storing Hasselblad lens - upright or horizontal?

[ymc226]

I have my lens resting on shelves in my office, dry and sunny. Most concerned about fungus not that it is risky in the environment I have them in but is it better to let them rest horizontally with the lens cap off so light will be on them during the daytime? I have usually have the lens upright, resting on the rear lens cap and with the front lens cap on so dust doesn't settle on them.

My main concern is that having the front lens cap on makes fungus more likely and I don't know if storing the lens horizontally does anything to the shutter.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I store mine cocked, cappedand, on end in lenses wraps in camera back pack.

 

[cliveh]

Try using it.

 

[pgomena]

I keep mine capped and stored front-end down in a canvas camera bag. This makes the lenses easier to grab and use in the field, and keeps the working mechanical parts of the lenses facing up so they won't be damaged should I drop the bag. The camera bag is kept on an open shelf in my "office," which is in a pretty typical American house. It's heated and dry in the winter and dry in the summer. There's no mold on the walls, so I don't worry about the lenses. If you're worried about humidity, keep your lenses in a sealed tub with some reusable silica gel packets. Bake the packets every so often to "recharge" them.

Peter Gomena

 

[Frank Chambers]

Even more important for a long time storing as upright or horizontal seems to me to unlock the shutter. As Mamiya recommend uncocked storing of lenses, this might be an issue for Hasselblad too (but I guess it by knowing Mamiya's recommendation and don't know it in detail for Hasselblad). On Mamiya lenses uncocking is simple, it looks like on Hasselblad system it's more complicated and you need a special key for camera and / or lenses. But if you store long time you might have a look on this question and get more informations about.

 

[bdial]

Hasselblad's recomendation is that the shutter remain cocked.

For me, storing lenses capped in a camera bag has never been a problem.

 

[guitstik]

I keep my leica's and all lenses stored in a velvet lined platinume lock box in a climate controlled fully monitored and patrolled vault in Zurich. Have yet to have a problem.

 

[M.A.Longmore]

I keep my leica's and all lenses stored in a velvet lined platinume lock box in a climate controlled fully monitored and patrolled vault in Zurich. Have yet to have a problem.

.
How Should The 99% Store Their Equipment ?

Ron
.

 

[guitstik]

Invariably, someone has to jump in with their Leica and I wanted to know how it felt. In all honesty, I don't own a Leica. All of the lenses that I use on a regular basis are in my closet with no air vent stored laying down in a bambo/fabric shoe caddy that hangs from the clothes rack. Those that are specialty lenses get stored laying down in an engineers case on an inside wall away from any vents. I treat my equipment as I treat my guitars and that is to keep them away from high humidity and wild swings in temperature. Not always possible when shooting in the winter.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Even more important for a long time storing as upright or horizontal seems to me to unlock the shutter. As Mamiya recommend uncocked storing of lenses, this might be an issue for Hasselblad too (but I guess it by knowing Mamiya's recommendation and don't know it in detail for Hasselblad)..

Hasselblad's recomendation is that the shutter remain cocked.

Hasselblads were designed to be stored cocked. Furthermore, a cocked lens can be safely put on or taken off a cocked body. If either a lens or body is not cocked, attaching or detatching will damage both on the first attempt.

Steve

 

[BradleyK]

I keep my leica's and all lenses stored in a velvet lined platinume lock box in a climate controlled fully monitored and patrolled vault in Zurich. Have yet to have a problem.

Hey, that might be worth considering.... Right now, I keep an M6 body with a 50mm in the glovebox of my beater Civic (year round). Given that it rains here a lot, maybe I should consider something more in the camera's interest. The remainder of my Leica stuff (another M6 body with 35, 50 and 90mm lenses) sits in a cardboard box on the floor of a closet in the basement, suffering no end of abuse, exposed to heat and cold, fluctuations in humidity, all the while collecting copious quantities of dust and dirt, until I see fit to take them out and use them...every couple of months or so when I have the time and inclination to go out shooting... My Hasselblads, in turn, are stored in a backpack in whatever condition I happen to leave them in after I return home after a trek through the woods or wherever I happen to have been shooting.

 

[MattKing]

I keep my leica's and all lenses stored in a velvet lined platinume lock box in a climate controlled fully monitored and patrolled vault in Zurich. Have yet to have a problem.

Say hi to the gnomes for me

 

[EASmithV]

COCK

 

[Danielle]

So I presume that an RB Mamiya should be stored cocked too? I stored it for a number of years, and its without a problem I might add. Nobody ever told me to store it cocked, unless its different to a hasselblad in that regard. So I was probably doing the wrong thing?

I like this site, I pick up little bits of information here and there.

 

[Steve Smith]

Cocked or un-cocked doesn't really matter with any shutter as the spring is in tension in either case. i.e. it is still in tension when un-cocked as the mechanism only uses a small portion of the spring's movement to actuate.

As most camera systems need the lenses to be cocked for removal and re-mounting, it seems logical to keep them cocked.


Steve.

 

[Frank Chambers]

Just a quick excursion to the mentioned Mamiya system. In the instructions for RZ interchangeable lenses, point 6 is written:

"If a lens is not to be used for a prolonged period, we recommend storing it with the shutter released. To release the shutter of a lens that has been removed from the camera body,..."

This is indeed for the Mamiya RZ lenses only.

 

[brucemuir]

Just a quick excursion to the mentioned Mamiya system. In the instructions for RZ interchangeable lenses, point 6 is written:

"If a lens is not to be used for a prolonged period, we recommend storing it with the shutter released. To release the shutter of a lens that has been removed from the camera body,..."

This is indeed for the Mamiya RZ lenses only.

Does it hint at what "prolonged" constitutes?

 

[Sirius Glass]

Just a quick excursion to the mentioned Mamiya system. In the instructions for RZ interchangeable lenses, point 6 is written:

"If a lens is not to be used for a prolonged period, we recommend storing it with the shutter released. To release the shutter of a lens that has been removed from the camera body,..."

This is indeed for the Mamiya RZ lenses only.

Yes, but the Hasselblad lenses are specifically designed to be stored in the cocked position. Mamiya does not use the same design criteria, that is the difference.

 

[Frank Chambers]

Does it hint at what "prolonged" constitutes?

Nope, no hint is given. I guess it might be more than a month or longer... But I have a 110/2.8 which was stored about 10 years cocked and it works perfect. Its shutter tension is very, very soft compared to uncocked stored lenses but as said, it works perfect.

And yes, of course it's different to Hasselblad.

 

[Danielle]

Thats interesting to know, blad's cocked and mamiya's uncocked. Ha. - If I ever decide to blow money on a blad as well. *shrugs* ... Was contemplating, thats all.

Its an RB I have. My 'prolonged period' was like 6 years. Stored in a huge lowepro bag with silica gel uncocked with the lens on the body.

 

[MattKing]

Actually .....

In normal use, the shutters in the Mamiya RB/RZ lenses are intended to be left tensioned between uses, so the suggestion to release the tension for long term storage is interesting, and clearly differentiated from the "norm".

 

[laser]

I had a similar this discussion with Hasselblad's optical engineer. For reference his initials were E. P. It is not appropriate to supply his name. He was responsible for the glass and mechanical lens parts. He recommended low humidity to avoid growth <35%. The shutter should be stored uncocked since this puts less stress on the main spring. If removed from the camera use a coin to slow down the unwinding of the shutter mechanism. (Hold a coin in the slot then trip the lens by pushing the protected release on the back of the lens.) Store at 1 second since this is also a less stressed position.

To keep the shutter parts lubricated, activate the lens at least once a year at a variety of speeds. Also, rotate the focusing ring through the range. Storing at a variety of orientations keeps the lubricate from building up in one place.

To reinstall on the camera body, carefully wind the lens with the coin. Be careful not to let the coin slip.

The camera leaves the lens cocked in order to provide a user feature. The lenses can standup to this use but it may not be ideal for long term storage.


It is still best to use it!

 

[Steve Smith]

Yes, but the Hasselblad lenses are specifically designed to be stored in the cocked position. Mamiya does not use the same design criteria, that is the difference.

But they both use springs and in either case, a cocked spring probably only has 10% to 20% more tension than an un-cocked spring.



Steve.

 

[skahde]

I love my Hasselblads and could hardly imagine to use anything else but if I had to take care about the orientation I store them in, I'd switch to Mamiya.

 

[Steve Smith]

if I had to take care about the orientation I store them in, I'd switch to Mamiya.

I can't think of any piece of mechanical equipment which could be damaged by storing it the wrong way round!


Steve.