Hasselblad 500 C - Ground glass Replacement + Other Thoughts

[Howie1922]

Hey there!

I recently picked up a Hasselblad 500C body in a trade, but it arrived without its ground glass focusing screen. Thankfully, the spring that holds the screen in place is still intact.

For those familiar with this model, I have a few questions:

• What’s the best source for a replacement screen for the 500C?
• Did these originally use only ground glass, or was there also a separate Fresnel?
• Am I missing any other parts that secure the focusing screen?
• Does anyone know the correct screw size used to hold the glass in?
• Has anyone made their own ground glass for this camera—does it work well?
• Alternatively, could a 500C/M screen be modified by removing the metal frame?

The camera also came with a 45° metered prism, but it’s missing the battery cover. If anyone knows where to find a replacement, I’d appreciate it—otherwise I may just design and 3D-print one.

Lastly, I’m torn on whether to keep this camera or sell it to help fund a Toyo 45AII or Bronica RF645. I’ve never owned a Hasselblad before, though I’ve shot plenty of medium format. Since I still need to pick up a lens for this body, I’m debating whether it’s worth the investment. If anyone has thoughts on choosing between keeping the 500C or putting the money toward the Toyo/Bronica, I’d love to hear them. For reference, I currently use a Mamiya C330 for 6x6, and a Bronica GS-1 for 6x7.

Thanks!

 

[OAPOli]

• What’s the best source for a replacement screen for the 500C?
• Did these originally use only ground glass, or was there also a separate Fresnel?
• Am I missing any other parts that secure the focusing screen?
• Does anyone know the correct screw size used to hold the glass in?
• Has anyone made their own ground glass for this camera—does it work well?
• Alternatively, could a 500C/M screen be modified by removing the metal frame

You can easily find Hasselblad screens online. The standard one is usually inexpensive and is recognizable by the black crosshairs. That one is a plain Fresnel screen with a glass cover to allow the user to mark it. The fancier acute matte screens have a full-frame very fine microprism, also with a cover glass. No ground glass. The screen and cover glass are sandwiched into the metal frame. The 500C uses the same screens as the C/M.

You are missing the screws plus the little tabs that hold the screen in the four corners. I don't know the exact size, I don't have a 500C. You could make a plain ground glass or Fresnel to go in the opening, but the height would be slightly off. I believe that under the black liner are four screws to adjust the position of the screen.

You are also missing a sheet metal cover for the cocking gearing. Those should not be exposed like that.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

The 500C uses the same screens as the C/M.

NOT ALL 500C. Early 500C bodies had a fixed, non-interchangeable focusing screen. Later production bodies had an interchangeable screen, as with the C/M bodies.

 

[Howie1922]

NOT ALL 500C. Early 500C bodies had a fixed, non-interchangeable focusing screen. Later production bodies had an interchangeable screen, as with the C/M bodies.

Yeah this one has a non-interchangeable screen, that’s what keeping me from just buying one of the inexpensive screens off eBay.

 

[OAPOli]

Apologies, I confused it with the Kiev 88.

 

[Howie1922]

You can easily find Hasselblad screens online. The standard one is usually inexpensive and is recognizable by the black crosshairs. That one is a plain Fresnel screen with a glass cover to allow the user to mark it. The fancier acute matte screens have a full-frame very fine microprism, also with a cover glass. No ground glass. The screen and cover glass are sandwiched into the metal frame. The 500C uses the same screens as the C/M.

You are missing the screws plus the little tabs that hold the screen in the four corners. I don't know the exact size, I don't have a 500C. You could make a plain ground glass or Fresnel to go in the opening, but the height would be slightly off. I believe that under the black liner are four screws to adjust the position of the screen.

You are also missing a sheet metal cover for the cocking gearing. Those should not be exposed like that.

Thanks for the input. I might end up selling this for parts since it’s missing so much. We’ll see!

 

[Don_ih]

You also should not be able to see this:

There should be a cover on that. I'd wonder if anything else is missing.

 

[Howie1922]

You also should not be able to see this:

View attachment 411486

There should be a cover on that. I'd wonder if anything else is missing.

I’ll have to figure something out to cover this. If anyone has a spare and can send me dimensions it would be much appreciated!

The camera fires correctly, however the barn doors are slow to close after the shutter is released. Those will need a bit of a CLA.

 

[AnselMortensen]

I'd recommend selling it as parts...too much missing, too many question marks.
However, if you're dead-set on repairing it, there MIGHT be some parts interchangeability with the 500EL, and there are a lot of those available as parts donors, usually cheaper than 500C's.

 

[Howie1922]

I'd recommend selling it as parts...too much missing, too many question marks.
However, if you're dead-set on repairing it, there MIGHT be some parts interchangeability with the 500EL, and there are a lot of those available as parts donors, usually cheaper than 500C's.

The 500 E/L Tip is a good one. I'll have to keep an eye out for a cheap one!

 

[Howie1922]

I'm pretty determined to try and get this thing working, so I today I made a makeshift ground glass with some tape and clear acrylic. I'll keep updating this thread with how the project is going.

Yes the blue liquid is superglue, and yes it is dry and not getting on the camera. I had to glue two pieces of acrylic together to get the right thickness.

Next I will be making a makeshift lens. Or adapting one of my large format lenses to this.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Brightscreen has a shim system for mounting one of their screens in a Hasselblad.

Replacement Focusing Screen

Upgraded Focusing Screens for vintage TLR, and SLR cameras. Best sellers - Rolleiflex, Rolleicord, Yashica, Mamiya, Hasselblad, Bronica, and Pentax cameras.

bright-screen.com

 

[Don_ih]

From what I can tell, the screen on a 500C has to be manually aligned properly or focus will be off. It's not a drop-in like a 500cm. The likelihood is that screen will not be accurate. Close enough to get a feel for using it, though.

 

[Howie1922]

From what I can tell, the screen on a 500C has to be manually aligned properly or focus will be off. It's not a drop-in like a 500cm. The likelihood is that screen will not be accurate. Close enough to get a feel for using it, though.

I plan on calibrating the ground glass to the film plane after I figure something out for a lens.

 

[Don_ih]

There is another complication, namely the foam pads under the mirror, that may throw things off even more.

There are actually a lot of things that can go wrong with one of those cameras.

As for a lens, an old 50mm is an excellent choice - great lens and not that expensive. Don't be afraid of the older lenses, if they're working. They're all good.

 

[Howie1922]

Hi Everyone!

I made a lens mount for my 150mm Fuji 4x5 lens using some 3D printed helicoids. Here it is on the Hasselblad! I hope to calibrate the screen I made over the next few days. I'll have to find a dual shutter release to make this work.

It's hard to see in this picture, but the trees are in focus!

 

[OAPOli]

There is a 500c screen kit on eBay, CAD 35. Or grind your own ground glass, it's pretty easy! Respectfully, the Scotch tape screen looks horrible

 

[Don_ih]

Respectfully, the Scotch tape screen looks horrible

I once used a cheese slice wrapper as a quick ground glass....

 

[Certain Exposures]

Any updates?

 

[Howie1922]

Any updates?

Hi!

I made a 3D printed ground glass screen to put on the body in place of the back to check focus. I also bought a used Hasselblad screen for $20 at my local camera store. It’s the screen for the CM, and as predicted the focus is off when I just drop that screen in. Luckily that screen is really easy to open up, so I have the glass and fresnel separated from the ground glass housing currently.

Next steps for me are to come up with a spacer to get the focus on the camera correct. I also need to tweak the helicoids because they are really loose and focus changes as you wiggle it around. I am debating just purchasing a cheaper Hasselblad lens on eBay, but I’m too cheap to dish that cash out just yet.

I also have a double shutter release on the way! The camera is at work, so I’ll post some pictures of everything next week.

Thanks for checking in!

 

[Certain Exposures]

Awesome, are you open to sharing your STL for that ground glass screen? I plan to attempt a 500c screen swap, too. I'll link my own repair thread later.

You can get an ugly but functional 250mm for a reasonable price. I'm debating doing that for 'easier' calibration on an infinity point.

 

[Howie1922]

Awesome, are you open to sharing your STL for that ground glass screen? I plan to attempt a 500c screen swap, too. I'll link my own repair thread later.

You can get an ugly but functional 250mm for a reasonable price. I'm debating doing that for 'easier' calibration on an infinity point.

I’ll PM you the files when I’m finished with it.

 

[Certain Exposures]

Okay, thank you.

 

[Howie1922]

Okay, thank you.

Here is what my ground glass is looking like:

I received some 49mm x 49mm glass slides from a friend, so I designed the opening to that size. It spring loaded, so you just push down on the top to remove it from the camera. I started with a back body cover that I found online, then tweaked it in solid works.

If anyone has information on what the film plane to the back of the magazine measurement should be that would be very helpful (or if I could get some measurements from other backs that would be great too!) I was getting between 3.15mm - 3.45mm, so I went with 3.35mm on my model. After printing, the measurement on the part was ~3.70mm, so I probably need to modify my model a bit. My back is an A24, so not sure if it would be different on an A12. I made this measurement with some leftover 120 backing paper in the magazine to simulate the film.

I broke down and bought a 250mm lens for a decent price, it'll be here by the end of the week hopefully.

Please send measurements for the film plane to back if anyone has them! I would love to design this with pooled data rather than an N=1.

 

[OAPOli]

3.55mm +/- 0.05mm