Hasselblad sticky shutter ...... on the body edition

Hello everyone!

It's Anthony from China!

I think I'm not the only new member coming with a problematic camera. I've already read many post on this forum, even though I didn't have an account. Those posts helped me a lot, so as I'm having a problem with my camera right now, the first came to my mind is to come here for help.

I recently got a Hasselblad 500 CM in really good condition. I really like it, but it has a little problem. Sometimes the shutter release button on the camera won't respond to my press. And after a while with multiple presses the shutter on the body with fire again. It feels like somewhere in the shutter mechanism is sticking. It was constantly happening when I just got the camera out of the box, and became less frequent after I press the shutter repeatedly for a while. I thought this is could be because the camera was not used for a long time, but I couldn't know if it's true because the seller hasn't responded to my question about this yet.

This problem almost never happens when the back and lens are attached, so it's not a big problem for me for now. But I can always recreate this problem when I press the shutter button with no lens or back attached. I opened the body to check if anything is obviously wrong with the mechanism (you'll see a picture of the mechanism below), but couldn't find any. And I can't find anyone online having the same problem, either. So I think it's best for me to come for help.

Thanks in advance for all your responses!

Sincerely,
Anthony

Is there a camera store near you where you can get a repairman to take a look at the problem? Your camera may need a CLA [Clean, Lucubration, and Adjustment].[/CENTER]

There's a good chance the camera has been sitting unused. These cameras thrive when worked. Probably needs a bit of solvent and lube applied by a skilled hand. I've had this happen with a EL, a pro put it away when he adopted digital.

Well, you've already got access to everything that can stick so..................
SACRILEGE ahead!!!

Two bits that I would take a look(Q-tip with Naptha) are the parts that engage directly
with the shutter release shaft and the lever that engages it. That's the lever that the bent
portion of the wire engages. The lever is returned by a very light spring and any old lubricant
or the black screw above it on the lever above it will cause drag.

A drop of Naptha on the tip of a straight pin should be enough to free it
but will most likely be a temporary solution.

Hi Anthony,

welcome to Photrio. Great to have more people in Germany join the community.
Where are you located?
If you are in on near Munich we can meet - I can show you my body (the Hasselblad one of course, the other is not that interesting ) to compare with yours.

If you feel something is wrong with your camera I'd recommend either returning it to the seller or having a tech look at it. There are several in Germany.

Cheers
Etienne

Thank you all for your kind responses!

Sirius Glass said:

Welcome to APUG Photrio!!​

Is there a camera store near you where you can get a repairman to take a look at the problem? Your camera may need a CLA [Clean, Lucubration, and Adjustment].[/CENTER]

Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I should do that. The problem is that I don't know a local repairman that can help me with this, and the idea of sending it out for a CLA right after I received somehow doesn't sound very appealing to me. I don't want to put the camera back into package unless I know very well that the one receives will treat it properly.

mshchem said:

There's a good chance the camera has been sitting unused. These cameras thrive when worked. Probably needs a bit of solvent and lube applied by a skilled hand. I've had this happen with a EL, a pro put it away when he adopted digital.

Click to expand...

And I think so, too. The camera is in a relativ good shape (in comparison to my other Hasselblad) so I think the last owner didn't use it that much.

John Koehrer said:

Well, you've already got access to everything that can stick so..................
SACRILEGE ahead!!!

Two bits that I would take a look(Q-tip with Naptha) are the parts that engage directly
with the shutter release shaft and the lever that engages it. That's the lever that the bent
portion of the wire engages. The lever is returned by a very light spring and any old lubricant
or the black screw above it on the lever above it will cause drag.

A drop of Naptha on the tip of a straight pin should be enough to free it
but will most likely be a temporary solution.

Click to expand...

I think the fact that I opened the camera not long after I received it is already a sacrilege hahaha.

The thing that's holding me back from taking any action with the problem or do anything to the camera is that the problem doesn't really occur when I'm "using" the camera. It will only happen when I take everything off and just fire the shutter with only the body. I'll probably take a chance with your advice when it becomes a real problem in the future.

etn said:

Hi Anthony,

welcome to Photrio. Great to have more people in Germany join the community.
Where are you located?
If you are in on near Munich we can meet - I can show you my body (the Hasselblad one of course, the other is not that interesting ) to compare with yours.

If you feel something is wrong with your camera I'd recommend either returning it to the seller or having a tech look at it. There are several in Germany.

Cheers
Etienne

Click to expand...

How lucky we are! I am actually right in Munich. We can definitely meet.

Oh hahahaha, that joke took me sometime to understand. I thought you were talking about other "camera" bodies. I should be more cautious when talking to strangers online.

The camera is mostly working fine so I think I'll keep it. It's just a small problem that I want to get rid of if possible. But do you have any experience with those camera repair men in Germany? I know one or two of them but I can't find anyone online sharing there experience with them.

Hi Anthony,
I gave several cameras (no Hassy, though) to Gerard Wiener in the Landwehrstrasse (or Schwanthalerstrasse?), not sure if he is still in business after the covid lockdown. Nothing to complain about the repairs he did, on top of that he charges very decent prices. Not sure how familiar he is with Hasselblads.

Apart from Mr Wiener, this guy seems to specialize in Hasselblads, I bought a back from him but never sent anything to repair:
http://v-system-500.de
(not in Munich, though)

I have a couple 553 ELX bodies that basically came along for free when buying other bits. They had similar problems, the mirror would stick up etc. I have a couple old bottles of Kodak movie film cleaner and lubricant from the 80's. Heptane and CFC-113, I had nothing to lose. I pulled everything off it. Put several drops around the shutter cocking drive shaft and squirted a not insignificant amount down past the drive gear. Both work great. If (when) this reoccurs I will probably do the same things. I exercise these cameras by firing it without film.

These cameras are like a vintage sports car, if you let them sit, you are going to have issues.