Hasselblad 500 CM mirror stays up, upper barn door does not fully open

[RalphLambrecht]

He said the main spring is weak and replacing it would cost more than replacing the boy with a newer one, after all.

excuses,excuses;he claimed to have done it and chaged you for it; he has to fix it.

 

[Don_ih]

He said the main spring is weak and replacing it would cost more than replacing the boy with a newer one, after all.

Sorry, that sounds like a bull excuse for his overlooking something.

 

[RezaLoghme]

You mean I could make him change the weak main spring for free?

 

[Don_ih]

No. You can't make him do anything for free unless he has explicitly stated some kind of warranty. I'd expect you'll have to pay for this repair. There are a lot of parts in these cameras. The parts are all aging and can wear or fail at unexpected times. The part that's fixed may actually free up another part to finally break - a repair person can't anticipate every possible failure.

It's necessary to remember that even the best repair people will sometimes make mistakes or fail to notice something. In your instance, instead of handing you some lame excuse you can do nothing about, he should have asked for the camera back but told you he may have to charge you for another repair.

 

[RezaLoghme]

He gave a warranty for what was done in CLA, but not for the whole camera. He will re-tension the spring again, for free, but he said that it would have to replaced eventually, and that the cost of that will be considerable, and after that it is still - in terms of V-System bodies - a very old body, so instead of a full overhaul - from which he would benefit financially - I should consider getting a much newer body in better condition (e.g. 501CM) instead of investing time and money into one which might not be worth the effort.

So far, I dont see what he - or I - should have done differently?!

 

[BrianShaw]

It might be worth considering a different repair shop…

 

[RezaLoghme]

You think that the main spring is not worn?

 

[BrianShaw]

You think that the main spring is not worn?

Impossible to really determine over the internet and being on the other side of the world. If the spring was broken it would be easy to tell but "worn spring" is a bit ambiguous. I would have higher expectations of the repair service, though. As Don correctly said, old cameras have a multitude of seen and unseen potential problems, and repair errors can happen. It just seems to me that your camera has been to that repair person twice and still not working. Maybe third time's the charm... or maybe another repair shop might actually fix your camera. Are you convinced of the repair shop's competence? That, your feelings not ours, is most important in determining if you want to give another chance. I’d be tempted to let him honor his warranty and retension it one more time. I’d also be tempted to just replace it now.

 

[RezaLoghme]

its a quite old body and it has other issues too, so i do not see the point in going on a journey with unknown end, pouring money and time into something which i can quite easily replace.

and the "shop", which i am not going to name, is very competent, maybe comparable with the late D. Odess.

as i said, the guy offered to tension the spring another time, for free. he has noting to sell, no vested interest, so i am not worried about his motives.

 

[RezaLoghme]

I’m just a bit confused. It seems that you said earlier that the camera had a full servicing. Was that prior to this problem? I might not be following the sequence of events very good.

yes a CLA which is not the same as replacing worn or damaged parts, or doing preventive maintenance, or taking it fully apart to inspect some hidden springs.

 

[BrianShaw]

yes a CLA which is not the same as replacing worn or damaged parts, or doing preventive maintenance, or taking it fully apart to inspect some hidden springs.

The term CLA is one I really dislike because it seems to mean different levels of service to different people. I prefer "superficial cleaning", "full service" and "repair". For a full CLA, which I equate to a full service, which is preventative maintenance, and I would expect full or nearly full disassembly. Replacement of bad or suspected bad parts shouldn't amount to too much additional labor. Frankly, I'm not sure what you really got in that "CLA"... but don't explain as the discussion is way past the value of that.

In post #34 you mention "other problems". Whatever they may be, that might be a more problematic issue than simply the oldness of the 500c. It might be in your best interest to seek a newer body.

I'm glad to hear that you are confident in your repair person. I hope the re-tensioning works.

 

[Don_ih]

If you are confident in the repair person and the claim he's making, ask if he can replace the offending spring.

 

[RezaLoghme]

yes, he can, although I will have to pay for the parts and his time, so i am thinking about upgrading to a 501cm body instead.

 

[BrianShaw]

You will really enjoy the 501CM, especially if you are using CF lenses. At this point they will be about 20 years old but a lot newer than what you curently have.

No matter, you might want to take up the repair person on the warantee retensioning of the spring and enjoy the 500C for as long as it runs after that.

 

[Don_ih]

I will have to pay for the parts and his time

I don't think that's a bad thing. It would allow you to sell the camera as recently-repaired and fully working (once you were certain it was actually working).

 

[RezaLoghme]

maybe, but I am not interested in spending more time and money for this.


and - the delta between a wonky and a recently repaired early V-Series body is what? 200-300?that is what i expect to spend on said repair, therefore it not not gonna happen.

Time to move on.

 

[RezaLoghme]

You will really enjoy the 501CM, especially if you are using CF lenses. At this point they will be about 20 years old but a lot newer than what you curently have.

indeed - 20 is not that old, compared to 60.

 

[BrianShaw]

Probably the best decision to move on. If the 500C works after the re-tensioning you can still sell it as working body.

 

[RezaLoghme]

Yeah but as i said its not gonna happen and it will go now, and i would never sell something of which i know that there is something wrong with it "as working body". i rather put the cards on the table and let the buyer make up his mind, maybe there are people who can replace a main spring on the breakfast table and I dont want to spoil their DIY and rather let them enjoy a bargain.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

He said the main spring is weak and replacing it would cost more than replacing the boy with a newer one, after all.

Perhaps yes, more costly, but once fully repaired you will have a fine, good and trustworthy camera body which could be, over time, the fundament of a good and extended set of Hasselblad gear...

 

[RezaLoghme]

Yeah that could be true, but I would rather like to exchange it for a newer body, ideally the 501CM. So it will go...

 

[Don_ih]

once fully repaired

The issue at this time, though, is the camera may be genuinely worn out inside, especially if it has had a lot of use.

 

[RezaLoghme]

Yes and its 30+ years older than a late model 501, hence my decision.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Mine is from 1981 (see my avatar), and I used it intensively, not only in the industry but hauled all around different rather demanding locations.
And whether there ware issues or not, the body and lenses went on a regular basis (at the very least each 5 years) to the repairman to be overhauled just like a car needing fresh oil, filters, plugs, tuning and a timing belt.
After all it's just a box full with mechanics and I toke care of it just like I did for my car (a Volvo 245 and later a VW T5)...
And at the end of the ride, this was the cheapest way because lousing a commission due to failing gear is the worst thing ever!

 

[RezaLoghme]

Yeah that is what I am doing with my cameras too.