Help needed, Hasselblad 50mm cf fle VERY soft corners

sb1202 · Oct 10, 2014

Hi folks, looking for some help re this lens I just bought second hand. I've ran a couple of test rolls through this and I'm less than impressed with the performance. I've never used one of these before but I'm led to believe they are supposed to be better than CF lenses.

When set to infinity on the barrel, it is not focused on the ground glass. It seems to stop just short of infinity going by the viewfinder.

I also set up test objects at 2m, 1m and the barrel scale markings were showing it focused at 15m & 8 metres respectively. That too me suggests the lens is wildly out.

The image attached is focused at infinity and the FLE set to infinity. The resulting image shows the results, which I think are horrendous.

Can anyone shed any light on this. Is it a dodgy lens?

snapguy · Oct 10, 2014

don't know

I don't know what your problem is but from the scan (I blew it up on my computer screen) it looks to me you have camera movement. You might have more than one problem with the camera/lens. Good luck.

nwilkins · Oct 10, 2014

i have no experience with that camera or lens but that does look almost identical to the results I got with a Nikkor 28mm F2.0 which I bought and promptly returned to the seller. Maybe it is something that can go wrong on a floating element lens? Or perhaps someone messed with it and put an element in backwards? Almost looks like a Holga!

nwilkins · Oct 10, 2014

by the way there's no camera movement in that picture - it is fine in the centre. but terrible in the corners. definitely should be returned ASAP.

Theo Sulphate · Oct 10, 2014

I've used the 50/4 CF FLE quite a bit at all sorts of settings (including infinity, obviously). It is very, very sharp out to the edges even on 16x20 prints.

Your results do indicate something is amiss.

Poisson Du Jour · Oct 11, 2014

That looks like astigmatism, either native (sometimes with very old lenses, but not Hasselblad!) or a product of interference e.g. disassembly of the lens and imprecise re-assembly. This is definitely not the performance anybody would expect from a Hasseblad lens — any Hasselblad lens. In this case, there is a fault that perhaps was not disclosed to you by the seller, or the seller was not aware of it. Whatever the case, you have grounds for returning it and, preferably, getting your money back.

RalphLambrecht · Oct 11, 2014

sb1202 said:
Hi folks, looking for some help re this lens I just bought second hand. I've ran a couple of test rolls through this and I'm less than impressed with the performance. I've never used one of these before but I'm led to believe they are supposed to be better than CF lenses.

When set to infinity on the barrel, it is not focused on the ground glass. It seems to stop just short of infinity going by the viewfinder.

I also set up test objects at 2m, 1m and the barrel scale markings were showing it focused at 15m & 8 metres respectively. That too me suggests the lens is wildly out.

The image attached is focused at infinity and the FLE set to infinity. The resulting image shows the results, which I think are horrendous.

Can anyone shed any light on this. Is it a dodgy lens?
View attachment 95898

I have two of these lenses and never seen a result this bad. Are you sure yourfilm magazine is OK and not buckling the film?:confused:

sb1202 · Oct 11, 2014

snapguy said:
I don't know what your problem is but from the scan (I blew it up on my computer screen) it looks to me you have camera movement. You might have more than one problem with the camera/lens. Good luck.

Definitely not movement. It was tripod mounted and I shot 2 rolls. The centre is sharp in all photos. The edges are as bad as this in the rest.

sb1202 · Oct 11, 2014

I'm thinking this too.

sb1202 · Oct 11, 2014

RalphLambrecht said:
I have two of these lenses and never seen a result this bad. Are you sure yourfilm magazine is OK and not buckling the film?:confused:

Yeah, pretty certain. Put 2 rolls through it and the film is spot on. The problem is on the ground glass too when focusing. It doesn't snap into focus at infinity which was the first thing I noticed. It seems to be focusing short of infinity when it hits the stop. I've confirmed this when focusing from say 2 meters to infinity. Trees in the distance, hills etc do not snap in.

sb1202 · Oct 11, 2014

Thanks everybody for your replies. Very good of you and I think I will return the lens.

ic-racer · Oct 11, 2014

Perhaps one of the lens elements was reversed. Does the lens have stigmata of being tampered? Of note, for fun I get effects like that by placing the dinky little wide angle viewing lens accessory on my TLR's taking lens.

cramej · Oct 11, 2014

Holgablad.

It's a feature, not a bug. Mark it up and make a profit!

Douglas Fairbank · Oct 11, 2014

Most likely the relationship between the two focus mounts has been lost, or there could be a loose element. I have seen this a few times. It really needs to be looked at by an experienced Hasselblad engineer and probably realigned using an optical bench because the off axis focus needs to be calibrated together with the centre focus. The reversal of an optic is very unlikely, maybe impossible.

TheToadMen · Oct 12, 2014

Hi,
Wilco Jansen (The Netherlands) is an experienced Hasselblad repair man. his site: http://www.hasselblad-reparaties.nl/index.php?content=default&hlk=en
Maybe you can contact him?

Chris Livsey · Oct 12, 2014

Obviously we don't know where you purchased but it's either return or invoke a warranty repair if you were wise enough to buy from a reputable dealer.
Uk price guide from Hasselblad:

CF/CB/Cfi/CFE lens

70990207General shutter overhaul/serviceCompletely dismantle shutter and iris mechanisms. Worn or faulty parts replaced. All parts cleaned and re-lubricated. Shutter speeds, flash sync and optical centring checked and adjusted. £395 plus carriage and vat.Following this work, the lens shutter and iris will be fully covered by a six months service warranty. Should any failure occur during this period, if not caused by incorrect use or damage, we will repair the fault at no charge. This warranty does not include the focus action. 70990208Focus mount overhaulCompletely dismantle focus mount. All parts cleaned and re-lubricated. Focus mount re-assembled and focus reset.£195 plus carriage and vat.This repair is subject to a six months warranty limited to parts and labour only.

Sirius Glass · Oct 12, 2014

sb1202 said:
Thanks everybody for your replies. Very good of you and I think I will return the lens.

Good move.

Help needed, Hasselblad 50mm cf fle VERY soft corners

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