| Today I got a Hasselblad 500C (I'll take better pictures of it when I have some time). Here is all the info about it before I forget! It is a late transitional 500C model which was built in 1970 and has "all" the features of a 500C/M, i.e. interchangeable focusing screens. It came with two different focusing screens, the original one and a brighter more recent "Acute Matte with crosshair" (model #42165). It also came with a recent folding focusing hood (model #42315). The camera has been serviced by Hasselblad (in Göteborg) in 2012 and the rear shutter and the mirror mechanism has been replaced. The film back is an A12 back built in 1989, light seals were ok a couple of years ago but probably worth checking at some point. The lens I got with it is a Hasselblad 150mm f/4 C lens in its original "bubble" case. |  |
First test with a roll of film!
For a first test, I just shot a test roll with it using a roll of Ilford HP5+ film which expired in 2005 (10 years ago!). I have shot film from the same box before and I typically shoot it at 200 instead of 400 and develop it normally. That kind of "compensate" for the expiration. The goal for this test is just to get some pictures to make sure the camera works and that I am loading and handling it properly. Since there is no much light, I needed to use a strobe to be able to shoot at 200 and I was not sure if I would be able to sync it properly. After a few tests looking though the lens (without the film back), it looks like using the sync port on the lens in X mode works fine so that is what I used. Using the sync port on the body also gets the strobe to fire but not at the right time, it is probably only meant to be used with slow shutter speeds, I'll have to check. Anyway, for this test, I did it very simple and setup a soft-box on the strobe and used a dark grey background. I metered with my digital camera and got an aperture of f/5.6 at ISO 200. For the shutter speed I used 1/250s.
The film is now drying and it look like I have got 12 exposures. I am a bit unsure if the pictures are going to be in focus but in terms of exposure the negative looks consistent across the 12 frames. That mean that the flash sync at 1/250s seems to work just fine (normally it should work at all shutter speed and up to 1/500s). In terms of focusing, it was pretty easy to focus on the eyes whenever I could see a catch light but my model was not very cooperative and not standing still for more than a few unpredictable seconds. I did not do the math before shooting but now, looking at a depth of field calculator, at f/5,6 with 150mm at about 2 meters, I get a DoF of 10cm only... If I had calculated that before I would probably have cranked the light up to shoot at f/8 or f/11 which would giver respectively about 15 and 20cm of DoF. We will see if I managed to get any sharp pictures!
Above are the 12 pictures I got. I scanned them in "RAW" and the applied the same basic levels adjustments to all of them. The image quality is not so good and there is some visible dust and grain but that is just because the film is severely expired which makes for some negatives with low contrast. Apart from that focusing does not seem to be so bad even if some of the pictures are off (I blame the model for that).
Result of the first test
Looking closer at the images, the only problem I cannot really explain is that 3 of the images (#5, #10 and #11) have a sort of ghost image which is visible along the edge of the white shirt. At 1/250s should have been high enough to cut the ambient light (including the modelling light) and eliminate any movement. I have seen similar results when shooting with the strobe (and modelling light on) when using the Pentax 6x7 which has a sync speed of 1/30s only. I will have to further test the shutter to make sure it not slower than it seems (the lens was not used for the last 2 or 3 years). It is only visible on 3 of the pictures so maybe it is an intermittent problem but it could also be that those 3 pictures were the ones with significant movement, I am not sure.
I looked again at the camera trying to figure out if it could be the shutter in the lens which was too slow. It does not seem so and the shutter sounds about right. It may not be perfect (I would have to do some measurements for that) but it really does not seem that 1/250 would be 2 or 3 stops slower. However, while testing I think that I have found the real issue. Sometimes when firing the shutter, the rear doors open before the lens shutter is closed. This means that in those cases the film is indeed exposed twice! This does not happen all the time but when it happens it typically does it a few times in a row. I have tested using the pre-release button and sure enough, once in a while the rear doors open while the shutter is closing.
I have also noticed that when I press the shutter release all the way in, sometimes the shutter does not fire. The rear doors opens normally with the shutter closed (or or sometime closing) but it is only when I slightly let go of the shutter release button that the shutter fires. If I press the shutter slowly, then the shutter seem to fire as it should (but sometimes there is still the problem that the rear doors open before the shutter is closed).
This seem to be a more serious problem than a slow or sticky shutter in the lens. I have no idea if this could be a fault in the body or if it is a problem with the lens shutter. Both? Hopefully not! :-)
I have also noticed that when I press the shutter release all the way in, sometimes the shutter does not fire. The rear doors opens normally with the shutter closed (or or sometime closing) but it is only when I slightly let go of the shutter release button that the shutter fires. If I press the shutter slowly, then the shutter seem to fire as it should (but sometimes there is still the problem that the rear doors open before the shutter is closed).
This seem to be a more serious problem than a slow or sticky shutter in the lens. I have no idea if this could be a fault in the body or if it is a problem with the lens shutter. Both? Hopefully not! :-)
Second test with a different lens
To get a better idea of where the problem comes from, I tested the body with another lens (and 80mm F/2.8 Plannar). Without film I can clearly see the difference. With the 150mm lens, when using the pre-release, I can clearly see the shutter closing in the lens after the back doors have opened. With other lenses, this never happens. I have tested with an 80mm and with a 250mm and no metter how many tests I make, the shutter is always closed before the back opens. When I put back the 150mm the problem is clearly visible. My guess is that the reason is that the shutter is somehow a bit sticky. It does not seem to affect the shutter speed that much but it clearly retards the closing of the shutter before it is released. Not too sure what to do about it... it seems that the fix is beyond DIY and service could be very expensive. We will see! Anyway, since the 80mm worked, I shot a second test roll with it, here are a few pictures (Same setup and expired film as the first roll but with a black background and the 80mm lens).
Conclusion
After the second test and a lot of testing with different lenses and without film, it seems that the camera is working perfectly as it should. So far I have not noticed any issues with the film back either, it works smoothly and there are no signs of any light leaks (I have not been shooting in bright daylight because there is no bright daylight these days). However, the 150mm f4 Sonnar lens has a faulty shutter. Knowing it, I could use it if on a tripod by putting the lens cap on, hitting the pre-release, removing the lens cap and then firing the shutter. This could work for some landscape shots but for any portrait this is not realistic. I'll have to find a way to fix it or to have it fixed!