Hasselblad 500C with a possible timing issue?

Hello All!

Yesterday I got my first Hasselblad V series camera and was very excited to test it. Everything seemed well with the camera and I got 12 pictures. However when scanning the pictures I noticed that some of them had some ghost images. I first thought that it could be the shutter staying open for too long but after some basic testing it seems that the shutter speeds are not too far off. However when testing the camera without the back, I noticed that sometimes the rear doors open before the shutter is closed! This happens intermittently both when pressing the shutter and when using the pre-release button. That definitely explain the ghost images I got! I also noticed that sometimes the shutter does not fire before I slightly let go the shutter button... not sure if it is related.

I have posted all the details about the camera and the pictures I took here:
http://photo.fleurey.com/blog/i-got-a-hasselblad

Have some of you experienced that problem before?
Is there a way to tell if the problem most likely in the body or in the lens? (I do not have another lens to test the body with).
Is there any ways to adjust or fix things on the camera?

Cheers,

Franck

Hey Franck, glad to see you got one! I've found with some of the rear curtains it's all about how you press the button. If you hesitate, sometimes it messes with the way they open and close...

I do not see any ghost images. For very slow shutter speeds keep to pressure on the trigger so that the barn doors stay open. I do not think that you used such slow shutter speeds that the barn doors closed early. Your camera should not need an other CLA for a long time as long as you use the camera regularly, which should not be a problem since you have a young child[ren].

Also, are you making sure to hold in the shutter release over the entire exposure? I usually hear it close and then take my finger off.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your kind replies!

Indeed it seems that how the button is pressed has some impact. If I push it a bit too quickly then the shutter only fires after I let it go slightly, then I can let it go completely and the doors closes. I am not too worried about that since pushing the button more delicately works and in any case the worst that can happen is a slight delay. In terms of the closing of the doors, it seems to be working fine, they only close when I let go completely and I can hear and see them close as they should. On the test pictures I have shot the ghost image is not due to the exposure being cut but to an additional exposure in the beginning of the cycle. It is not on all pictures but only on pictures #5, #10 and #11 (over the shoulders). I have double checked that this is not a scanning issue, the ghost is visible on the negatives.

I am quite sure that there is a timing problem because when testing the camera without the film back, I am able to see some light through the lens and the shutter closing when hitting the pre-release button. When hitting the shutter I can sometimes see two flashes of light. At least I believe that the film should not see any light at all when hitting the pre-release button, right?

On my test roll I was using a strobe so the ghost image is very dim since the strobe only fired for the main exposure but because of the modelling light it is quite visible along the edges of the bright shirt. In bright light I fear that the problem would be much worse.

Cheers,

Franck

I see the ghosting that you speak of, odd that it is not on every frame. Have you checked the negatives with a high power loupe (8x to 20x) to make sure the ghosting is actually on the negs, it could be something weird happened when they were scanned. The 500C is quite old and may need a trip to a Blad repairman for a CLA.

franck said:

I am quite sure that there is a timing problem because when testing the camera without the film back, I am able to see some light through the lens and the shutter closing when hitting the pre-release button.

Click to expand...

If you see this, the typical cause is a slow sticky shutter in the lens. The timing in the body is mechanically linked, so in most cases slow moving parts do not change the order of operation. The lens however, is given a specific amount of time for the shutter to close before the barn doors are opened. If the shutter has oil on the blades, and is a bit laggy, it will not close in time, resulting in your observation using the pre-release.

This can lead to ghosting, as you get a pre-exposure that can be significant depending on the lag of the shutter.

Sirius Glass said:

I do not see any ghost images. For very slow shutter speeds keep to pressure on the trigger so that the barn doors stay open. I do not think that you used such slow shutter speeds that the barn doors closed early. Your camera should not need an other CLA for a long time as long as you use the camera regularly, which should not be a problem since you have a young child[ren].

Click to expand...

I can now see the ghosts on frame 5, 10, and 11.

1) What type of film are you using? How was it processed?
2) Do you have any filters on the lens?
3) Yes the lens clean? I am assuming it is.

itsdoable said:

If you see this, the typical cause is a slow sticky shutter in the lens. The timing in the body is mechanically linked, so in most cases slow moving parts do not change the order of operation. The lens however, is given a specific amount of time for the shutter to close before the barn doors are opened. If the shutter has oil on the blades, and is a bit laggy, it will not close in time, resulting in your observation using the pre-release.

This can lead to ghosting, as you get a pre-exposure that can be significant depending on the lag of the shutter.

Click to expand...

^^^what he said.

Sirius Glass said:

I do not see any ghost images..........Your camera should not need an other CLA for a long time as long as you use the camera regularly, which should not be a problem since you have a young child[ren].

Click to expand...

Don't see any ghost images either.

Luis-F-S said:

Don't see any ghost images either.

Click to expand...

I see a ghost image on photo #5.

itsdoable said:

If you see this, the typical cause is a slow sticky shutter in the lens. The timing in the body is mechanically linked, so in most cases slow moving parts do not change the order of operation. The lens however, is given a specific amount of time for the shutter to close before the barn doors are opened. If the shutter has oil on the blades, and is a bit laggy, it will not close in time, resulting in your observation using the pre-release.

This can lead to ghosting, as you get a pre-exposure that can be significant depending on the lag of the shutter.

Click to expand...

Yes - that makes perfect sense. OP, do you know whether the lens has been serviced or when?

itsdoable said:

If you see this, the typical cause is a slow sticky shutter in the lens. The timing in the body is mechanically linked, so in most cases slow moving parts do not change the order of operation. The lens however, is given a specific amount of time for the shutter to close before the barn doors are opened. If the shutter has oil on the blades, and is a bit laggy, it will not close in time, resulting in your observation using the pre-release.

This can lead to ghosting, as you get a pre-exposure that can be significant depending on the lag of the shutter.

Click to expand...

Hello, this makes perfect sense, my conclusion so far is that it is either the lens taking too much time to close or the back doors opening too quickly. I am glad to learn that it is more likely to be the lens closing too slowly. I do not know when the lens was serviced, all I am sure of is that it worked fine a couple of years ago and that it has not been used since then. It makes sense that the shutter could be a bit laggy. However, I have not noticed any obvious signs of oil on the blades and the shutter speed from 1/500 to 1s seem pretty accurate.

I am away from the camera for some days now but I plan to try to borrow another lens to test the camera with it and see if there is a similar problem or not.

Thanks a lot to all for your quick and insightful replies (as always).

Cheers,

Franck

The shutter should close milliseconds before the blinds open.