Hasselblad 500 C/M 80 CF

[Jimbob]

Recently put together a Hasselblad 500 C/M body and back w/new focus screen and waist level finder. Rented an 80mm CF lens. Lens is not working unless it in the "F" shutter speed mode. At any shutter speed selected it does not work. Why only the focal plane mode? Any suggestions?

 

[Brett Rogers]

What do you mean by "not working"? Exactly what occurs when you trip the release?

 

[Jimbob]

It goes through the motions but no picture is made. The apeture does not stop down to make the picture. It remains closed. I am able to advance the film after each shot. I can focus each shot. It sounds like the shutter is cocking. The body is cocked. All shutter speeds sound the same. Make sense?

 

[Brett Rogers]

Not really.

The aperture closes to "stop down". If it remains closed it is stopped down. You're conflating the operation of the aperture mechanism with the lens shutter blades. At settings other than "F", the shutter blades should remain open at all times, because this is used when the lens is fitted to a Hasselblad camera that features a focal plane shutter, and enables exposures to be made not with the lens shutter but with the bodys focal plane shutter. Notwithstanding this the aperture blades, should, however, function precisely as they would at any lens shutter setting, by remaining open until the shutter release or (pre-release) is actuated, at which point they should stop down at any setting other than f/2.8.

So what are you saying? That at settings other than "F" the shutter blades are not opening at all regardless of whether the camera body is cocked or fired?

I would ensure the body/lens is cocked and remove the lens from the body. Fire the body and observe the drive coupling at the front. If the drive shaft/coupling to the lens is rotating correctly when the body is fired and cocked, then the lens has a faulty shutter and requires servicing. This would be testified by the fact other lenses operate satisfactorily at various speeds etc. On the other hand if the lens coupling is not rotating as it should it may be damaged but you would not be able to use any other lenses if this was the case, nor even attach them to the body most likely.
Cheers
Brett

 

[bdial]

If all speeds sound the same, it seems like the shutter may be defective. For example, if the speed is set to 1 second, you should hear the 1 second long buzz. Also, it should be easy enough to see the blades close, open for one second then close again, which is the sequence when you press the shutter button.
All of that movement (other than the actual shutter timing) is governed the rotating shaft Brett refers to. It's what keeps what happens in the lens coupled with what's going on in the body. But if the shutter is tripping without actually moving the blades, then the problem is likely there.
Presumably since it's a rental it would be known to work, but may have failed for the last renter and not checked out, or else perhaps it gets most of its use on focal plane cameras and no one noticed.
Have you looked up a manual for the lens and made sure that everything is set right?

 

[Jimbob]

Thanks for the feedback. It's difficult to discribe. All I know is the lens shutter when fired moves to the closed position and not the taking aperture. Thank goodness it's a rental. I'll return it on Monday. Again, thanks for the feedback. It's comforting to know that there are those who still value film and all it entails.

 

[Brett Rogers]

Not really.

The aperture closes to "stop down". If it remains closed it is stopped down. You're conflating the operation of the aperture mechanism with the lens shutter blades. At settings other than "F", the shutter blades should remain open at all times, because this is used when the lens is fitted to a Hasselblad camera that features a focal plane shutter, and enables exposures to be made not with the lens shutter but with the bodys focal plane shutter. Notwithstanding this the aperture blades, should, however, function precisely as they would at any lens shutter setting, by remaining open until the shutter release or (pre-release) is actuated, at which point they should stop down at any setting other than f/2.8.

So what are you saying? That at settings other than "F" the shutter blades are not opening at all regardless of whether the camera body is cocked or fired?

I would ensure the body/lens is cocked and remove the lens from the body. Fire the body and observe the drive coupling at the front. If the drive shaft/coupling to the lens is rotating correctly when the body is fired and cocked, then the lens has a faulty shutter and requires servicing. This would be testified by the fact other lenses operate satisfactorily at various speeds etc. On the other hand if the lens coupling is not rotating as it should it may be damaged but you would not be able to use any other lenses if this was the case, nor even attach them to the body most likely.
Cheers
Brett

Of course, the above (highlighted) is not correct. What I meant to type was that at the "F" setting the lens shutter should remain open at all times. At other settings the lens should of course fire as per the selected shutter speed on its control ring.

 

[Brett Rogers]

Thanks for the feedback. It's difficult to discribe. All I know is the lens shutter when fired moves to the closed position and not the taking aperture. Thank goodness it's a rental. I'll return it on Monday. Again, thanks for the feedback. It's comforting to know that there are those who still value film and all it entails.

Forgive me, because I don't know your level of familiarity with lens shutter SLRs. At the risk of stating the obvious, you are aware, that after the lens shutter has fired it will remain closed until the camera is wound on again. At that point it should of course, open for reflex viewing. But when the camera is fired the lens shutter should close; the mirror retract; the capping plates open; and then, the lens shutter open for the exposure and close at the end of it. At faster speeds it can look like the shutter has not opened at all because it does happen quite fast.

As bdial says, slower speeds should make the process much more obvious. If you have not already done so, I also suggest removing the magazine from the camera and then, with the lens set to various speeds, point it at a light source (not the sun) and fire the camera, watching through the rear. You should see the shutter open enough to pass some light, and, by selecting a range of apertures, the size of the opening should also vary. This is really the definitive way to quickly verify that a lens shutter SLR is functioning properly and I perhaps should have suggested it earlier.

I suppose the saving grace is that as a rented lens your main concern is to return it in the same condition you collected it. Nevertheless it would be good to know what it is actually doing, or not doing. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Brett

 

[bdial]

If it helps, manuals and other information are available at this site;
http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/HW/HWVSys.aspx

 

[film_man]

Set the shutter speed to 1 second and aperture to f/11. Then look down the front of the lens and this is what you should see:

1. lens shutter is open, aperture is not stopped down (you haven't fired the camera yet)
2. fire the camera
3. aperture stopped down to f/11 for 1 second
4. shutter blades closed

The blades will remain closed till you wind the camera. If you do that slowly you will see the blades opening. If you see all that the lens is fine. If you see something else then tell us what it is.