Hasselblad questions

[dario]

Hi folks - I've just acquired a 500c and lenses and have a question. When I remove a lens, the shutter is cocked. Should I release the shutter, so that it's not under tension when not in use? If so, how? The manual I have read tells me how to cock the shutter, but not how to release it. Thanks - dario

 

[André E.C.]

Pressing the shutter release button, maybe?

Cheers

André

 

[Dan Henderson]

Dario: according to what I have read, Hasselblads like to be kept in the cocked vs. uncocked position. I believe I read this in Ernst Haas' "Hasselblad Manual" which I recommend if you don't know much about Hassys. I refer to it quite often.

 

[Quinten]

It is better not to press the shutter while there is no lens on your camera, it should be under tension when you want to change a lens or just place one on your camera. This goes very smooth without much force so incase you should use a bit of it stop and check wheter your lens and camera are winded.

cheers!

 

[Dan Henderson]

Dario: The book I was referring to is the Hasselblad Manual by Ernst Wildi. I shouldn't give advice before I've had sufficient caffeine!

 

[André E.C.]

Put the optic on place, remove the back if loaded and press the shutter release button.
Why leave the shutter cocked?

Cheers

André

 

[Claire Senft]

Whatever you do, do not, ever have the lens off the body and in a different state of being cocked or uncocked than the camera. You will upon putting the lens back on cause a mechanical jam that you will regret.

 

[BWGirl]

Hi Ho Dario!

Welcome to the wonderful world of Hasselblad! I do not know if you got a manual with yours, but if not, here's a link to a free downloadable one:

http://www.urmonas.net/manuals/500cm/500cm.html

I am not understanding why you would want to store the blad without a lens on it... In any case, Claire has hit the nail precisely on the head... (as you will see in that manual you download)

However... if you do jam the thing... here's another link:
http://photoweb.net/pw_tech/hassy_unjam.html

Hope this helps!

 

[Mark Feldstein]

Greetings Dario: BOTH lenses and bodies should be stored in the cocked position for a number of reasons. As mentioned, Ernst W. who literally wrote the book on Blads, recommends it, David Odess at http://www.david-odess.com is a certified HB repair tech., and also recommends it as do other techs at the service center in NJ. Another reason is that if one is cocked and the other isn't and you inadvertently try to jam or force feed the lens to the camera, you can easily end up doing about $300 bucks worth of damage to both the lens and the body. BTW, even if both are tripped, shutter and lens, you still can't attach them unless both are cocked. Again, don't attempt to remove a lens which isn't cocked (look at the lens iris to determine that) or from a body that isn't cocked. That's really important with these cameras.

As for releasing the body, you can do it with or without the lens, just by tripping the shutter release. Just make sure to advance or recock the shutter afterwards. And note, tripping the shutter itself is NOT the same as hitting the mirror pre-release, which is located under the film advance knob or crank (push up). To trip the shutter in prerelease mode, you need to push the shutter release. You don't need a mag or a lens on it. Nor do you need to store it with a lens. Front and rear body caps are available for around $5-10 each from Dead Link Removed. (used). Lens caps, if you need them, are also available.

Meanwhile, welcome to the party !
Mark

 

[dario]

Phew - Thanks to all who responded. I obviously didn't make myself 100% clear. My thought was to leave the shutters in the lenses that are not mounted on the body uncocked. But I get the message that it's best to leave everything cocked - and that's easiest. Cheers