douglas_fairbank

<p>Don't trade in just yet. Select a small aperture, stop down and hold the lens to a very bright light, do you see dust on the internal surfaces? There is a good chance that there is metallic dust from a blade problem and a service (CLA) will fix it.</p>

<p id="docs-internal-guid-bd9f37e6-2d7c-4c67-950c-5c6eff7be898" dir="ltr">Henry,</p> <p dir="ltr">I do feel that you are approaching this in the wrong way, you just cannot assume that a piece of equipment that has no marks on it can be correctly aligned/focussed, especially a chrome lens from the 1960s. All the Hasselblad modules are set to the same specs so that there should be no ‘individual tweaking’ necessary, the variation you are seeing is down to wear and tear and that is what a CLA is for, to correct all those errors. What I would strongly suggest is that you get one of the most fundamental pieces of camera workshop equipment that I frankly feel that you cannot do without. Namely an Autocollimator, you will be able to ACCURATELY set the lens focus without any doubt whatsoever at a flange to image plane distance of your choice, you can also use the same device to align parts of the camera assembly, you can even check that the film gate is in the right place.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Hasselblad camera is basically a camera the same as any other and obeys all the same rules of engineering and optical design, the only difference is the modular design and all those components must agree to a common standard. That is the reason for all the special tools, and this is why I encouraged you to gain experience with simpler cameras with less variables, not suggesting in any way that you were unskilled or unable but because you would quickly gain the experience that would take you to the where you wanted to go. </p> <p dir="ltr">This may be a poor analogy but if you were a musician and wanted to build your first instrument would you start with a grand piano?</p>

Henry, I cannot encourage you to take shortcuts and not learn how the camera works. I get it that you don't want high repair bills but there is no way that anyone can give advice in this forum that can guarantee a way for you to fix simple faults without any risk whatsoever. For the record the replacement of mirror pads and a recalibration of the camera body to factory specifications using factory tools is something I do regularly and usually charge 40GBP, approx $66. I do encourage anyone who wants to know more about these cameras do so, if you want to know how to repair them you can take the time to learn how they work and are assembled or you could opt to go to the factory and enrolled on a training course if they offer it. I think you might want the first one. I want you to succeed in what you are trying to do and not put you off the idea, you have to do the work.

<p>Henry,<br> You have the motivation, you just need to go for it. When things go wrong, and they will, that is when you will learn the most. As you already know sometimes the seemingly simplest operations become a problem until you work out the best way to do it, then it is easy. Most repair guys have climbed the same learning curve as you are now looking at, they could tell you how to do it but that won't help you learn.<br> My advice is the same as before, practice on something you can afford to screw up.</p>

Over the years there have been different designs for the frame as well as the screen it holds. Some frames can be spot welded or some are folded, both are illustrated here. The thickness of the screen can vary, what is important is that the focus plane is the same height. Some third party screens can be very good but some may not focus in the right position.

Great news and a big surprise, now I need to go and play with one!

Are you based in the USA?

I don't think you will have any problems with the HC1, the PM90 would be a problem though.

<p>view photostream ClassicV.co.uk says: The lock and film holder are damaged! Hopefully they are just bent and not broken, I have seen this many times and it can be repaired but it is not a DIY job. :-(<br> Are the 2 halves of the magazine matched (have the same serial number)?<br> The above is also posted in another forum.<br> QG de Bakker's knowledge of Hasselblad is legendary but on this occasion I would disagree that it is a DIY job, the reason is that one of the parts that may be affected is very fragile, trust me I know, and I suspect the damage to it may be caused by a distortion in another part so both parts need to be adjusted. By all means examine it to items to see if you agree but please be careful because certain parts are no longer available.</p><div></div>