Resources/options for repair or CLA of MF cameras - Hasselblad

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igmolinav

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Hi,

I would like to CLA a Hasselblad 500C camera and a lens.

I would like to know options where I could send the
camera and lens to be CLAed.

I would appreciate your recommendations. If it is possible
for you, please let me know why you chose the services of
that repairman or that repairlady.

Thank you, kind regards!
 
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igmolinav

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Hi,

Thank you for your message : )!!!

I would be happy to send anywhere
in Europe or the U.S. as long the
service is good.

A friend of mine travels constantly
and he would help me out with
sending it.

Thank you again, kind regards!
 
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Here is a list, altough slightly outdated, for German/Austrian repair shops:

https://www.stefanheymann.de/501cm/reparatur.htm

Beck in Vienna (Wien) is ot of business. Several others in Germany might be as well.
Fototechnik Mayrhofer is where i have all repairs/service done. He also got the full spare part stock and adjustment tools for the V System and Prontor shutters from the
official Hasselblad rep in Austria.
http://www.fototechnik-mayrhofer.at/leistungen/mittelformatkameras/

In the US, one very often reads about David Odess of being one of the best.
 

Alan9940

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In the US, one very often reads about David Odess of being one of the best.

Over the years I've seen a couple not so glowing comments about Mr. Odess, but he has done all my Hasselblad work and I've always been satisfied.
 

Sirius Glass

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Samy's Camera on Fairfax in Los Angeles has Mike at certified Hasselblad repairman that I use.
https://www.samys.com/g/Store-Locations-and-Directions/2220.html
Los Angeles Store & Rentals
431 S. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Telephone: 323-938-2420
Fax: 323-937-2919 | E-Mail: lacamera@samys.com

Monday-Saturday: 10:00am-6:00pm; Closed Sundays. Rentals: Monday-Friday: 9:00am-6:00pm; Closed Saturdays & Sundays.
 

Arthurwg

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In the US, one very often reads about David Odess of being one of the best.


David does excellent work. But it depends on how long you are willing to be without your camera. He's very backed up. May be three or four months to get it back.
 
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igmolinav

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Hi,

Thank you for your messages : )!!!

Besides the different services you guys mention, KEH.com the camera seller, does camera and lens repairs and CLAs.

I was looking at the David Odess page and he lists the price for his services:
http://www.david-odess.com/repair.html

The KEH.com webpage has a list with its prices for CLA. Perhaps Sammy's does too.

I wonder a bit about what prices in Europe may be like. May I ask what may be charged for a CLA of body, lens and
magazine?

Thank you again, kind regards!
 
Last edited:

Sirius Glass

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Hi,

Thank you for your messages : )!!!

Besides the different services you guys mention, KEH.com the camera seller, does camera and lens repairs and CLAs.

I was looking at the David Odess page and he lists the price for his services:
http://www.david-odess.com/repair.html

The KEH.com webpage has a list with its prices for CLA. Perhaps Sammy's does too.

I wonder a bit about what prices in Europe may be like. May I ask what may be charged for a CLA of body, lens and
magazine?

Thank you again, kind regards!

I bought the C 500mm lens from KEH for a price I could not walk away from, and the lens was jammed. If I sent it to Hasselblad NJ to do a CLA that would have cost over $3,000US to fix. KEH did the CLA as part of the sale warranty covering the shipping in both direction. KEH did a superb job on the lens.

One a separate note my Hasselblad repairman recommend taking the film back off the camera and firing each lens at 1 second between 10 and 15 times every three months. I have the reminders on the computer camera and I have not had a lens refuse to fire since I started doing that many years ago.
 
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Usually between 250 and 300€ in my cases. The usual suspects: cleaning, checking, mirror damping, aux shutter damping, length, mirro angle and focusing screen adjustment. Be aware that besides the well known mirror dampening strip at the top of the frame, there are also
3 foam pads between the mirror itself and the mirror frame. They deteriorate over time and with the cameras approaching 50 years of age, they can lead to instable focus. At least 500C and 500CM have those pads. Newer models with GMS should be different in that regard.
I talked with him about this and he said that he has also done this repair in the past.

I once had a rather expensive repair of two(!) CF lenses where several parts, including escapement, aperture ring, baseplate etc. had to be replaced. The leses were bought used in "good condition".
The repair did cost me around 1100€, but the experience with my service technician was superb.

If i got two other used lenses it would have cost me more and their state would be again unknown. So doing the repair was a no-brainer for me, because afterwards i had two fully repaired, checked and adjusted lenses
with sparkling new spare parts inside.
 
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igmolinav

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Hi,

Thank you for your messages : )!!!

@Sirius Glass - Thank you for sharing your nice experience with KEH.com I have bought stuff with them over the
years. They are good! Nice to know that they are also good with CLAs and repairs.

@Photomultiplier - It looks like a great Werkstatt/Workshop with a lot of attention to detail. If the prices you mention
are 250€ to 300€ apiece - either for a lens, body, or magazine - looks like it's what more or less is being charged
nowadays. I like what you mention that pieces like the foam pads will be changed if needed.

Thank you again, kind regards!
 

rulnacco

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Get in touch with Hasselblad USA. They charge approximately $250 to service a body--quite reasonable, really, nowadays--and when I've sent things to them, which I've had to do a few times in the last 18 months, they generally get it back to you within two weeks. *Far* faster than anyone else that I know of out there.
 
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igmolinav

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Hi,

@rulnacco - Thank you for your message : )!!!

I'll get in touch with them and ask them for
a quote.

Thank you again, kind regards!
 

JerseyDoug

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rulnacco

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Please note, everyone, that the list on Hasselblad's website says of those cameras: "Camera body cannot be repaired. Parts are no longer available." I would think that means that if you need parts, for an actual repair, you're out of luck (although possibly *certain* parts which are common to newer cameras may still be available). However, if you're wanting a CLA--which is what the original poster asked about--I don't see why Hasselblad couldn't do *that*. No parts would be needed, normally, for that; all they'd have to do is open the camera, do the cleaning/lubing/adjusting, and put the same parts back in. So I think it *would* pay to get in touch with them and *assuming* no parts need replacing, would they be able to CLA a camera even if it is on that list?

If they decline to do even a basic service/CLA on the camera, then I'd recommend getting in touch with either David Odess (although, of course, you'd have to take into account the reports of gear coming back from him smelling of cigarette smoke, and the fact he has a rather long turnaround time--I've used him a few times and was happy with his service--and weigh that up) or I'd also encourage contacting Kiwi Camera Service (https://kiwicameraservice.com) here in Orlando. Michael Livera, the owner, is quite familiar with Hasselblads and also does good work on them (he does great work in general), and I'm sure he'd be happy to see what he can do.
 
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Sirius Glass

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Please note, everyone, that the list on Hasselblad's website says of those cameras: "Camera body cannot be repaired. Parts are no longer available." I would think that means that if you need parts, for an actual repair, you're out of luck (although possibly *certain* parts which are common to newer cameras may still be available). However, if you're wanting a CLA--which is what the original poster asked about--I don't see why Hasselblad couldn't do *that*. No parts would be needed, normally, for that; all they'd have to do is open the camera, do the cleaning/lubing/adjusting, and put the same parts back in. So I think it *would* pay to get in touch with them and *assuming* no parts need replacing, would they be able to CLA a camera even if it is on that list?

If they decline to do even a basic service/CLA on the camera, then I'd recommend getting in touch with either David Odess (although, of course, you'd have to take into account the reports of gear coming back from him smelling of cigarette smoke, and the fact he has a rather long turnaround time--I've used him a few times and was happy with his service--and weigh that up) or I'd also encourage contacting Kiwi Camera Service (https://kiwicameraservice.com) here in Orlando. Michael Livera, the owner, is quite familiar with Hasselblads and also does good work on them (he does great work in general), and I'm sure he'd be happy to see what he can do.

rulnacco is right on all counts. Listen to him and find someone to do a CLA. Barring that you dropped the camera off a cliff you should be able to have the normal maintenance done.
 

Pieter12

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Please note, everyone, that the list on Hasselblad's website says of those cameras: "Camera body cannot be repaired. Parts are no longer available." I would think that means that if you need parts, for an actual repair, you're out of luck (although possibly *certain* parts which are common to newer cameras may still be available). However, if you're wanting a CLA--which is what the original poster asked about--I don't see why Hasselblad couldn't do *that*. No parts would be needed, normally, for that; all they'd have to do is open the camera, do the cleaning/lubing/adjusting, and put the same parts back in. So I think it *would* pay to get in touch with them and *assuming* no parts need replacing, would they be able to CLA a camera even if it is on that list?
Most reputable service technicians will not work on a camera that they cannot get parts for. Who knows what lurks below the surface? Maybe something is on the brink of breaking and will give out when the camera is opened or adjusted? And who wants to pay someone for the labor they have incurred just to get back a non-working camera?
 

rulnacco

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Most reputable service technicians will not work on a camera that they cannot get parts for. Who knows what lurks below the surface? Maybe something is on the brink of breaking and will give out when the camera is opened or adjusted? And who wants to pay someone for the labor they have incurred just to get back a non-working camera?

I hear you. But at the same time, Hasselblads are made from pretty rugged stuff for the most part--all the gears, springs, and things that move parts inside are (unlike, say, an RZ67) made of metal. In many cases, if the camera has no obvious malfunctions, just cleaning out the old lubricants and refreshing them is sufficient for it to work good as new.

I myself have learned how to service the backs--I've got something like seven of them, all bought second-hand, and it's really not hard given the information that's available online to open them up, clean out the old gunk inside, and with new lube and maybe a few adjustments, get them working completely fine. I've got my backs, some of which came to me in "well-used" condition, running butter smooth, I fixed the overlapping first & second frame problem on a couple (that's a *really* simple adjustment), and in none of them did I see any wear on gears and other metal parts that would render them on the verge of giving out. (The only thing inside a back I *have* seen with appreciable wear was the infamous nylon stopper in one of them--but you can still get those from Hasselblad and people make 3D printed versions. And of course you do need to replace the light traps occasionally--but those are also being made by eBay sellers, and it's not really hard to make your own.)

If the camera is working fine as-is, you should just keep on using it. I'm not at all in favor of CLAs just for the sake of it. If it's working without any obvious fault but is a bit "rough" or stiff, then often times a CLA/basic service will get it back to where it functions perfectly, no new parts needed. If Hasselblad, or another high-volume service (Odess, Samy's) won't even do a basic service on a 553ELX, it *may* have less to do with the lack of available parts--which is a genuine problem if an actual repair is needed--than it's just in their opinion not worth the time/hassle resulting from the extra complexity of the camera to service. They might have concluded they can make a lot more cash more efficiently by banging out the simpler/faster stuff, of which they've probably got plenty enough work available, and so don't want to "waste" their time on something a bit more complicated.

I don't see any problem in asking Hasselblad--or any other service technician--if they can do a basic maintenance/clean & lube service with the understanding that if major problems are found, there may be nothing they can do for them. You're still not at zero if that does happen: it may not be worth Hasselblad's (or Odess or Samys) time and effort to source the part you need, or fabricate it. But if you at least know what the problem is, you may be able to find *someone* who can get the part for you, or put it in if you source one yourself. Your camera doesn't mean a lot to those folks, but it may to *you*, and so you might not mind buying a donor body, or finding a machinist/3D printer who can make what you need to get it back working properly.
 

Sirius Glass

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I hear you. But at the same time, Hasselblads are made from pretty rugged stuff for the most part--all the gears, springs, and things that move parts inside are (unlike, say, an RZ67) made of metal. In many cases, if the camera has no obvious malfunctions, just cleaning out the old lubricants and refreshing them is sufficient for it to work good as new.

I myself have learned how to service the backs--I've got something like seven of them, all bought second-hand, and it's really not hard given the information that's available online to open them up, clean out the old gunk inside, and with new lube and maybe a few adjustments, get them working completely fine. I've got my backs, some of which came to me in "well-used" condition, running butter smooth, I fixed the overlapping first & second frame problem on a couple (that's a *really* simple adjustment), and in none of them did I see any wear on gears and other metal parts that would render them on the verge of giving out. (The only thing inside a back I *have* seen with appreciable wear was the infamous nylon stopper in one of them--but you can still get those from Hasselblad and people make 3D printed versions. And of course you do need to replace the light traps occasionally--but those are also being made by eBay sellers, and it's not really hard to make your own.)

If the camera is working fine as-is, you should just keep on using it. I'm not at all in favor of CLAs just for the sake of it. If it's working without any obvious fault but is a bit "rough" or stiff, then often times a CLA/basic service will get it back to where it functions perfectly, no new parts needed. If Hasselblad, or another high-volume service (Odess, Samy's) won't even do a basic service on a 553ELX, it *may* have less to do with the lack of available parts--which is a genuine problem if an actual repair is needed--than it's just in their opinion not worth the time/hassle resulting from the extra complexity of the camera to service. They might have concluded they can make a lot more cash more efficiently by banging out the simpler/faster stuff, of which they've probably got plenty enough work available, and so don't want to "waste" their time on something a bit more complicated.

I don't see any problem in asking Hasselblad--or any other service technician--if they can do a basic maintenance/clean & lube service with the understanding that if major problems are found, there may be nothing they can do for them. You're still not at zero if that does happen: it may not be worth Hasselblad's (or Odess or Samys) time and effort to source the part you need, or fabricate it. But if you at least know what the problem is, you may be able to find *someone* who can get the part for you, or put it in if you source one yourself. Your camera doesn't mean a lot to those folks, but it may to *you*, and so you might not mind buying a donor body, or finding a machinist/3D printer who can make what you need to get it back working properly.

I have talked extensively to Mike at Samy's on Fairfax in Los Angeles over the years. If Samy's does not have repair parts for a camera, Samy's will not let him touch the camera, because Samy's does not want any liability, even if he thinks it is a quick fix. It is not worth it to him to risk getting fired.
 

rulnacco

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I have talked extensively to Mike at Samy's on Fairfax in Los Angeles over the years. If Samy's does not have repair parts for a camera, Samy's will not let him touch the camera, because Samy's does not want any liability, even if he thinks it is a quick fix. It is not worth it to him to risk getting fired.

Interesting--and thanks for that info! Makes sense for a major repairer like Samys, really. Unfortunately, a consequence is that would render many great, and potentially easily serviceable, cameras as functioning less than optimally, or perhaps becoming doorstops/paperweights. I guess for some things it's either find a repairer who'll work on your gear with the mutual agreement that it may be found not to be fixable--or we should all head over to Facebook's Learn Camera Repair group, and take the course, so we can fix what we can ourselves.
 

Sirius Glass

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Interesting--and thanks for that info! Makes sense for a major repairer like Samys, really. Unfortunately, a consequence is that would render many great, and potentially easily serviceable, cameras as functioning less than optimally, or perhaps becoming doorstops/paperweights. I guess for some things it's either find a repairer who'll work on your gear with the mutual agreement that it may be found not to be fixable--or we should all head over to Facebook's Learn Camera Repair group, and take the course, so we can fix what we can ourselves.

Yes, the downside is that cameras needing maintenance will not get serviced.
 

Pieter12

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Interesting--and thanks for that info! Makes sense for a major repairer like Samys, really. Unfortunately, a consequence is that would render many great, and potentially easily serviceable, cameras as functioning less than optimally, or perhaps becoming doorstops/paperweights. I guess for some things it's either find a repairer who'll work on your gear with the mutual agreement that it may be found not to be fixable--or we should all head over to Facebook's Learn Camera Repair group, and take the course, so we can fix what we can ourselves.
Not going to do much good if there are no parts available unless you have a trove of unrepariable donor cameras. But it is usually the same parts that fail, so you have some nice paperweights.
 

Sirius Glass

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Usually the springs are the first to disappear from the stockpiles and there are not good substitutes.
 
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