ernie_gec

Rob:

 

As a "square" user myself I've often wondered this too. However, the dream only makes sense if you always want to print full size negative; no cropping. In my (limited)experience croppping slightly to a final composition that best suits the overall feeling of the scene is not unusual. I have rarely found this to correspond EXACTLY to a square. The 11 by 14 etc. sizes do create some waste, but they also permit a sliding scale of "out of squareness" in printing that you may need to render the most esthetically pleasing result.

It's hard to say without being able to see the screen, but you can be sure of this. If the screen is factory original to the camera it is not a "D" as they hadn't come out yet when your camera was made. Another way to come closer to the answer is to examine the screen carefully under the loupe of your hood. If you can see fresnel lens lines it is an earlier screen. The new Accute-matte's apparently have over 7 million fresnels?? per screen, making it impossible to see them with the naked eye. Hope this helps.

Thanks Rick. Nordin is the kind of dependable source I was hoping for. Now, if there was only some consensus on the best way to maintain vinyl against shrinkage, drying out etc.

Hello all:

 

I've read Wildi cover to cover, searched these threads completely and

still can't seem to find an authoritative answer to this simple

question... what is the black skin on 'blads made of?

 

It's referred alternatively as "leatherette" by some & "leather" by

others. Micro tools sells both "leatherette" (synthetic) and

genuine morrocan leather. Some folks maintain their cameras with

saddle soap, leather conditioner etc., while others use vinyl

maintenance products like armorall. Some say never use armorall,

others say never use mink oil etc.

 

Its not a big deal either way, but I'm more curious than anything

else. Does anyone out there ACTUALLY know what the stuff is, rather

than imagine that they do?

Do you hike???

 

Walking 5 miles with an 8 pound tripod is an excellent test of character. The nice thing about hasselblad is the pre-release which allows you to fire the leaf shutter without the "whoosh" vibration of mirror & secondary shutter shennanigans. You can get away with alot lighter tripods than most folks consider acceptable, as long as you pre-release and pay attention for wind induced vibration on the tripod legs. The carbon fiber units are great, but expensive. Its better to take a light unit on a long outing than leave the beast at home.

Thank you Konrad for an exellent referral to the cited articles. Very interesting stuff.

I remember a physics teacher once explaining that glass has some

properties of fluids, ie. over time it "flows." I know window pane

glass does distort after many years, and so my question to the optics

expert out there is... does optical glass share these characteristics?

One might say that the degree of movement is likely to be small,

given the thickness of the elements typically used, but then we're

talking about nanometer tolerances. Is a 30 year lens likely to be

out of whack on this account? Should we "rotate" our glass in storage

like fine wine cellars do in order to avoid problems? Has anyone ever

researched this issue?

I just bought a 500C Hasselblad with an A12 back. My problem is this.

When I load the film and advance the magazine winder it doesn't stop

ie. I can crank the film right through to the other spool without

interuption. I thought the crank stopped automatically at the proper

index point for the first exposure. Am I doing something wrong, or

does the camera need adjustment?

 

Any advice appreciated.

I've read that the "chrome" on hasselblads is actually highly polished

aluminum (from which the cameras are cast) Others leave the

impression that the bodies are chrome plated over the aluminum. I

only ask because pitted bodies, if they are just polished aluminum,

should be possible to bring back to full luster with judicious use of

buffing compounds. Chrome plate, on the other hand, is a different

problem.