably still be cheaper than the chrome one. (Even though it would be another 2-3 weeks to get it back)

 

So...1) Does anyone have any advice about the shutter in my chrome lens? Will simply exercising the shutter mechanism help the little timer motor in there work better? 2) Is it better to have a cheaper T* lens with possible (likely?) cleaning or a more expensive non-T* lens with great optics? 3) What about the markings on the lenses? The black T* in bargain quality will surely have some obliterated markings if my "excellent" chrome one did...I'm leaning toward keeping the chrome lens and just hoping the shutter timer starts working properly in all orientations...

 

Thanks for all your kind words and helpful advice...one day, maybe I'll gather enough knowledge to be able to help out others like this in photography...:-)

 

T. Bloxom

[ernie_gec]

Regarding your issue with the fudged numbers...

 

The black & chrome lenses have these numbers printed on thin metal bands that screw into the lens body. I'm told by Hasselblad Canada that the chrome ones are no longer an available stock item, but the black ones are still in supply...

[ian_barnes]

I to have just bought a similar camera with small back and lens problems. Fortunatly I was aware before buying and have tried to allow for service. \i'm sure your dealer will sort you out but try to find a reccomended repair man who is reasonable and will talk on the phone for the future. I have in the UK and it is a great comfort when faced with these problems. My 50mm has a similar slow shutter motor at slow speed so my man has advised a service and new main spring.No rush as the faster speeds are fine.It also has a little fungus so he is going to do it all at once no problem. My back has spacing problems ie 5,6,amd 7 mm but again no problem that normal i'm told. The light seal is faulty and the parts have arrived today to replace £10.Your back does seem to have a major problem which i'm sure the dealer will sort. My message is these are great cameras but need a little care and exercise. Don't panic. I usually do and i'm not at the moment. good luck ian