Hasselblad Newbie - Focusing Screen Question

Hey Everyone : )

I've recently purchased a 500CM. When trying to focus, I've noticed that the distance scale doesn't correspond to what I see on the screen - the scale would read 5m, but it would seem that I'm focused 2 meters away. When focusing at infinity, things at infinity weren't sharp, but things 5m~ away were. I've switched the screen upside down so that the smooth side of the frame is facing downwards, and now everything seems to be better; focus point seems to correspond to the distance scale.

Am I missing something or are there screens that are supposed to have the smooth frame facing downwards?

Do you have an after-market screen? I've owned three different focus screens over the years for my 500C/M (all Hasselblad OEM screens) and none mount smooth side down.

That is not normal. I would guess either there is an issue with the screen (as mentioned above), or the mirror has become misaligned (i.e. is not returning to its correct position).

I honestly have no idea. Is there a way I can check? For what it's worth, the seller swore that everything is a Hasselblad original. One thing I didn't mention is that the ridged-frame side is also the shiny side of the screen, so that is also something I understood to be an indication for the side that should face upwards. Is it possible that this is an original screen that we inserted upside down by an ignorant repairman?

The screen may not be inserted so that it is settled on the mounting points. Also the body might not be square. A Hasselblad repairman could straighten this out to you.

Just to be on the same page as to what is upside down or right side up with the screen, the side with the sharp extended edges goes down. And the reason your focus is off is because it's an old 500CM that has never been serviced. The foam pads between the back of the mirror and its metal backing plate are deteriorated. Because of that, the mirror is not being pushed up against the front of its frame correctly, so that the screen and your lens scale agree. Until you send the camera out for proper address of the foam pad matter (and a general CLA), focus will never be accurate. An unserviced Hasselblad is a box camera. Good at infinity, fair at 30 feet. Terrible at 10 feet and less. Totally useless at 3.5 feet. Further, being an old unserviced body, it's only a matter of time before it jams or causes the rear doors to get out of whack. An old unserviced Hasselblad is a big fat nothing. Properly serviced it's a dream. This is one camera that has only extremes. no middle ground.

Daniel_Sonnenfeld said:

Hey Everyone : )

I've recently purchased a 500CM. When trying to focus, I've noticed that the distance scale doesn't correspond to what I see on the screen - the scale would read 5m, but it would seem that I'm focused 2 meters away. When focusing at infinity, things at infinity weren't sharp, but things 5m~ away were. I've switched the screen upside down so that the smooth side of the frame is facing downwards, and now everything seems to be better; focus point seems to correspond to the distance scale.

Am I missing something or are there screens that are supposed to have the smooth frame facing downwards?

Click to expand...

I wasn't able to focus my Bad properly until I'd got a split-image screen.