Hasselbled C lens on 201F body

I've just acquired a 201F body to supplement the 500CM which I've been using for over 30 years. Although I intend to add CF lenses in the future, initially I'll only be using the 100mm f3.5 CT* which has served me well since 1982. The user manual is somewhat equivocal about using C lenses in conjunction with the focal plane shutter (Avoid using the focal plane shutter........if it cannot be avoided, follow the procdure below....). Following "the procedure below" simply involves setting the lens shutter speed to B and I tried this last night (no film in the camera). On the face of it, this set-up seems to work, but as the manual is specific that the exposure button should be kept depressed until the focal plane shutter closes, I was rather expecting that the in-lens shutter would function in the normal B fashion and only close when the exposure button is released. However, this is not the case as it seems to open and close quite quickly. I wonder whether this is normal or if something is amiss. If the latter is the case, a way round would appear to be to set the in-lens shutter speed at 1/2 or 1 second in which case it is definitely stays open beyond the focal plane shutter operating. Any thoughts?

Regards,
Bill

In what mode you have the camera?



Cheers



André

Using the focal plane shutter in the camera body i.e not the C setting on the body shutter speed ring

Cheers,
Bill

PS I do know how to spell Hasselblad!

BillJ said:

PS I do know how to spell Hasselblad!

Click to expand...

Nice!

But just a tought, though the 201F in C-mode works completely independent of the electronics inside the camera, electronics are present, so the 201F is not really a completely mechanical instrument.




Cheers




André

Have you put a fresh battery in the 201f? 200 series bodies tend to misbehave when the battery is running low I've found.

A minimun of a CF lens is needed to use the focal plane shutter on a 2000/200 series camera. C lenses do not have the needed setting [and mechanics].

Check out Historical Hasselbad for instruction manuals and Hasselblad Info for specific 2000/200 series questions.

I would have supplied the URLs but I am on vacation and not using my usual computer.

Steve

Thanks for the replies, but two points

1. My problem, if that's what it is, is not with battery controlled focal plane shutter which seems to function as it should.

2. I've already downloaded the 201F manual from Dead Link Removed
and, as I stated previously, this is quite specific that C lenses can be used with the 201F body in F mode, albeit it suggests avoiding doing so (unless it can't be avoided!).

As far as I can tell looking from the back of the camera with the magazine removed and the lens shutter set at B (as instructed in the user manual for using a C lens with the body in F mode) , the set up does seem to work. It's just that it doesn't function quite as I 'd expected - I had assumed that the lens shutter would open for as long as the exposure button is depressed (as is normal for the B setting), when it actually seems to open and close in proportion to the focal plane shutter speed. Is there perhaps a possibility of a lack of synchronisation between all the operations involved which would explain why Hasselblad suggests avoiding this mode of operation?

Cheers,
Bill

As is said in the manual it is not impossible to use C lenses in B with the focal plane shutter controlling the exposure.

Problem is, it's not reliable. I had lenses where this worked just fine and others where it didn't work at all. To understand the Hasselblad you have to always keep in mind that the camera signals to the lens via the shaft but there is hardly any feedback from lens to the camera. Therefore, the camera doesn't know if a shutter fired in B has opened or if it will need some additional milliseconds to do so. If it is too slow, it will cut off the exposure from the FP-shutter.

With repect to the firing sequence, the 2000 has settings to behave like a 500 (non-returning-mirror), to act like a 2000 (returning mirror) or to prefire the mirror after every shot (mirror-up). If in 2000-mode, the camera also signals an F-lens via the shaft to open the aperture after the shutter has completed its circle. A C-lens will interpret this as "close shutter [and open again after rewind]". I don't know it the 201f provides a 500-mode but if you used that, the lens would behave more like you expected. Otherwise, what you describe sounds pretty normal to me but it I would doublecheck if the whole frame is visible equally bright at all times you intend to use before you sacrifice the first film let alone doing any serious work. As the manual said: Use it only if you have to.

Stefan

I would suggest testing the C lens in B with focal plane speeds of 1/2 and 1/4. You should be able to tell if the leaf shutter is synchronising with the focal plane shutter or if it simply firing at x-sync. Still, this sounds dodgy to me and is probably why it is not advised - it wouldn't take much for the higher speeds to be out of sync, giving you a dead exposure.

I believe, although am not 100% certain, that the 200 series bodies act like 500 series bodies when used in C mode - i.e. non instant mirror return. I haven't tested this as I only have F lenses, and a CFi which I obviously use in F mode.

I would recommend a fresh battery, "just in case", if you have not put one in already. The battery doesn't just control the focal plane shutter, or it would seem that way - my first experience of a low battery was the mirror failing to return after the focal plane shutter had fired.

Apologies for not responding earlier to the useful comments from Stefan and Lee J, but I've been on holiday for almost three weeks (no Hasselblad, just a 35mm SLR and some colour film for snaps). It sounds as though my next move is to run a couple of films through to see whether the synchronisation is OK with the body in F mode.

Cheers,
Bill