Hasselblad 500 EL Problem

dtooker · Mar 6, 2013

Hi,
I just got a Hasselblad 500 El. Before I had a battery or lens I was trying to see if it would do anything when pressing the shutter release button, and when I set the selectot to SR. When I hit the shutter release, the mirror went up and the rear curtain went up. They are still up, and I have gotten a 9v adapter battery kit and installed. I set the selector to O and the camera just clicks and the mirror is still up and curtain also. I still dont have a lens yet. Do I need a lens for the mirror and curtain to come down? I got the camera on Ebay and just want to know if im missing something, or is something wrong.

Thanks for any advice

David

vysk · Mar 6, 2013

You don't need a lens to dry fire the EL.
You may need to remove the dark slide, if the magazine is attached.
Also is the magazine reset properly? A magazine past 12 will stop the body from firing.

dtooker · Mar 6, 2013

The Dark slide is in and magazine is attached, I believe the counter is on 1 or 2. There is no winding of the counter to the next number. Just hear a click in the front of the camera.

Slixtiesix · Mar 6, 2013

It is normal that the camera will stay in released mode when it is fired without a battery inserted. It should return to a normal state immediately as soon as a fresh battery is put in. What do you mean by saying that it is clicking? Is the motor working? If the motor does not at least make a buzzing sound then I would assume the battery adapter does not work. Have you also put the LOT lever on O? If it is set to L the camera is locked and won´t operate. Oh and take the dark slide out!

dtooker · Mar 6, 2013

I have the LOT lever on O. If the dark slide is in should the motor still wind?

tal bedrack · Mar 6, 2013

looks like the camera is on mirror lock mode.

dtooker · Mar 6, 2013

I changed the selector back to O and then put the battery in. Still no winding or anything. I havent tried pulling the dark slide out yet, I can try that tonight.

Slixtiesix · Mar 6, 2013

Another question: If the darkslide is still in, can you de-attach the magazine? That would make things easier.

dtooker · Mar 6, 2013

Yes I can try just removing the whole magazine tonight and give that a try. I hope thais works, or else there might be something wrong.

Slixtiesix · Mar 6, 2013

If the dark slide is still in you should have no problem taking the magazine off. If it does not work, do not force it either! To be safe, put the LOT-Lever to L before you remove it. After the camera is "naked" put both the LOT lever and the mode dial to "O". It should work than. Otherwise the battery is empty, the adapter is faulty or the camera is broken. I doubt the latter. The motor should at least start buzzing as soon as there is some power source.

dtooker · Mar 6, 2013

Brand new battery. Made sure the + was face down in battery compartment. I will remove the back tonight, set the LOT lever to L, remove back, then set to O. I will put the battery in after taking the back off. and see what happens.

Thanks for all the advice!!

dtooker · Mar 6, 2013

Camera is working after inserting battery and removing back. Now lens is stuck on.

Thanks for all the help.

Douglas Fairbank · Mar 7, 2013

In the battery compartment is a semi delay fuse (1.6A T), check it is good. Put in a charged battery and with both controls set to 'O' the camera should work perfectly well with lanes and mag detached.

Douglas Fairbank · Mar 7, 2013

In the battery compartment is a semi delay fuse (1.6A T), check it is good. Put in a charged battery and with both controls set to 'O' the camera should work perfectly well with lens and mag detached.

vpwphoto · Mar 7, 2013

No rhyme or reason to those EL's sometimes. Mine occasionally does something like you are describing... (I do think it is related to low power... I still have a feeble NiCad).
I start flipping the switch at will and pressing the shutter, and I seem to always get a combination to make it cycle. Mine is on the shelf now, meaning to do a 9v conversion. Right now people are amused with my "hand crank" 500cm I use a lot in studio with a LeafAptus back and occasionally some B+W in the old A-12.
This link shows how.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefankonath/2657209443/

Tom Richard · Mar 16, 2013

The battery compartment lid on the EL models might get a "curve" to them over time. My EL/M got this and when i´m using two batteries i have to press hard with my left thumb on the cover in order to achieve proper contact. Removing one battery resolves the problem as the pressure on the lid isn´t that great with one battery.

AgX · Mar 16, 2013

vpwphoto said:
No rhyme or reason to those EL's sometimes. Mine occasionally does something like you are describing...

I constantly read at Apug about unreliable East-European MF cameras one better not take for a commercial job.

Now here is a camera of a make hailed for its usefullness for such Jobs and now I read this....

darinb · Mar 17, 2013

Is the shutter fired (can you see through the lens)?

--Darin

Tom Richard · Mar 17, 2013

AgX said:
I constantly read at Apug about unreliable East-European MF cameras one better not take for a commercial job.

Now here is a camera of a make hailed for its usefullness for such Jobs and now I read this....

Keep in mind that some of these cameras are 40+ years old and have seen more service than what is to be expected of their modern digital counterparts. They have already overdelivered and then some. A few kinks every now and then should be acceptable

brucemuir · Mar 17, 2013

Tom Richard said:
Keep in mind that some of these cameras are 40+ years old and have seen more service than what is to be expected of their modern digital counterparts. They have already overdelivered and then some. A few kinks every now and then should be acceptable

Exactly what I was gonna say. An EL was more than likely used in a high volume biz of some sort like catalog etc.
Some of these can be quite ragged by now.

AgX · Mar 17, 2013

Thanks. I overlooked this this aspect.

Hasselblad 500 EL Problem

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