My First Medium Format camera . . .

John Galt · Mar 9, 2017

Retired a few years ago and getting back into some of my youthful passions . . . Lost track of the Red Haired Hazel Eyed Theresa from Ontario Canada so my second choice was B&W Film and Processing/Printing.

Just purchased a lightly used Hasselblad 500c. 1969 vintage. I am the third owner, I know the two previous owners, they were both Professional Lab Techs for the USAF in Dayton (spook stuff, now retired), and hobby photographers.

The second owner has had the Blad for 20 years, put maybe 50 rolls of film through it and never had a CLA done. It was CLA'd a few years before she bought it. It functions flawlessly. Should I send it to a Hassleblad Certified Tech to do a CLA on it or leave well enough alone? Being a retired Hands-On Engineer (means I was a working stiff before I got my EE in my 40s) I tend to fall into the "If it ain't frikkin' broke don't try to fix it" camp.

And . . . can someone recommend a Hasselblad Certified tech in the Northeast US with a reasonable turn around time?

chassis · Mar 9, 2017

Welcome back to the fold! I expect someone will be along shortly with good advice for you. I shoot all formats, although not with Hasselblad equipment. Have fun!

moto-uno · Mar 9, 2017

^^ I'm with you in the " leave well enough alone camp ", I prefer to play with things that
are already broken , keeps me out of bars and such . Peter

jvo · Mar 9, 2017

who is john galt? is rivendell really in the northeast?

on a serious note - welcome to apug!

John Galt · Mar 9, 2017

jvo said:
who is john galt? is rivendell really in the northeast?

on a serious note - welcome to apug!

I have a T-Shirt that reads "John Galt 2020 You know who I am"

My Homestead, Rivendell Farm, is in Waterville NY

Dan Daniel · Mar 10, 2017

http://www.david-odess.com/

bdial · Mar 10, 2017

Welcome to the asylum.

In the best of all worlds, a CLA would be a good thing for it.
OTH, like you, I am more of a "if it ain't broke..." sort. If everything functions smoothly, and the focus is accurate, I would be inclined to just use it.
The world likely won't end if it breaks down, and it's really hard to say that a CLA now will keep it from breaking down x months/years/whatever in the future.
If you decide that sending it off is better choice, David Odess is good, another possibility is Zack's camera repair, who is an APUG sponsor. David is in Mass. and Zack's is in Rhode Island

monst · Mar 10, 2017

the seals on the film back will probably need redoing but it really is a simple job. there are videos on the net to show you how to do them.

Sirius Glass · Mar 10, 2017

Welcome to APUG and the Wonderful World of Hasselblad!

winger · Mar 10, 2017

bdial said:
Welcome to the asylum.

In the best of all worlds, a CLA would be a good thing for it.
OTH, like you, I am more of a "if it ain't broke..." sort. If everything functions smoothly, and the focus is accurate, I would be inclined to just use it.
The world likely won't end if it breaks down, and it's really hard to say that a CLA now will keep it from breaking down x months/years/whatever in the future.
If you decide that sending it off is better choice, David Odess is good, another possibility is Zack's camera repair, who is an APUG sponsor. David is in Mass. and Zack's is in Rhode Island

I'm fairly firmly in this camp. Run a roll through it and see how it goes. Use fresh film (I can send a roll with the carrier) and get it developed by someone like Praus if it's been awhile since you've done film (I could probably run it if you're not in a hurry). Then you'll have a better idea of what shape it's in and whether it's the right one for you. On that note, I have just about every size of camera that takes 120 film and each gets its day.

crumpet8 · Mar 10, 2017

Welcome! I've got a couple of old Hasselblads at the moment so another vote for leave well enough alone. One of them is a loaner SWA that has sat around for years and still works great as already mentioned the light seals seem to be the most frequent maintenance required and are easy to fix yourself. would be great to see some shots from your first roll!

Sirius Glass · Mar 10, 2017

John Galt said:
And . . . can someone recommend a Hasselblad Certified tech in the Northeast US with a reasonable turn around time?

David Odessa
http://www.david-odess.com/

Black Dog · Mar 11, 2017

Welcome to APUG!

etn · Mar 11, 2017

Congrats on your new Hasselblad!
I too believe that if it ain't broke, etc.
I probably would be more worried by the lenses if they are the same vintage. Check if the shutter runs smooth and if the 1 second is not running slow. Those shutters need to be exercised, you might want to trigger them a few dozen times at all speeds before actual shooting.

If you are new to Hasselblad, I would also suggest to do a bit of reading to familiarize yourself with the system. (Also don't hesitate to ask questions here, there's a bunch of pretty knowledgeable folks around). Hassys are fairly easy to use but have their idiosyncrasies. For one, always, always keep it cocked. Be sure body and lens are cocked before assembling/disassembling them. The Hasselblad Manual by Ernst Wildi is a good read but by no means mandatory. I find this document also quite funny.

You will find the Hasselblad quite addicting and with endless possibilities. There are accessories for virtually anything (macro, filters etc) and a comprehensive range of lenses.

Have fun and - if you want (*) - post pictures!

(*) I would be hard-pressed following my own advice here as I am not too much into scanning myself... therefore please take this request with a grain of salt

etn · Mar 11, 2017

PS. Out of sheer curiosity, what lens(es) do you currently own?

John Galt · Mar 12, 2017

etn said:
PS. Out of sheer curiosity, what lens(es) do you currently own?

The only Hasselblad lens I have is the one that came with it, a Zeiss 80mm f2.8

etn · Mar 12, 2017

John Galt said:
The only Hasselblad lens I have is the one that came with it, a Zeiss 80mm f2.8

After a while you will own more, I'm sure. The strength of the Hasselblad (vs other, say, Rolleiflex) resides in interchangeable lenses and backs while maintaining a relatively compact size.

ac12 · Mar 12, 2017

John Galt said:
The only Hasselblad lens I have is the one that came with it, a Zeiss 80mm f2.8

So far . . .

etn · Mar 13, 2017

As I always say, no matter what, you will own them all eventually

TheFlyingCamera · Mar 13, 2017

Sitting unused is perhaps the worst thing possible for a Hasselblad. I would have it CLA'd because the lubricants have probably pooled and/or gummed up, and even though it might seem to be working well right now, you're just one roll away from an epic failure. This is coming from someone who had a similar vintage 500 C that became a backup camera (so much less use) then experienced a major failure (dry rot on an internal rubber component).

Sirius Glass · Mar 13, 2017

TheFlyingCamera said:
Sitting unused is perhaps the worst thing possible for a Hasselblad. I would have it CLA'd because the lubricants have probably pooled and/or gummed up, and even though it might seem to be working well right now, you're just one roll away from an epic failure. This is coming from someone who had a similar vintage 500 C that became a backup camera (so much less use) then experienced a major failure (dry rot on an internal rubber component).

To go one step further, Mike Davis(on?) is the Hasselblad repairman at Samys who also repairs many other cameras, recommends that every lens which has not been used in the last three months should have the lenses fired at every speed. In other words, every three months exercise every shutter of every camera you own regardless of manufacturer. I set the computer camera to remind me to do that quarterly and I do that with every shutter.

My First Medium Format camera . . .

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