Hasselblad 205tcc with 150mm lens problem (solved)

Hello all,

I have a hasselblad 205tcc and a 150/2.8 sonnar T* lens. I have been using this camera and lens combination in manual mode for years and had no issue. Just a couple weeks ago, however, I tried to take a photo and when I pressed the shutter button, nothing happened. It took me a while to figure out what the problem was, although I have no idea how to solve it.

What is happening is that when I press the shutter button, the camera goes into self timer mode and waits 10 seconds and then fires something. But it doesn't fire the shutter properly or flip the mirror up. This happens both when I press the normal shutter release and also the self timer shutter release. The self timer start is on the same button that holds the mirror up if you press it back twice, but that button also doesn't hold the mirror up in this situation like it normally would.

What is more puzzling, however, is that when I switch to my other lens (60-120 f/4.8), the camera works perfectly normally like it always has, firing the lens shutter and flipping the mirror up and not going into self timer mode. I really don't understand what is going on because I only use the camera in manual mode and don't use any of the other bells and whistles. I've had this lens for decades and no issue. The only thing I could think of that could have cause it is that I left the camera with this lens in a relatively cold (30 degree) car for a couple hours before the issue started happening. I hope I didn't fry any of the electronics.

One other note, covered up the 4 pins that connect the lens electronically to the camera with some tape, and nothing changed. So the only thing the camera has in contact with the lens is the little screw that turns at the bottom to fire the shutter, and the release pin. So it might actually be a mechanical issue with the lens, so maybe that gives some hope to fixing it?

Thanks for any input. If pictures or video would be helpful let me know.

Did you check it with a new battery?

Does it cycle normally when the lens is removed.

Dose it cycle correctly when in "C" mode? And in "C" mode with the battery removed?

I do not own a Hasselblad 205tcc and a 150/2.8 Sonnar T* lens, but I have been using Hasselblad V Series for years.

• My Hasselblad repair man has advised me not to use the self timers since that can lead to problems.
• I had my 50mm lens sound like it fired but when I developed the film, the shutter had not fired. The solution was to replace the shutter shaft since it was worn. It turns out that the lens was heavily used. The fact that the other lens works correctly indicates that the problem is with the 150mm lens and not to body.

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itsdoable said:

Did you check it with a new battery?

Does it cycle normally when the lens is removed.

Dose it cycle correctly when in "C" mode? And in "C" mode with the battery removed?

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I put in a new battery when I was testing it, and as I said before the camera works perfectly fine with my other lens as well as without any lens on the body, it just gets hung up with this lens. The camera cycles in c mode with and without the battery in, but with no lens. It does not cycle in C, B, or any shutter speed with this lens on.

Sirius Glass said:

I do not own a Hasselblad 205tcc and a 150/2.8 Sonnar T* lens, but I have been using Hasselblad V Series for years.

• My Hasselblad repair man has advised me not to use the self timers since that can lead to problems.
• I had my 50mm lens sound like it fired but when I developed the film, the shutter had not fired. The solution was to replace the shutter shaft since it was worn. It turns out that the lens was heavily used. The fact that the other lens works correctly indicates that the problem is with the 150mm lens and not to body.

Welcome to Photrio. Feel free to send PMs to me if you wish, but you will need to have approximately 20 posts first.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Yes I believe it is in the shutter shaft since I covered up the pins connecting the lens electronically to the camera and the same thing happened. I'm not purposely putting it in self timer mode it does it by itself for some reason I have no idea why but only with this lens. The lens is in really good condition however (exterior, at least) but something may be broken inside I don't know.

It sounds like a mechanical problem, as the 203 in "C" mode is purely mechanical, especially with no battery installed.

Do you know how to release and recock the lens when it's off the body? If so, does the diaphram mechanism cycle properly? If so, then I'd look to see if the key and key lock between the body and lens have become miss-aligned, preventing the mirror from cycling.

Usually, if it works on another lens, then it's a problem with the offending lens. In this case, probably a mechanical issue.

itsdoable said:

It sounds like a mechanical problem, as the 203 in "C" mode is purely mechanical, especially with no battery installed.

Do you know how to release and recock the lens when it's off the body? If so, does the diaphram mechanism cycle properly? If so, then I'd look to see if the key and key lock between the body and lens have become miss-aligned, preventing the mirror from cycling.

Usually, if it works on another lens, then it's a problem with the offending lens. In this case, probably a mechanical issue.

Click to expand...

Thank you for reminding me that this problem actually started when I recognized that the lens was uncocked off the body, so I recocked it and the problem started. The first photo is the position of the screws off the body, the left being a working lens and the right being the offending lens. I note that to recock the lens on the left, it turns a little more than 180 degrees, and the offending lens screw only needs to turn about 90 degrees.

I think I've made a little headway by just firing the lens off the body and then recocking it a couple times. The second photo is the position of the mirror after firing the camera in "C" mode, and as you can see it doesn't make it all the way up, but it's better than before where it didn't go up at all. Maybe something in the lens is resisting it too much to go up all the way, and with the mirror not up the camera goes into self timer mode?

xbunnyraptorx said:

Thank you for reminding me that this problem actually started when I recognized that the lens was uncocked off the body, so I recocked it and the problem started. The first photo is the position of the screws off the body, the left being a working lens and the right being the offending lens. I note that to recock the lens on the left, it turns a little more than 180 degrees, and the offending lens screw only needs to turn about 90 degrees.

I think I've made a little headway by just firing the lens off the body and then recocking it a couple times. The second photo is the position of the mirror after firing the camera in "C" mode, and as you can see it doesn't make it all the way up, but it's better than before where it didn't go up at all. Maybe something in the lens is resisting it too much to go up all the way, and with the mirror not up the camera goes into self timer mode?

Click to expand...

itsdoable said:

It sounds like a mechanical problem, as the 203 in "C" mode is purely mechanical, especially with no battery installed.

Do you know how to release and recock the lens when it's off the body? If so, does the diaphram mechanism cycle properly? If so, then I'd look to see if the key and key lock between the body and lens have become miss-aligned, preventing the mirror from cycling.

Usually, if it works on another lens, then it's a problem with the offending lens. In this case, probably a mechanical issue.

Click to expand...

Aha! thank you so much, after cocking and firing it off the body a couple times the mirror finally comes up and doesn't go into self timer mode! I guess it just needed some loosening up.

My Hasselblad repair man strongly advises that each Hasselblad lens be fired 10 to 15 times at 1 second every three months. I set my calendar to 1 January. 1 April, 1 July and 1 September. That allows the shutter mechanism to move around the lubricants and prevent sticking.

xbunnyraptorx said:

<snip>The first photo is the position of the screws off the body, the left being a working lens and the right being the offending lens. I note that to recock the lens on the left, it turns a little more than 180 degrees, and the offending lens screw only needs to turn about 90 degrees.

<snip>

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That means that the 2.8/150 is hanging up during the release, as it's only making it 90 deg in the key, which explains the mirror not completely rising, as the key position is directly related to the state of the camera. And I see you have it working after exercising the lens.

Keep in mind that if this is happening, something in the lens is getting sticky, and typically this will get worse as the lubricant ages or parts wear, so you may want to get the lens serviced eventually. Sticky lens parts are pretty basic to service, but make sure you have someone familiar with the FE lenses, as the aperture ring needs to come off and it has a bunch if very delicate electronic wiper contacts, which are very easily damaged when dismantling.

itsdoable said:

That means that the 2.8/150 is hanging up during the release, as it's only making it 90 deg in the key, which explains the mirror not completely rising, as the key position is directly related to the state of the camera. And I see you have it working after exercising the lens.

Keep in mind that if this is happening, something in the lens is getting sticky, and typically this will get worse as the lubricant ages or parts wear, so you may want to get the lens serviced eventually. Sticky lens parts are pretty basic to service, but make sure you have someone familiar with the FE lenses, as the aperture ring needs to come off and it has a bunch if very delicate electronic wiper contacts, which are very easily damaged when dismantling.

Click to expand...

Yes thank you, I have no familiarity with repairing these cameras or lenses so I'll have to send them in in a while.