Hasselblad body cocking indicator question

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Deleted member 88956

As I'm now in search for SWC, naturally I progressed into checking out 500 line as well. So this is a question that apparently connects to Hasselblad reported problems of jammed film magazine etc., often caused by user error.

Earlier bodies had an indicator window on the body that would need to be same color as one on magazine, so it was clear both were in correct vis a vi position and work together as intended. Seemed to be a good fail / safe arrangement.

But Hasselblad dropped body side indicator in later bodies. Why is that? Suddenly only "smart dentists" were buying the camera, or was the earlier arrangement a complete nuisance?

Going deeper into the frequently enough made claims of jammed Hasselblads, where was/is the real culprit of ending up with an inoperable configuration?
 

mpirie

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I can't comment on why Hasselblad dropped the "cocked and loaded" indicators.

The majority of jams are caused by users trying to mount an uncocked lens on a cocked body or vice versa. It's easy to trigger the body while changing lenses, so when you try to mount another lens, they are not ready and can jam.

There is a tool available that will allow you to reach into the mirror box once the back is removed and move the cocking mechanism enough to get the lens off if it's jammed.

Mike
 

etn

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When I bought my 503CW I thought, like you, that the lack of body indicator really sucked. In practice I realized it is not that bad. Sure, it would be a nice addition - but I do not miss it.

First, make it a habit of always, always, always cock the body after taking every picture.
Second, always check that your lenses are cocked when mounting them (sometimes the shutter flips, particularly with extension tubes.
Do not do anything in a hurry. Do not worry more than this.

I think that the jamming problem is overrated.
In > 6 years since I bought my Hassy and hundreds of rolls it never, ever jammed on me. (This might be related to the fact that I have a newer body in good condition and well aligned mechanically.)
The worst I ever had was a "blank" picture due to removing the back before cocking the body. Never had unintended double exposures.

If you get an older body with a tendency to jam, yes you can worry or have it serviced. If not, enjoy and take pictures
 

polka

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As the hassle-blads have not instant return mirrors, you see that the body is not cooked when you see nothing in the viewfinder. Even the early zenza-bronicas had instant return mirrors, but they could also sort out automatically if the body needed to be cocked or the film needed to be wound or both or none, you didn't have to worry and to watch red/white flags when you needed to switch backs.

POLKa
 

polka

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By the way, I don't believe that you can jam a hassle-blad back because of mismatch of the flags when you switch backs : either you will waste a view or you will superpose two pictures.

POLKa
 
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Deleted member 88956

polka said:
By the way, I don't believe that you can jam a hassle-blad back because of mismatch of the flags when you switch backs : either you will waste a view or you will superpose two pictures.

POLKa
Click to expand...
Maybe, but Hasselblad is pretty clear how this is suppose to work and what to do when the two are not aligned.
 

BrianShaw

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polka said:
By the way, I don't believe that you can jam a hassle-blad back because of mismatch of the flags when you switch backs : either you will waste a view or you will superpose two pictures.

POLKa
Click to expand...
Yup...
 

etn

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With Hasselblads, you need to be very careful when mounting or removing lenses. Make it your habit to always check that both body and lens are cocked.
No danger to the backs whatsoever - apart maybe losing a picture.

Witold, if you have the funds I recommend to look for a clean recent body, such as 501CM or 503CW (both introduced in the late 90's.) They will cost you a couple hundreds more than a 500C/M, but will probably allow you to save a similar amount on CLA.
 
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Deleted member 88956

My current target is 501C and later, 501CM or 503CW preferable. But SWC is at the front except rare deals happen without priority on model
 

Arthurwg

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Two thing: (1) The SWC was my first Hasselblad back in the day. But that lead to several other cameras, backs and lenses, plus filters and accessories. Hasselblads become addictive. (2) Camera jams can occur for other reasons besides operator error. In my case it was a spring that controls the rear shutter curtains.
 

etn

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Arthurwg said:
Hasselblads become addictive.
Click to expand...
Very true. The good thing is that the gear does not decrease in value. The bad thing is that prices are already very high compared to other brands.
Arthurwg said:
(2) Camera jams can occur for other reasons besides operator error. In my case it was a spring that controls the rear shutter curtains.
Click to expand...
True too, but this is very rare. And it is more a "hardware failure" which needs to be repaired than a jam which can be simply unjammed.
 

Sirius Glass

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The camera body indicator is important and has prevented me from jamming the camera. I would not buy a Hasselblad body without one.
 
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Deleted member 88956

I could not confirm it from manual but read that bodies without the indicator on outside have one seen in viewfinder. Is this so?
 

Sirius Glass

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Witold said:
I could not confirm it from manual but read that bodies without the indicator on outside have one seen in viewfinder. Is this so?
Click to expand...

If the camera body is not cocked the mirror will be up and the viewfinder would black.
 

Sirius Glass

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Pieter12 said:
And he's shopping for an SWC, no mirror.
Click to expand...

He contacted me today and he is now looking for a Hasselblad body too, so at the moment he does not have a Hasselblad in his hands.
 

itsdoable

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200 series bodies have instant return mirrors, and do not have a body indicator. There is no indicator in the viewfinder.

You can attach/detach miss-matched back - body indicators without jamming anything. You can as a result have a blank frame or a double exposure. It's all manual, it's up to you. Just like the aperture and shutter speeds.

The removal of the body cock indicator coincides (I think!) with the GSM mirror, which had a body reset function on the 200's (but not on the 500's). On the 500's, you can tell by the viewfinder that the body is not cocked. On the 200's, if it is not cocked, just reset the body.

The indicator on the back was always more important, most pro's did not worry about the body indicator as their bodies were always cocked.
 

Sirius Glass

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Miss matched indicators are for lenses, not film backs.
 

itsdoable

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Sirius Glass said:
Miss matched indicators are for lenses, not film backs.
Click to expand...
Replies 5,6,7 ... discuss miss matched indicators for backs. No shouting necessary.

SWC does not have a miss match indicator issue with the lens.

If you are going to look at the tiny dot on the side of the camera body before attaching the lens, then you can learn to look at the lens key, since that is where you are looking when attaching a lens.
 

Sirius Glass

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I always checked to key too. Thank you.
 

MattKing

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I've never needed one on any Mamiya camera I've owned.
I guess my Mamiyas are better.
(that is for Sirius, of course).
 
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Deleted member 88956

Guys, I don't have a Hasselblad, I am materially looking for an SWC, but am also researching 500 bodies for eventual purchase. This was clearly stated in my starting post. But someone made a comment, deleted it and what followed has no longer a starting point.

Deals come and go, good ones just go rather than come. I prefer to know any potential advantages of some features and/or lack thereof and what they give user. I've read different places with all kinds of jamming issues and claims as to what causes what. I've never had doubts about overall quality of the system, except some issues discussed over Hasselblad don't seem to pop up with some other brands. None of it is keeping me away from getting one though. I wish Hasselblad itself issued a publication addressing claims made over the many years from this love/hate relationship. But was probably needed 20 years ago, not now. And I don't think any negatives had much impact on overall sales anyways. But now with prices hitting quite a high level again, these topics keep coming back.

So all this has been very helpful ... mostly. Thank you.
 
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