Hasselblad 500 C/M moving blinds are partially lifted

anta40 · Mar 19, 2017

I guess this is either one of the Hassy's quirkiness, or my misunderstanding of how to use it properly.
After I removed and reattached the winding crank, the moving blinds are partially lifter. The camera won't fire.

Both film advanced and shutter status indicators show the same color: white. Fortunately, the shutter button is not jammed. Yesterday I encountered the similar problem, and somehow by trying to cock the shutter, both blinds went down. Well now it doesn't work.

What to do, then?

anta40 · Mar 19, 2017

Ouch, sound like this is going to be serious.
Typically, what is the cause of this problem?

Chris Livsey · Mar 19, 2017

Excellent advice above.
This what they look like when they have gone "gummy":
https://www.flickr.com/photos/50557030@N02/5045785103/

This page describes the brake assembly and the problems, your example may have had a technician earlier working as described:

In 1970 the brake assembly was modified. The rubber disk was replaced by a metal disk with a small rubber "doughnut". It worked great. It was such a good design that, to this day, I have never seen or heard of a body jamming up because of the newer type brake assembly.
But there was another problem. Not with the brake, but with some technicians. They didn't trust the new brake assembly. They had seen so many bodies jam up from the two previous versions of the brake that, when working on a body, the first thing they would do would be to remove the new style brake.
Without the brake assembly, the shock of the flaps opening and closing was transmitted to the flaps themselves. The upper flap, sooner or later, would start to crack at the axle.
http://www.david-odess.com/faq.html#q5

Don't be tempted to try a home fix, there are details of how to do this on the net, the tolerance for the film plane is +/- 0.03 mm and this is what you need to set it:
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjgyWDg2NA==/z/l2cAAMXQrhdTRgl2/$_27.JPG

moto-uno · Mar 19, 2017

^^That makes it almost seem like fun ! Peter

Leigh B · Mar 19, 2017

Chris Livsey said:
Don't be tempted to try a home fix, there are details of how to do this on the net, the tolerance for the film plane is +/- 0.03 mm and this is what you need to set it:
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjgyWDg2NA==/z/l2cAAMXQrhdTRgl2/$_27.JPG

I have that complete gauge assembly, including the mounted dial indicator.

The whole thing really is built like a tank, as it appears in the photo.

- Leigh

Sirius Glass · Mar 19, 2017

APUGuser19 et al got it exactly right. Time for a CLA.

anta40 · Mar 20, 2017

I sent the camera to a well reputable repaireman this afternoon (he's also Hasselblad-certified).
He said that jamming is one of the common problems faced by European
cameras (Leica, Hasselblad, Rolleiflex, etc) when used in humid countries like Indonesia.

The grease dry faster, and thus the jamming issue. The solution is CLA periodically. Oh well.

Chris Livsey · Mar 20, 2017

anta40 said:
The solution is CLA periodically. Oh well.

The majority of Hasselblad cameras are not serviced in the time periods as recommended by their manufacturer:
Hasselblad recommends that you have your camera serviced every year if it is in constant use, and every two or three years if it gets less use.

moto-uno · Mar 20, 2017

^ BMW motorcycles used to set similar service requirements for their motorcycles . Having serviced them
for years, it struck me what a senseless waste of money that was . I couldn't imagine what use the vehicle
must of been put through to mandate that servicing, but it wasn't any of the ones I worked on . Servicing is
good when necessary , but not if it's frequency scares away the users . Cheers, Peter

Sirius Glass · Mar 20, 2017

Chris Livsey said:
The majority of Hasselblad cameras are not serviced in the time periods as recommended by their manufacturer:
Hasselblad recommends that you have your camera serviced every year if it is in constant use, and every two or three years if it gets less use.

That Hasselblad repairman at Samys on Fairfax told me that all camera shutters should be run through there range of shutter speeds every three months. Note that he said all, not just Hasselblad. He said that is the best way to avoid needing to send the cameras for CLAs.

moto-uno · Mar 20, 2017

^ Now that's my kind of guy , simple (effective ) ways to keep you out of unnecessary servicing . Peter

Leigh B · Mar 20, 2017

Unfortunately, there's no way to tell how long lubrication will last.
That's because you don't know what the last technician used.

For certain points in certain cameras, I use Nye Astro Oil. It costs $90/ounce.

This ain't 3-in-one.

- Leigh

Arklatexian · Mar 20, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
That Hasselblad repairman at Samys on Fairfax told me that all camera shutters should be run through there range of shutter speeds every three months. Note that he said all, not just Hasselblad. He said that is the best way to avoid needing to send the cameras for CLAs.

Sirius Glass, I do this with all my between the lens shutters but have never heard of doing it with focal plane shutters. As the repairman said ALL CAMERA SHUTTERS, I am assuming he means them also. Hmmmmmm!.....Regards!

Sirius Glass · Mar 20, 2017

oldtimermetoo said:
Sirius Glass, I do this with all my between the lens shutters but have never heard of doing it with focal plane shutters. As the repairman said ALL CAMERA SHUTTERS, I am assuming he means them also. Hmmmmmm!.....Regards!

He was referring to leaf shutters not focal plane shutters. I should have clarified that.

Chris Livsey · Mar 21, 2017

moto-uno said:
^ BMW motorcycles used to set similar service requirements for their motorcycles . Having serviced them
for years, it struck me what a senseless waste of money that was . I couldn't imagine what use the vehicle
must of been put through to mandate that servicing, but it wasn't any of the ones I worked on . Servicing is
good when necessary , but not if it's frequency scares away the users . Cheers, Peter

Two problems arise here: Servicing is good when necessary How does a lay person know when servicing is necessary? (Bike or camera)

Unfortunately you will have no data that shows how well those bikes, regularly serviced according to maker's schedules, 50 years down the line (Hasselblad 500/V series as well) are operating compared to another set of bikes that were serviced on a whim or hardly ever or indeed "when necessary" but not as determined by the maker but by some criteria not defined.
Not being confrontational here at all as I fully agree the schedule proposed by Hasselblad is probably excessive, although I do know of heavy users who sent cameras in every three months on rotation and others who never did, but if you say when necessary you need a working definition of what that is, Hasselblad gave one.

Same argument on the lenses and shutters, who came up with say every three months? Was it based on a few years of careful tests, firing shutters on a selection of lenses at various periods against a control batch never fired? (some at all speeds some at just one).? Then all dismantled and checked, of course all stored in the same controlled environment. Or was it just a figure plucked out of the air as sounding reasonable which may or may not be true? We have no way of telling but it is now the "rule". I suspect variation in assembly tolerances of leaf shutters is equally to blame for some becoming sticky relatively quickly as are environmental conditions and yes usage will play a part as well obviously.

moto-uno · Mar 21, 2017

^ Excellent points "Chris" . I was in one city for over 30 years servicing these motorcycles , so I guess I should have mentioned that . It
gave me an extended window so to speak on the subject of " Servicing when necessary" . Usually after a common remark like "something
seems different " , many mechanical things tend to give clues , sometimes subtle . The motorcycles I referenced had labour intensive maintenance
schedules about every second interval , valve adjust , carb or injection sync , etc . It would be many years for the valves to ever need adjusting .
It seemed to me to be a perk , so to speak for the businesses to have taken on selling their product .
Service analogies ,adjusting chains=exercising shutters , checking oil=remove batteries before storing camera , checking tires= removing debris
from inside camera when changing lens . These procedures could keep average users out of service bays for ages .(Pro photographers , like pro racers have
very different requirements)
I guess over the years "recommended service vs required service " has been a bone of contention for me . Just been my experiences , but thanks
for the time in replying . Cheers , Peter

Theo Sulphate · Mar 21, 2017

oldtimermetoo said:
Sirius Glass, I do this with all my between the lens shutters but have never heard of doing it with focal plane shutters. As the repairman said ALL CAMERA SHUTTERS, I am assuming he means them also. Hmmmmmm!.....Regards!

Well, for any shutter there is still a timing mechanism that I think should be exercised reasonably often. Focal plain shutters will typically narrow the slit width for speeds faster than the sync speed (e.g. 1/60), but for slower speeds such as 1/2 second there is usually a gear train involved on fully mechanical cameras.

Then there's the self-timer, which I frequently use and often exercise...

Hasselblad 500 C/M moving blinds are partially lifted

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency