Help with Hasselblad Please

[Paul.]

Ok today at a friends wedding I managed to jam the body of my Hasselblad 500cm when changing lenses, got home and unjammed it using a screwdriver in the shutter shaft method, all fine except the rear curtains no longer snap fully closed and only close slowly as I wind on.
Please does anyone know what I have done wrong and how to fix it or where I may get information to enable me to fix it from.

If I cannot fix it myself I am going to be Hassyless for a long time as my fiscal position is not good at the moment.

Thanks in advance for any help or information.
Regards Paul.

 

[david b]

Are you sure the camera is wound properly?

Can you fire it without a lens and back on it?

 

[Paul.]

Are you sure the camera is wound properly?

Can you fire it without a lens and back on it?

Yes to both questions David.
Regards Paul.

 

[Thomas Wilson]

I have a 500cm in the exact same condition. It jammed while I tripped the shutter. I knew there was a problem when the auxiliary shutters didn't complete the cycle with the "ka-fwap."

The auxiliary shutters now return partially, but only close completely when winding the camera. They do close completely before the lens shutter opens for viewing. I ran a roll of film through and tested for light leaks etc. No problems there.

In my case, the camera needs to be re-foamed, repaired, and needs a CLA. I opted for a 553 ELX (EX+) from KEH. I probably broke even.

 

[jeffreyg]

I don't know about your specific problem but there is a two sided tool for unjamming that is much safer to use. You should be able to buy it from Calumet or B&H.

 

[Q.G.]

You do not need the unjamming tool really.

In theory, you could fix the slow baffle doors problem yourself, but the camera needs to be taken out of the shell for that, and you shouldn't do that without the necessary know how.

It is not a difficult or costly thing to fix though.
So perhaps a trip to a repair shop would be less expensive than a replacement camera.

 

[Thomas Wilson]

You do not need the unjamming tool really.

In theory, you could fix the slow baffle doors problem yourself, but the camera needs to be taken out of the shell for that, and you shouldn't do that without the necessary know how.

It is not a difficult or costly thing to fix though.
So perhaps a trip to a repair shop would be less expensive than a replacement camera.

Would you care to share a bit of the "Necessary know how?"

 

[Sirius Glass]

Paul, where do you live? I know a Hasselblad repairman who will do quick fixes with a charge in the Los Angeles area.

Steve

 

[Paul.]

Thanks for your replies.

Q.G. your confermation that the shell has to come off is helpful, somewhere on the net I have seen how to do that just cannot find it again when I need it.

Steve thanks but as I live in UK the postage would be more than I can afford without the repairs on top. As I said fiscal position is not good at pressent, if I cannot fix it myself it will have to wait some time before I can send it to a repairer.

Regards Paul.

 

[Q.G.]

Would you care to share a bit of the "Necessary know how?"

I'm sorry. I would indeed like to, but can't really. A step-by-step guide would be too much, and still only tell what to do, but not quite how to attack things.

The 'official' way to do things involves taking the thing apart, and reassembling the individual components. Always best, since you can inspect individual parts, see what needs to be replaced. And during reassembly, everything gets put together properly, well-adjusted, again.
The 'quick' way involves not taking things apart no more than absolutely needed, and tweaking things.

The part that needs looking at is a coil spring. It needs to be loosened just enough to be able to give it some extra tension, but not enough that it comes loose and out of its housing, needing to be put together again.

Next, the barn doors' position may need to be adjusted. Which is a matter of getting a good grip on the bit they are attached to (by a sort of fricition fit) and twisting.


P.S.

Some repair 'cheat-sheets' are sold on eBay and internet.
Not a 'definitive' repair manual. But very usefull still.

 

[lns]

...
Some repair 'cheat-sheets' are sold on eBay and internet.
Not a 'definitive' repair manual. But very usefull still.

Out of curiousity, I looked at that link. The materials seem very expensive. And there is no information about the seller's identity or qualifications. No information even about the length of the "manuals." Have you used these manuals? Do you know who produces them?

-Laura

 

[Q.G.]

Yes, they are very expensive.

I have seen a body and a magazine repair manual, and (as said before) they are not a comprehensive repair manual, but rather a 'quick and dirty' guide to how to fix a number of common problems.
They are quite good though.

They are 'thin'; the 500-series, non-motorized body manual has 5 pages, parts of which are taken up by photo's.
The magazine manual is not much different.

As such, they do not compare well to the official Hasselblad repair manuals (people are selling copies on CD/DVD of those in various places, so not hard to get hold of)
But, again: quite usefull. The official manuals are not much more than parts lists and diagrams. They don't often tell you how to get to things, which the smaller 'cheat-sheets' do. But on the other hand , the official manuals have detailed info about adjustment, and are complete, which the 'cheat-sheets' are not.

Myself, i rather rely on the official, complete manuals, and (!) a person who knows how to use them. But the other ones are still not bad at all, if you want to do things yourself.

Doing things yourself always comes with the warning that if you make a mess of it, only you are to blame.


The man who produced these manuals has been on the Hasselblad Users Group (HUG) mailing list for a long time, and is both a nice person and quite knowledgeable.