Are v-system Hasselblad services a worthwhile investment?

[ted_smith]

I realise the obvious answer to this is "yes, of course" but I'd like to get a better understanding of the process.

I've owned my Hasselblad 501CM for about 4 years - if I recall it's a late 1990's model (1999 or maybe 2000).

When I first got it, it jammed two or three times but it always unjammed or, on one occasion, I used one of the special screwdriver 'thingies' that I bought to uncock it. But since then, I don't think it has jammed.

I'm using it this coming May for an important occasion and am considering sending it to the UK hasselblad service centre at Dead Link Removed in advance of that. I spoke to them and they seem to know their onions for sure. But the cost of £250 for JUST the body (no lens, no film back) seems like quite a lot, and whilst I don't dispute that it's a cost that is merited for fine skills, I'm trying to weigh up what exactly one gets for £250 in terms of overall improvement to the body. For example, a car has lots of things that are put under enormous pressure and heat, with lots of things going on, so I understand why it needs good oil, new spark plugs and so on. A 501CM body has a winder, a mirror, a cock to wind the lens, and some curtains. Is there really that much going on that could go wrong and get stuck that merits a £250 service?

I know I do sound naive and I don't mean to. I'm just trying to figure out whether the jamming I suffered when I first got it was more down to me getting used to the camera and perhaps not using it right, or whether it's likely to jam again. Obviously the replies will say "if it's an important event, weight up the cost of the £250 over failure" and I already know that, and I appreciate it's a sound investment and will help prolong the life of the camera. But I'm trying to ascertain whether it's a necessary expense, or more of a pricey privilege that comes with Hasselblad ownership that doesn't actually get you much back. Especially as this doesn't include a check of the film backs or lenses.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have no knowledge about the Hasselblad service or its costs in the UK. I have a Hasselblad trained repair person at Samy's so I can walk it in and ask him about the camera. When I first got the camera, he placed the body in a jig and adjusted the alignment and the view finder screen position. Those two things have not needed to be done since. When I have film back light leaks or uneven spacing, he will take care of those problems without a complete CLA. Over the years he has recommended complete CLAs for three of the backs.

I bought a C 500mm lens and before I mounted it I checked that the body and the lens were cocked before mounting. The lens would not fire and I could not get the lens to release. I took off the back and the lens would not release with the tool. I took the camera and the lens to him. He stopped what he was doing and spent about an hour partially disassembling the back and getting the lens released. The lens went back to you know whom for a CLA and he reassembled the camera and tested it.

From that I learned from him:

• Do not put a lens that has sat around for more than three months without cocking and test firing the lens several times.
• When a lens fires, the shutter closes, ... and then the shutter must "release" [whatever that means].
• All Hasselblad 500 camera lenses fire at 1/500 second and the escapement handles the rest of the timing.
• If a lens has not been used, every three months each lens should be cocked, using the special tool if it is off the camera, and fired several times set at one second at the smallest f/stop.
• When disassembling the body from the back to release the lens, when the tool will not work, there is one screw that if removed will require the complete body to be disassembled before the screw can be put back in. No, I do not know which screw that is.
• This probably applies to all cameras but we were only talking about Hasselblads specifically.

He will do the minimum work necessary so that I do not have to have a complete service done by him unless it is necessary.

The bottom line is that he will do the minimum work to keep the camera, backs, prisms, bodies, ... working. If a CLA is needed, then and only then will he do the complete CLA. My recommendation is to ask whether or not the UK Hasselblad Service Centre will do only the work necessary or require that they always do the complete service. I am confident that there are in the UK factory trained Hasselblad repair people who will do only the work necessary.

 

[Barry S]

If you're using the camera regularly and not having any problems, I don't see the point in dropping a wad of cash for a check-up. Especially for a newer Hassy like a 501CM. Before I'd get a 501CM checked at a significant cost, I'd buy a backup 500CM.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I agree but my 503 CX and 903 SWC have been so reliable that I have never had or felt that I needed a back up. I can also say that for my Nikons, Graflex , Speed Graphic and WideLux.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Don't fix it if it ain't broke or you will be brokecomes to mind

 

[HiHoSilver]

250 for the body is higher than my local factory service - was $90 U.S., which included smacking the body back into square, replacing mirror foam. Film backs were $90 each. A full lens cla was $200. Both bodies were out of square - which supposedly affects ALOT of stuff from the focus to reliable film feeding. I had terrible trouble w/ focus errors - buying a 2nd setup and a (costs your left boy part) Maxwell screen. When body service was done - focus errors were gone - before getting the new screen. This was Associated camera in Portland, OR. I took 7 lens to him for cla. He charged $40 for one, $200 for another that needed full breakdown, and told me the others weren't far enough out of spec to justify the time or cost. I respected his turning down the work when he could easily have put heavier grease on the focus threads and charged the normal rate. I have no trouble recommending his shop.
For the original post - is it worth it? Yeah, but I'd see if other factory service centers might be more reasonable for the body cla.

 

[mike c]

I bought my 500 cm new back in '78, or '79, the first day I toyed with it, I jammed the lens to body connection due to the fact I did not read the instruction manual. Took it to the certified Hasselblad Distributor, who UN-jammed it and showed me how to use it properly for free on there own time. And now over 25 yrs later, 100 hundred or so weddings and a few CLA its still the great camera . And Mike over at Samys is a great repair tech.

 

[ted_smith]

My good friend RJ of Lux Camera recommended GRES (http://www.gres.co.uk) sometime ago. I've sent him a mail to see what he offers and what the turnaround times are.

General view of you all seems to be that a Hassy comes back better than they went, but don't get ripped off. So I'll see what GRES comes back with....thanks for the advice.

 

[EdColorado]

I know that Hasselblads are wonderful cameras, and the lenses are second to none, but geez guys, this thread makes them seem fragile and overly finicky.

Having to put the body back to square? Firing the lenses every three months to keep them working, and don't put one on the camera without test firing first?

Really? Are they really so fragile?

 

[Sirius Glass]

I know that Hasselblads are wonderful cameras, and the lenses are second to none, but geez guys, this thread makes them seem fragile and overly finicky.

Having to put the body back to square? Firing the lenses every three months to keep them working, and don't put one on the camera without test firing first?

Really? Are they really so fragile?

I sold cameras for several years and all cameras can get out of alignment. Only a few repair people bother to check.

Every camera should be fired every few months, unless you want to pay for a CLA.

Burt Sanders [retired Graphic and Graflex service man with 26 years experience at Graflex] who sold me his personal best Speed Graphic and Graflex told me to fire the shutters several times a year.

 

[EdColorado]

I sold cameras for several years and all cameras can get out of alignment. Only a few repair people bother to check.

Well yes, all cameras can get out of alignment but how much abuse is required to get there? I'll have to go look but I have never, in any of my bookshelf full of service manuals, seen any mention of checking a camera body for alignment. Could be though, I've certainly not read them all, and mostly I work on 35mm SLR's and old folders (alignment? Ya gots to be kidding! )

Every camera should be fired every few months, unless you want to pay for a CLA.

Its a nice idea but really (within limits) shouldn't be an issue. I have Mamiya RB67 lenses here that can get ignored for over a year and work just fine. At least the color transparencies look good.

Burt Sanders [retired Graphic and Graflex service man with 26 years experience at Graflex] who sold me his personal best Speed Graphic and Graflex told me to fire the shutters several times a year.

Just got me a Crown Graphic, what a cool camera! In this case yes, who knows how long its been sitting but the shutter in the Schneider lens sounds a bit slow in the slower speeds. I'll play around with the camera a bit and see if it really needs attention but usually these things work fine in the faster speeds I'll actually use. Going by the incredible condition of this thing (and its an older side rangefinder model) I doubt its been used much, and has probably been in a case for years. A lady at a coffee shop this morning mentioned that she could smell a mustiness and that it must have been in storage for a while...:confused:

All true points Sirrius, I'm really just tweaking some noses here. I'd love to get a Hassy some day but what I'm wondering is; is it that they really need to be "massaged and groomed" to keep working properly, or do the techs that work on them (and the owners that own them) just care more?

 

[Sirius Glass]

Ed, a Hasselblad needs no more care than a Leica, a Rollei or any other high end cameras.

 

[EdColorado]

Thank you sir, my dream (lust) will continue...

Another camera system, the last thing I need.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Please do not call me "sir"! That is for old men.

 

[BrianShaw]

Please do not call me "sir"! That is for old men.

If it woks like a duk and kwaks like a dux...

 

[Sirius Glass]

I do not use a wok, but duck tastes good. Duck tape not so much.

 

[ted_smith]

I too read that for all cameras and all lenses, it is good practice to fire them every few few months if they sit unused most of the time.

I'm lucky if I get mine out three or four times a year, and until the other week, I never bothered with a routine "mount, fire, wind on" routine. But after what I read, I will from now on. It's not that Blads are flaky, but they are mechanical. And like all things mechanical, they may work fine after long period without use, but for the sake of a few minutes every few months, better to be safe than sorry. Even a Bentley, if left in a garage for a year, could have problems.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I too read that for all cameras and all lenses, it is good practice to fire them every few few months if they sit unused most of the time.

I'm lucky if I get mine out three or four times a year, and until the other week, I never bothered with a routine "mount, fire, wind on" routine. But after what I read, I will from now on. It's not that Blads are flaky, but they are mechanical. And like all things mechanical, they may work fine after long period without use, but for the sake of a few minutes every few months, better to be safe than sorry. Even a Bentley, if left in a garage for a year, could have problems.

Ted Smith gets it. Now the haters can go back to flaming Kodak. As you were.

 

[Chris Livsey]

http://www.apertureuk.com/Camera_Repairs_London.html
From £120 + VAT

http://www.jdcamtech.com/index.php/7
This is a Guide Price for a Full Service
£165.00

Dead Link Removed
Body £240

Can't vouch for any of these personally Hasselblad did my last V service.

 

[Sirius Glass]

As I suspected there are less expense alternatives to Hasselblad UK at camera stores, see post #2.

 

[John Koehrer]

I agree with edcolorado's comments about alignment. It does strike a chord somewhere in my memory
that it may be possible to affect the lens mount being square to the film plane.
It's like the interweb though, me and memory. If it's on the web or in my memory it must be true.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Most repair people do not have the jigs and other equipment to properly check alignment, so they do not bother to do it. They will tweak a mirror or ground glass until they find something that works, but they do not work on the root problem. Usually they have success, but other times they correct one problem to aggregate another, kinda like a game of whack-a-mole.

 

[HiHoSilver]

FWIW, my local Blad man started out by setting a fixture he bought from 'Blad to measure said squareness. In further conversation he recounted a meeting w/ Blad engineers who said they expect at least 75k shots between servicing.

 

[Chris Livsey]

Blad engineers who said they expect at least 75k shots between servicing.

So with a 12 back that's 6,250 rolls of 120.
Or 10 rolls a week for 10 years, that'll do me. (rounded for effect!!)

 

[aoresteen]

I've been using Hasselblad cameras since 1975. I have a battered 1969 500C and two focal plane 2000FC/M. The 2000FC/M have never needed service - I've had them checked a number of times and the tech says no need for a CLA.

My 500C was in very bad shape when I got it for $100. It cost me $210 to have it put right by a factory trained service person who has all the factory jigs needed to properly adjust a 500C body. I then had a Maxwell screen installed - cost was another $200. This was done around 2005. Hasn't needed service since. I've had to have a few C lenses serviced over the years. I expect to CLA the C lenses every 3 to 4 years but right now I'm pushing 7 years on my 50mm, 80mm & 250mm C lenses. They are still in spec. My 80mm F lens has never needed service since I bought in in 1988. Ditto for the 150mm F & 110F lenses.

I don't shoot 50 rolls a week through my Hasselbalds. Wish I could but it is more like 60 rolls a year so I'm a light user. YMMV based on how heavy the load you put on the cameras.