Hasselblad 40mm Glass Replacement

Fragomeni · Dec 13, 2011

Hi all,

I have someone with the 40mm for Hasselblad that has damage to the front element. He is bringing it to me now to see the extent of the damage. From my understanding he isn't sure if its a crack or a deep scratch to the center of the front element. Either way, is there any repair source that will replace a damaged front element or is the lens relegated to a parts lens? In my experiece, if the glass is damaged there typically isn't any repair option especially with a lens of this rarity but if there is an option I'd like to share it with him. Thank you.

Fragomeni · Dec 13, 2011

Ok, the glass was not cracked thank GOD! These is a decent scratch right in the center of the glass surrounded by some lighter abrasions. Apparently it fell and impact shattered the filter which in turn failed to completely protect the glass. He has contacted Zeiss directly but because they are no longer affiliated with Hasselblad they wont touch the lens. It looks as though the damage could be reduced by buffing and re-coating the lens. I've seen some threads regarding having lenses recoated so i'll look and see if I can find them to identify sources. If anyone can recommend where to send it to be recoated please offer your recommendation. Thank you!

mikebarger · Dec 13, 2011

Is the issue actually having an effect on the print, or just cosmetic?

Mike

Fragomeni · Dec 13, 2011

It does effect image quality unfortunately. He didn't bring me the prints to see but he described what he was seeing. If the center of the image is busy then its very hard to pick out any problem but otherwise he says it records on the negative and subsequently the print. He acknowledges that spotting could possibly help him manage it but he'd rather have it repaired/recoated if it will reduce the problem.

ic-racer · Dec 13, 2011

Find a lens with a busted shutter and swap out the front element

Fragomeni · Dec 13, 2011

Yea, thats exactly what I told him. The lens is hard to find but I have seen a few busted ones go on ebay relatively recently.

ic-racer · Dec 13, 2011

I dropped a 28/2 Zeiss and the glass is all pristine but the focus helicoid is now the 'Leaning Tower of Pisa." I got a new-to-me replacxement but am saving the glass in the old one for a future project just like this.

polymerase · Jan 18, 2012

Same Issue!

I also recently purchased an old Hasselblad Distagon 40mm f/4 with a working shutter (silver barrel). Unfortunately, the front element has some scratches and cleaning marks (the rest of the glass is crystal clear). Also, its not a T* lens, so itll be prone to glare without a hood (and sadly I dont have a hood).

Did you find a service that would clean/re-coat the lens, or did you manage to find someone/somewhere that sold a replacement for the front element?

I've been searching for a 40mm with a broken shutter, but haven't come across one yet.. I only paid $400 USD for this lens, and I'm on a very tight budget (med school..), so the cheapest alternative is the best one.

Thanks for your time!

Cheers,
Andrew

chriscrawfordphoto · Jan 18, 2012

You might call David Odess and see if he has a front element. He's a Hasselblad repair specialist who has a lot of old hassy parts.

http://www.david-odess.com

RalphLambrecht · Jan 18, 2012

Fragomeni said:
Ok, the glass was not cracked thank GOD! These is a decent scratch right in the center of the glass surrounded by some lighter abrasions. Apparently it fell and impact shattered the filter which in turn failed to completely protect the glass. He has contacted Zeiss directly but because they are no longer affiliated with Hasselblad they wont touch the lens. It looks as though the damage could be reduced by buffing and re-coating the lens. I've seen some threads regarding having lenses recoated so i'll look and see if I can find them to identify sources. If anyone can recommend where to send it to be recoated please offer your recommendation. Thank you!

i can recommend zeiss in germany .they repaired a sonnar 5.6250 for me and only charged me 50euros,which made an e bay purchase worthwhile after all.

Fragomeni · Jan 19, 2012

Hi Ralph,

Zeiss told him they wouldn't repair the lens. They gave him the run around and ended up telling him they couldn't do the repair unfortunately.

P.S> Hope you are well. I still owe you a print to say thanks for all the help with the transfer functions for my paper neg process. I've been bogged down with moving and renovations but I'll have one off to you when things settle down. Take care of yourself!

Fragomeni · Jan 19, 2012

I've just left a message on David Odess's voicemail to see if he has any ideas or a replacement front element.

polymerase · Jan 19, 2012

Thanks for the replies folks!

Francesco, I was told the same thing by Zeiss. They said they won't touch Hasselblad lenses anymore. Their service department told me to contact Hasselblad directly. Sadly, Hassy has a steep charge for simply requesting any quotes for service. I'll stick to the internet/local shops until I run out of other options...

Please post back if David has any ideas.

Thanks again!

Cheers,
Andrew

RalphLambrecht · Jan 20, 2012

Fragomeni said:
Hi Ralph,

Zeiss told him they wouldn't repair the lens. They gave him the run around and ended up telling him they couldn't do the repair unfortunately.

P.S> Hope you are well. I still owe you a print to say thanks for all the help with the transfer functions for my paper neg process. I've been bogged down with moving and renovations but I'll have one off to you when things settle down. Take care of yourself!

don'take no for an answer.they told me the same thing, but in the end, they did the repair anyway. go visit them an take your lens with you

johnielvis · Jan 20, 2012

WELL....there is that guy that re-cements lenses...he polishes surfaces too...however...removing a scratch is gonna probably take a lot of meat off that front element--but you can ask him...-AND the turn around time is very long--his name is john I think...FOCAL POINT is the name of the place....I got a quote from him to fix a lens once but was able to retun it an get my money back instead.

I'd sell it for parts and get another from keh...it's not worth the trouble of all this...that's just me though....

OR--if the image is just getting ruined by flare....you can try to black out the scratch with black black black lampblack type paint/ink...it may work...just it will always be a problem shooting into light always probab?

johnielvis · Jan 20, 2012

OH...check this guy...he's got a problem 40mm right now...maybe you talk to each other????

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Fragomeni · Jan 20, 2012

David said that I should speak to Hasselblad in NJ so I called them and left a message and haven't received a response yet.

I'm not sure if this guy is willing to make a trip Zeiss, lens in hand, to insist that they fix it lol.

I think as others have said, his best best is probably to sell the lens as a parts lens and buy another. I'll check out the polishing guy that Johnielvis is talking about to see if thats an option.

The black paint idea would work to reduce flare but with this lens being a super wide, DOF is more the issue. Especially with the lens stopped down, he'll definitely see the defect in the images simply because of the wide DOF of the lens.

Hasselblad 40mm Glass Replacement

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency