Kat D.

<p>Didier: That is my experience. They are coarser-looking if scanned with "negative" setting in Nikon Scan 4 software. If you use this scanner and the Nikon software, you can try for yourself. Perhaps results would be different with other software.</p>

<p>UPDATE: So I had the film.....which was overexposed three stops....developed normally at LTI, because there were more people who suggested normal development than pulling, including my contact at LTI. They developed with Xtol full strength.</p> <p>The negs turned out great!</p> <p>I was shocked. I thought they would be really dense, hard to scan. But they were <em>easier</em> to scan than usual. I knew I should be giving my Tmax 400 more light because my negs tended to be on the thin side (I usually exposed at 320 which is really more like 400 with my Sekonic meter). But I thought one stop would be appropriate. But three stops is fantastic. At least it worked out well in this situation.....portraits in very flat evening light. Of course, I usually need the speed, so three stops won't be practical.</p> <p>I scan my b&w negs as positive on a Nikon LS-9000, then invert in Photoshop (they turn out better scanned as positive). On my normally-exposed Tmax negs, I would have to struggle somewhat to get the skin tones right, do a couple of curves layers to get the tones of whole photo to look good. With these very-overexposed negs, I just had to do one curves layer and it was very straightforward.</p> <p>Boy, this is a lesson in the value of overexposure!</p> <p>I even managed to get some of the images in focus (remember the lens was stuck open at f 2.0, on medium format). Wish I had more of these nicely exposed negs with correct focus.</p> <p>Thanks to everyone for their input.</p> <p>On a separate but related subject: I took a look at some FP4 negs I shot recently at ISO 100 (again with my Sekonic which means it was probably more like 125 in reality), and I don't feel they needed more light. What is your experience.....do you feel FP4 doesn't need overexposure as much as Tmax 400? The FP4 was developed at LTI, too, in Xtol full strength.</p>

<p>Hi Evan. How nice that you can go to the Hasselblad office and speak to people in person. Re Contax 645.....I have one of those, too. I hope they can be repaired in the future as well. Loving these older cameras can be a bit worrisome....</p>

<p>Hi Evan. I did indeed send my 110/2 lens to Hasselblad a couple of days ago. I was in touch with my usual contact there, Maryann Murphy (whose title is service administrator). She had told me that the lens would have to be sent to Sweden, just as it was in spring 2013.</p> <p>Prior to 2013, someone at Hasselblad here in U.S. did work on the lens (just clean, the blades were not stuck that time). I can't recall his name, but I don't think it was Dennis. I remember he included a nice note with the lens. Maybe they lost him when they moved to a different city after they became Hasselblad Bron.</p> <p>When Maryann gave me an estimate for the repair of the light seal on my 202FA (another thread here), she didn't say anything about sending to Sweden. So maybe Dennis Greco would be working on that. I haven't sent that in yet. Thank goodness for Dennis Greco! I'm afraid that all 200/2000 series equipment will have to be sent to Sweden at some point. And will Hasselblad Sweden continue to work on it indefinitely, I wonder?</p> <p>Interesting that you have a Flextight. I have wondered what I will do when my Nikon LS-9000 dies.</p> <p>Yet, I won't give up on film......</p> <p>Thanks for your input!</p> <p> </p>

<p>Hi Tom. I emailed Keh, and they said they would look at the lens and see if they could repair it. Said they would send on to Hasselblad NJ if they couldn't (with my approval). They have flat rate of $180 for repair of medium format lenses which is less than half of what it would cost at Hasselblad.</p> <p>However, if Hasselblad NJ doesn't have anyone to work on the lens and has to send to Sweden, it seems unlikely that someone at Keh could work on it. But I don't know the situation at Hasselblad NJ....maybe they don't have much of a staff of repair technicians now that they are part of Bron?</p> <p>If Keh would have to send to Hasselblad NJ, then they have to send to Sweden, that would be a very roundabout process.</p> <p>.....I just reread the comment from Q.G. de Bakker above about the the diaphram mechanism of the 110/2 lens being rather complicated because of a double diaphragm, with more blades than usual. So I think I'll just send to Hasselblad and deal with the rather painful cost....</p> <p>Thank you so much for your help. Must be nice to be able to work on your cameras yourself....</p>

<p>Yes, also talking about 35mm digital. But even if I could afford medium format digital, I don't think I'd use a manual focus lens. For me, digital is about convenience, so auto-focus is what I'd choose.</p>

<p>Quick update: Sent the film to LTI today and asked that they develop normally. So we shall see! I'm really wondering, too, how many are in focus at f 2.0 :)</p>

<p>Hi Lex. There was no dappled lighting. Totally flat. Thanks so much for your input.</p>

<p>John: You are right, LTI uses Xtol full strength normally.</p> <p>LG: Justin King, my contact at LTI, also just recommended developing normally. So I might do that. Something that occurred to me is that maybe the aperture blades got stuck <em>at some point</em> during the shoot......not wide open the entire time. That would be another argument for developing normally.</p> <p>I will let everyone know what I do and how the film turns out. Thanks so much.</p>

<p>Hi Tom.</p> <p>Unfortunately, the aperture blades are totally stuck. Do not move at all if I move aperture ring or engage the depth-of-field preview.</p> <p>Even if I could see what the problem is (as you describe), I wouldn't feel comfortable taking the lens apart. I've never done such a thing. If I were to attempt it, I would try on a less valuable lens first :)</p> <p>I was wondering about Keh. Have you had Hasselblad equipment worked on there?</p> <p>I just found an old email about the last repair (April 2013). Says besides getting cleaned, the lens got a spring and sleeve. No mention of new blades. Also, I see the price was $428 plus shipping (not to Sweden, from NJ). The $550 I mentioned earlier was in my head because that's Hasselblad Sweden's cut-off point for giving estimates -- that is, if repair is $550 or less, they just do the repair w/o giving you an estimate.</p> <p>Won't know until it goes to Sweden if it will be $428 again.</p> <p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Lex: Varied, depending on light.....1/125 or 1/180. All f 5.6, which was correct exposure for ISO 400. But lens stuck open at 2.0 (unbeknownst to me).</p>

<p>Hi John. Good idea to shoot a test roll with same conditions. Might do that. Also, good point about dense negs being hard to scan. I will ask LTI if they use Xtol full-strength.</p> <p>Hi Lex. If I exposed at ISO 400 for lens at 5.6, but lens was actually at 2.0, wouldn't that be ISO 50? I'll ask LTI about your Xtol 1+1 for 7-8 minutes, too.</p> <p>Thanks to you both.</p>

<p>Good point about Hasselblad probably not having those parts anymore. I'll ask if they replaced the blades, maybe they have a record of the repair. But, yes, for $550, sent to Sweden, likely not.</p> <p>I paid about $2,000 for mine at Keh, maybe five years ago. Didn't realize I should research the year it was made.</p> <p>Agree with what you say about using this lens with digital. Why bother. </p>

<p>Just discovered Q.G. de Bakker's Hasselblad Historical site, typed in my 110/2 serial number. Says it was made in 1989. The Hasselblad notice about bad aperture blades (in the thread you pointed out above) says new blades will be available in September 1993. I can't find anything in the notice about what year lenses are affected. Any FE's prior to 1993? Should Hasselblad have replaced my blades when I sent it for repair two years ago?</p>

<p>.....Also, Q.G. de Bakker's comment in the thread you pointed out was interesting:</p> <p>"The diaphram mechanism of the 110 mm lens in particular (the 150 mm too) is rather complicated, and is more likely to fail than that in other Zeiss lenses. This is due mostly to the large size of the opening, i.e. the little room left for the mechanism in the lens. The 110 mm has a 'double' diaphragm, with more blades than usual. And that too doesn't help to make it more robust. And yes, i have had troubles with the apertures in both f/2 110 and f/2.8 150 mm lenses. Both needing repairs (the 110 mm more than once). Repair wasn't cheap..."</p>

<p>Wow, very interesting thread, Lee. Thank you. Good question about whether they replaced the aperture blades on my lens. I just assumed they would "unstick" and clean. Considering they will charge $350 to replace a little light seal inside my 202FA, the $550 for the stuck aperture blades, sent to Sweden, was probably just CLA. But if this problem of bad aperture blades is a known issue, and if my lens is one of those affected, it would be quite negligent of Hasselblad to not replace the blades.</p> <p>My 110/2 says "F" on the barrel but it has the two blue lines and electrical connections. The serial number is 7143553. I don't know if it would be one of the affected lenses. I guess I should look online and see if I can date the lens.</p> <p>Thank you.</p>

<p>I shot three rolls of T-Max 400 last evening with my Hassy 201F and 110/2 lens…… not realizing the lens’s aperture blades were stuck open at f 2.0. I had set the aperture to 5.6. So the film is overexposed three stops.</p> <p>I was exposing at 320 ISO using my Sekonic L-358 meter. My experience with this meter is that this 320 setting is really more like 400.</p> <p>These were portraits in the evening by a lake, sun behind trees, very flat light. Two rolls are individual portraits, one roll is portraits of two people together. (Focus is a whole other issue: how many have eyes in focus at 2.0? I thought I was giving myself plenty of leeway at 5.6 ! )</p> <p>How to salvage these rolls? I do not develop my own film, usually send to Lightside (LTI) in New York. Last I checked, they use Xtol. I don’t know dilution or development times but could ask. </p> <p>LTI will pull 1/8 − 2 7/8 stops if requested. They also list “specialty film processing using Acufine, Microphen, Pyro, Xtol 1:1” for $50 setup fee. So I guess the normal Xtol developing is something other than 1:1. </p> <p>Have done a lot of reading here and other places on the net and see that a lot of people routinely expose T-Max 400 at 200 and develop normally. Should I feel that takes care of one of the stops, then have LTI pull two stops? </p> <p>Would any of the “specialty” film processing be of any value? </p> <p>I read that pulling too much can be risky (muddy negs? uneven development?). Would I be better off just pulling one stop and having to deal with dense negatives?</p> <p>I know it would be better if I were developing myself and could have more control, but I don’t have time to get back into that now (developed film, had darkroom many years ago).</p> <p>I will be scanning the negs on my Nikon LS-9000, not printing from enlarger. </p> <p>The photos are of my nieces who were just visiting from out of town and have left now, so I wanted to try to make these negs useable. </p> <p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Hi Evan. Did you have frequent stuck aperture blades in your lenses? Do you feel it is more likely to happen with F lenses than C? I'm almost tempted to get the 110/2 fixed and then sell it before it breaks again. $550 every two years on one lens is a drag. Though I do love that lens.....</p> <p>A light seal came off inside my 202FA a couple of weeks ago, and that will cost $350 to repair. Tom Chow (in these forums) thinks I may not need to repair (separate thread). Haven't tested the camera w/o it yet.</p> <p>$900 in repairs. Ugh.<br> <br /><br /></p>

<p>The aperture blades on my Hassy 110/2 are stuck wide open. It had the same problem two years ago. Hasselblad NJ had to send it to Sweden for the repair. Cost me $550. </p> <p>I know you're supposed to exercise Hasselblad equipment once a month....which I admit I don't do. Hard to say how often I've used that lens in the last two years, but I did use it occasionally....maybe every couple of months. I used it two weeks ago, and it worked fine. But yesterday, after shooting three rolls at what I thought was 5.6, I realized, after using the depth-of-field preview, that the blades were stuck again.</p> <p>Does it seem odd that blades are stuck again so soon? In my decades of taking photos, this is the only lens whose blades have ever gotten stuck....and now twice in two years.</p>

<p>Hi Edward. Thanks for writing.</p> <p>There is no deterioration inside the viewfinder. There is just one little spot, about one mm in diameter <em>under</em> the glass but close to the surface (and close to an edge) when I look at the viewfinder upside down. It would not be accessible via the eyepiece (I have unscrewed those to install my diopters, so I know those can come off). </p> <p>It's really a small imperfection, but I thought I might be able to get rid of it before trying to sell the PM5. Sounds like I won't be able to do this. I couldn't find anyone on the internet who had done it either. So I will just point out the spot when I sell. </p> <p>Thanks again.</p>

<p>I'm selling my two Hasselblad PM5 viewfinders. One is in near-mint condition. The other one is, too, though that one has a small (1 mm in diameter) rust-colored spot inside glass, near the edge. I suspect it's fungus because it's darker in the center.</p> <p>I see a lot of screws around the edges of viewfinder. I wonder if I should unscrew them to try to access and clean the spot before selling. </p> <p>I have never repaired camera equipment and don't want to attempt this if I risk causing more problems. I'm leaning toward selling as it is, pointing out that the spot is there. But if someone here says it would be very easy to take apart and clean, I might attempt.</p> <p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Just googled your Imagon lens. That looks interesting....</p> <p>Yeah....I was thinking of looking inside the 201F to see if it had the same baffle that fell out of my 202FA. Seeing it there would definitely make me more confident about replacing in the 202FA.</p> <p>I did hear from Hasselblad/Bron in NJ this morning. They don't sell parts anymore. Guess I could see about getting from Sweden as you did. I'll see how the camera works without it first....though it kind of bothers me to not have my camera in tip-top shape. On the other hand, $350+......</p> <p>Thanks again for your help!</p>

<p>Hi Tom,</p> <p>I'll run a roll of film through the camera and see what happens.</p> <p>My first Hassy was 501CM (which I still have and love). Then I discovered the 110/2 lens and bought one. The 200 series cameras available at Keh at the time, where I almost always buy my used equipment, were 202FA and 203FE. I didn't need the extra features of the 203, so got the 202. About a year later, I saw a 201F at Keh and got that, in case something happened to the 202FA, I could still use that awesome 110/2. </p> <p>I have a lot of cameras with meters in them which I don't use (the meters, I mean) :)</p> <p>Thanks again for all the info. I've asked Hasselblad/Bron how much they would charge for the part. Will be interesting to hear their price.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Hi Tom. Thank you so much for all of that information. Though $50 seems like a lot for that little flap, it seems like a real bargain compared to paying Hasselblad/Bron $300-350 to do the repair (plus shipping). I'll ask if I can buy the flap from them and how much it is currently. I will also see if the camera works okay without it. I never use the in-camera meter and I always use the PM45 viewfinder. From what you're saying, maybe it will work okay without the flap.</p> <p>Thanks again....</p>

<p>Emailed Hasselblad/Bron. Said what fell out is light seal and it will cost $300-350 plus shipping to repair, as long as nothing else needs to be repaired. Seems awfully expensive for this little repair. But what can I do...</p>