Hasselblad A12 overhaul/repair

I am getting close to going down the Hasselblad rabbit hole. I have my eye on a 500SWC body. I have looked at A12 backs and the prices are all over the place, from a little over $100 to close to $500. I assume any of the less expensive ones will need service of some sort. What can I expect to pay for a mechanical and light seal repair in Southern California? Any recommendations? Words of wisdom, and warnings about possible addiction will be appreciated, too.

(On a side note, I thought I had bought a really nice outfit, complete, on another forum. The Paypal transaction went through, and then I saw the same ad for the same camera from the same seller on the same forum for more money. I had to email to see if I had actually bought the camera, to find out it had been sold earlier to someone else! I got my money back, but even them the ad stayed up for a day or so.)

One more question: will any A12 magazine fit a 500SWC?

^^ what he said ^^

The prices for A12 backs vary greatly due to overall condition and vintage of the back. Don't remember how many versions and changes applied to the A12 over the years, but I think there were, at least, 4 or 5 "major" versions with minor changes along the way. Last time I looked, a good condition late(ish) A12 would run ya about $300 - $350. If you need anything Hasselblad repaired, I can highly recommend David Odess. I no nothing of SWC models, but I believe any V system A12 will fit any V system or SWC camera body. These backs aren't intended for the more electronic models like the TCC, for example.

Yes, the back will fit. I presume the prices vary by age of the back, and somewhat according to whether the serial number of the insert is matched to the shell. The later "A" backs have a holder for the dark slide, which is a nice convenience. (I suppose, I've never owned a back with it). As mentioned, there are many variants, the automatic backs have been in production since sometime in the mid 1970's.
The light seals are an easy DIY replacement process, there are ebay sellers that sell aftermarket seal kits, or you can get them directly from Hasselblad. Aside from seal replacement on one of my backs, I've never had to have one serviced. IME, the major symptom that a back needs a overhaul is that the frame spacing isn't quite right.

An A12 film back will work on a SWC.

I paid around $50 for a CLA at Samys for most of the film backs.

Pieter12 said:

I am getting close to going down the Hasselblad rabbit hole. I have my eye on a 500SWC body. I have looked at A12 backs and the prices are all over the place, from a little over $100 to close to $500. I assume any of the less expensive ones will need service of some sort. What can I expect to pay for a mechanical and light seal repair in Southern California? Any recommendations? Words of wisdom, and warnings about possible addiction will be appreciated, too.

(On a side note, I thought I had bought a really nice outfit, complete, on another forum. The Paypal transaction went through, and then I saw the same ad for the same camera from the same seller on the same forum for more money. I had to email to see if I had actually bought the camera, to find out it had been sold earlier to someone else! I got my money back, but even them the ad stayed up for a day or so.)

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My experience in buying a used A12 back is the one I bought for between $100.00 and $200.00,which was in far better condition than what it sounded like in it's description at Ebay. So far, there has been no reason to have it "repaired". All numbers match, etc. (though that is probably of more importance to a "collector"). In spite of what you sometime read (even here), not everyone selling stuff on Ebay is a crook. I don't sell on eBay though after I am dead and gone, some folks are probably going to get some real "bargains", probably through eBay.........Regards!

Hasselblad inserts are serial numbered as well as the back itself. Mismatched one will sell for less. Supposedly, each insert is fitted to the back. Whether that's a practical advantage, I don't know.

Also, make sure you know the difference between the A12 back and the older 12 and C12 back.

My experience with Hasselblad backs is that you can count on having to put new seals in any back you buy. After that there are sometimes spacing issues and winding issues that will crop up from time to time. After getting a quote of $250 from Dave Odess to CLA a back, I bought an excellent CLA manual off of Ebay. It was about $40 if my memory serves, but it guides you through a complete teardown and reassembly. Rarely will anything other than cleaning off old lubricant and putting on new be required

There is so much misinformation out there about Hasselblad backs.

On the subject of mismatch serial numbers: There is no effect whatsoever except to give you a lower price. The notion that the film plane is somehow specially made for each insert can be proven wrong very simply just by looking at. There is a spring on the insert that pushes towards the other part of the back. So no matter what insert you put in there, as long as it has a strong enough spring the film plane will always be in the same place. In the case of A24 backs there is some plausible case that a mismatch could cause scratches on the film because the spring would be too strong. But I doubt it.

On the subject of differing function on different aged backs: There is no fundamentally different function between new and old A12s. I can't understand why anyone would spend more money to get something they could spend less money on. There is a back called the C12 or "12 Magazine (not A12)" where it does not have "automatic" film loading like the new ones. They tend to go for a bit cheaper and I like them quite a lot. Instead of lining up the arrows and then spinning the wheel, on these you look through the back and line up the "1" kinda like a red window camera. Which is fundamentally no more difficult or less automatic than lining up the arrows. I like them because you can confirm the spacing is working in real time. And also they are much cheaper than more modern backs, usually go for $50 in decent condition, $100 with light seals replaced. I know because I just struggled to sell mine for any more than $100.

On the subject of A24 backs: You can use 120 film in them just fine, you just have to line up the film with a different point, and the spacing will be uneven. You will get all 12 shots, though.

On the subject of seals: Make sure to get 3 part seal kits that include a velvet seal as well as the foam one. I prefer the ones from a guy in Italy over the guy in California.

Anyways, with the way the market currently is I think the best move is to buy a new back instead of repairing it. Keep your old one for when the market inevitably switches, but right now there's very little case to be made for an expensive repair.

Matching backs have to do with holding the film flat and in place relative to the film back, and it also has to do with uniform and correct spacing between negatives. And yes my Hasselblad repairman says it does make a difference and yes mismatched backs can be adjusted to line up correctly. He also said that you are better off having matched backs because it costs more to adjust mismatched backs than just sticking to buying matched backs.

Sirius, next time you see your repairman could you ask him specifically what is adjusted to make a back match an insert? I just don't understand the mechanics of it. So long as it's pushing on something flat, the pressure plate shouldn't need adjustment. And if the film gate isn't flat then there will be bigger issues than a mismatched insert.

Grim Tuesday said:

Sirius, next time you see your repairman could you ask him specifically what is adjusted to make a back match an insert? I just don't understand the mechanics of it. So long as it's pushing on something flat, the pressure plate shouldn't need adjustment. And if the film gate isn't flat then there will be bigger issues than a mismatched insert.

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Sure if I remember, but it will be a while since I just had my 50mm lens overhauled and several backs had their seals replaced. [I like to keep him in business.]

Pieter12 said:

I am getting close to going down the Hasselblad rabbit hole. I have my eye on a 500SWC body. I have looked at A12 backs and the prices are all over the place, from a little over $100 to close to $500. I assume any of the less expensive ones will need service of some sort. What can I expect to pay for a mechanical and light seal repair in Southern California? Any recommendations? Words of wisdom, and warnings about possible addiction will be appreciated, too.

(On a side note, I thought I had bought a really nice outfit, complete, on another forum. The Paypal transaction went through, and then I saw the same ad for the same camera from the same seller on the same forum for more money. I had to email to see if I had actually bought the camera, to find out it had been sold earlier to someone else! I got my money back, but even them the ad stayed up for a day or so.)

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Welcome to the Hasselblad family. Say good bye to your savings. I 've to pay around €100 for an A12 CLA in Ger5many but only had to do it once.