Hasselblad 500 EL Lens won't come off

[dtooker]

I received a hasselblad lens today and I put on the lens to take a look through the viewfinder and see how it looked. Afetr trying a few test shutter button pushes, I decided to remove the lens. Now the Lens wont come off. I have the LOC on O and the selector on O, no back on and when I push the lens release button it wont budge counter clockwise. Anyone have and ideas?

Thanks

David

 

[henry finley]

Sounds like the the thing is halfway through cycle. The big round dial on the right should have its arrow straight up. And the lillte lever on the right side of the battery compartment should be in center position. Hint: center position may be a hair off, which is your whole problem. Wiggle it--it might have to be a tad off the lock to work properly.

 

[darinb]

I would guess the shutter in the lens has accidentally fired on its own, without the camera firing it. This is a common issue. To solve it is fairly easy. Look into the back of the camera at the rear of the lens. You'll see a flat-head screwdriver type slot. There is a red arrow circling around it--this signifies the direction yo need to turn the screw. It will cock the shutter if you turn it all the way and all will be well.

There's open rather major footnote here. It takes a fair amount of force to turn the screw and the thing is way down inside the camera body--there are lots of stories about people trying this and the screwdriver slips out of the slot, under force. Guess whaere the tip of the screwdriver lands? The rear element of the lens is right there, waiting to get dinged.

You can do it if you are careful--I've done it any number of times. Better yet, go on e-bay and buy the specialized tool. It won't slip out anywhere near as easily and only costs a few bucks.

--Darin

 

[Douglas Fairbank]

A big fat word of warning! Darin is almost right but there is more. On the EL# cameras it is very easy to turn the loading shaft (screw) too far and this disengages the mirror drive. This is not an easy fix and will almost certainly require a trip to a service agent.
If you are sure you want to try this for yourself follow Darin's advice but DO NOT turn it all the way, only turn it as far as necessary to remove the lens. It is best done with two people.

The so called specialised tool to 'unjam' Hasselblad cameras should be used rarely if ever. It is like the old style crank handle that cars used to have (yes I am that old). You can use it to get your old jalopy started but you know you need to fix the problem or it will let you down when you need it most. Don't crank it, fix it.

 

[Slixtiesix]

Is the camera in cocked mode, that means if you look through the finder, is an image visible? Otherwise you won´t be able to remove the lens.

 

[heterolysis]

A big fat word of warning! Darin is almost right but there is more. On the EL# cameras it is very easy to turn the loading shaft (screw) too far and this disengages the mirror drive.

Where were you two months ago?

I managed to get my lens off, but the body no longer fires properly---I imagine this is what happened. Good thing I always preferred my 500C/M.

 

[dtooker]

Decided to send it out

After the motor winds and the mirror comes back down, the aperture and shutter are now closed on the lens. I decided to sed it to KEH and have them take the lens off and do a full CLA and test the whole camera out. Its 190, but worth it if all is adjusted and running smooth again. I dont want to break anything on the camera or lens.

 

[Allan Swindles]

Probably the best descision, if you ever need batteries you could try :- http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk