Another sweet tutorial video from Luke Healey, this one on loading Hasselblad A12 film backs.
(Don’t laugh if you’ve never tried to load one of these things, it’s nearly impossible to figure out on your own if you don’t have a user manual!)
Tag: hasselblad
The magic hands of a camera repair professional
I have a new-style Hasselblad A12 film back that’s been stuck on my 203FE body for over two weeks now. I could change the film by pulling the insert, but the shell just wouldn’t move, meaning that I couldn’t clean or change the viewfinder or attach a Polaroid back. I messed with it, posted to the Hasselblad group on Flickr about it, tried different darkslides (since the back is locked onto the body when the darkslide is removed), coaxed it, and almost sang and danced for it. Nothing worked.
Expecting a long and expensive service trip, I gritted my teeth this morning and called the local Hasselblad rep to ask about repair. Oddly, the number seemed to be out of service (fast busy signal), so I hit Google and found several recommendations for Advance Camera in San Francisco. I talked to him on the phone and he told me to bring it in, which I did. He tried the release catch and noted that it was indeed stuck. Then he fiddled with the darkslide. I thought about how I’d already done everything he’s doing, that it’s not going to work and better for him than it did for me, and that I’m going to be without my camera for a while and out a significant chunk of money. I can see the film back in a million pieces on his workbench in my head, growing more expensive by the minute.
And then, after a whole four seconds or so, the back came off and is now working perfectly. He said something about how sometimes your body stops hurting when you go to the doctor, and shrugged. Magic.
Fujinon discontinue production of XPan and some LF lenses
This is from month or two back, I somehow got it stuck as a draft and forgot about it. Anyway, the following large format lenses are now out of production, so whatever is left in the supply chain is it if you want to buy new:
- Fujinon-SW 90mm f/8 (shipment ended August 2006)
- Fujinon-T 300mm f/8 (shipment ended in August 2006)
- Fujinon-CMW 300mm f/5.6 (shipment ended in December 2006)
- Fujinon-SWD 65mm f/5.6 (shipment ended in December 2006)
and all of the Hasselblad XPan/Fuji TX lenses stopped shipping in November 2006:
- 30mm f/5.6
- 45mm f/4
- 90mmm f/4
Via Kerry L. Thalmann on the Large Format Photography Forum
If you’re interested in Fujinon large format lenses, check out Thalmann’s Unofficial Fujinon Lenses page. No historical information seems to be available from the manufacturer, and this is far and away the best resource I’ve seen.
New Hasselblad user group mailing list
Vincent Frazzetta says:
This long-running user group (HUG) has apparently gone quiet, and a new one has started at www.freelists.org/archives/hasselblad. Contact person is Jim Brick at jim at brick dot org.
How to un-jam a Hasselblad V-series body
Here’s how to solve one of those "oh, shit" moments, when your Hasselblad body gets stuck:
Ordinarily the lens and body are both cocked. You cannot install a lens unless both the lens and the body are cocked. However, you cannot remove a lens unless both units are cocked. When the condition is otherwise, the lens cannot be removed. This condition is called "jammed". It is really not that way. It is just that the cocked-cocked combination is no longer present. I have found that the lens is the normal culprit for getting the pair out of sync. Sometimes the lens can fire without being told to do so. This causes the lens and body to be out of sync.
Continue reading the how-to (with pictures) at PhotoWeb Tech
Victor by Hasselblad paper magazine
In keeping with the Hasselblad philosophy of developing products of outstanding quality that are ahead of their time, and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Victor Hasselblad’s birth, Hasselblad is launching at photokina a truly innovative publication for professional photographers – Victor by Hasselblad. By showcasing the work of selected photographers and describing how they capture their best images, Victor by Hasselblad hopes to inspire professional photographers to new levels of digital photographic excellence. Setting a new standard in photographic magazines, Victor by Hasselblad will be published quarterly in print with an online presence that will be refreshed monthly.
Continue reading the announcement at the Photonika Web site or the magazine itself at victor.hasselblad.com.
Immense shitload of new Zeiss F, M, and CF lenses
Zeiss are blasting out a huge range of new manual focus lenses:
Leica M mount
- Distagon T* 18mm f/4
- C Biogon T* 21mm f/4.5
Nikon F mount
- ZF Distagon T* 35mm f/2
- ZF Makro-Planar 50mm f/2
- ZF Makro-Planar 100mm f/2
- ZF Distagon T* 25mm f/2.8
Hasselblad CF mount (appear to be vintage-look versions of the currently available equivalents)
- Makro-Planar T* 120mm f/4
- Distagon T* 50mm f/4
- Sonnar T* 180mm f/4
Check out Photos and commentary at The Online Photographer or Zeiss’ rundown (minus the Hasselblads).
It’s official: Hasselblad XPan panoramic rangefinder discontinued
Well, the rumour that I’ve written about previously is true: Hasselblad are discontinuing the XPan panoramic rangefinder camera.
According to this article in the British Journal of Photography,
The decision follows new EU regulations—known as ROHS approvals—which come into effect on 01 July, designed to cut back on hazardous waste.
The approvals state that new electrical equipment cannot contain lead, cadmium or many other hazardous materials.
This means that lead soldering can no longer be used in the cameras’ circuit boards. The use of non-lead designs are more complex and would necessitate a total redesign of the cameras.
…
He [Hasselblad CEO Christian Poulsen] predicted supplies would run out in the next two months, but promised that support would continue for another 10 years.
While I won’t say that their reason for pulling it is outright bullshit, I will say that it certainly smells like it. I could be wrong, but I fail to see why a solder change would necessitate a redesign at all: simply put lead-free solder in the wave solderer that assembles the circuit boards and that’s that. We’re talking about solder. It carries electricity between points A and B. We’re not talking about the banning of resistors here.
The article does go on to say that Hasselblad are working on a "tilt-shift solution" and that more information will be available at the Photonika trade show this September, so maybe it’s not all crap news after all.
Read article at the British Journal of Photography’s Web site
Interview with Hasselblad at Luminous Landscape
Luminous Landscape has just posted an interview with Jack Showalter, president of Hasselblad USA, by fine arts photographer Pete Myers.
"Between sales of Hasselblad scanners and Hasselblad film cameras, as well as our unique position as being a manufacturer of medium format film and digital solutions, I can assure you that film remains extremely important to Hasselblad, despite the fact that the film business is in decline…"
Continue reading at Luminous Landscape
Hasselblad announce 503CWD DSLR
Hasselblad will launch a new 12 megapixel 503CWD DSLR, which is essentially a 503CW with a the CFV digital back, which replaces the V96C. Wanky limited edition of 500 pieces.
Consider the following facts:
- The list price of for the back alone is US $9,995.
- You can buy a CanoScan LiDE 60 for about $80.
- Add in $60 in other materials.
This means that you can make 71.3929 scanner cams for the price of the back. I’ll admit that I own and operate two Hasselblad film cameras, but does a Hassy back produce results 71.3929 better than a hacked-up scanner back? Completely different tools for completely different jobs, of course—and I wouldn’t kick one out of bed if it landed in my lap (or would I, and buy an SWC with the proceeds? yeah, probably…)—but still fun to think about.