Frustrated....

[bensonga]

As some of you know, I bought a new 503CWD-II with the 40mm IF lens a few weeks ago. I had to send it back to Hasselblad USA service shortly after getting it because the 40mm IF lens would not trigger the shutter/back at all when mounted on the 503CWD-II (the 40mm worked fine on my 501CM, as did all my other V-series lenses on the 503CWD).

I got the camera back from Hasselblad on Friday. The good news is that the 40mm lens and camera seems to work fine now....at least, the shutter trips and an image is taken.

My frustration is this....the CFV-II back is now not fitting tightly on the 503CW camera body. When I first used the camera this morning, I immediately noticed an odd "clicking" sound when I picked it up and mounted it on my tripod. What I've discovered is that I can hold the back while it's mounted on the camera and wiggle it from left to right, which makes a metallic clicking sound, and I can see it move a fraction of an inch. I'm quite sure this was NOT happening before I sent it to Hasselbald for service.....I certainly would have noticed it and asked them to check this out when they worked to sort out the problem with the 40mm IF lens and camera.

I've tried a film back on the 503CWD and it does the same thing now. All of my 3 Hasselblad film backs are solid as a rock when mounted on my 501CM and 553ELX.

This very, very slight looseness in the back to camera interface probably will have no effect on the image, but I'll have to say, it's bugging me.

Generally speaking, I don't think I'm a picky sort of person...but having spent almost $13,000 on this camera and just getting it back from Hasselblad service, well I'm wondering now if I should contact them about this little "problem" at the risk of having to send it back again, or just live with it.

Yeah, I'm a little frustrated with this.....any thoughts as to what I should do?

Gary Benson
Eagle River, Alaska

 

[jlm]

on mine, i have to release the lock button to let the sliding release business engage the back on the prongs properly

 

[bensonga]

on mine, i have to release the lock button to let the sliding release business engage the back on the prongs properly

Yes, I've done the same on mine.....no matter what I do, there is still a very slight looseness in the back/camera connection now, resulting in this metallic clicking sound. I even tried using different finders on it (no effect). Does your camera/back fit tightly together with no looseness?

Gary

 

[Jack]

Bummer Gary. Any play in the back is almost certainly not a good thing...

 

[woodyspedden]

Gary

Have you tried the CFV on the 501 and if so does it do the same thing?

I had some metallic clicking with a film back on my 501 until I learned the trick of assuring the release was off until the back was securely seating.

I never noticed any issues with either the film or digital back on my 501 with regard to image quality.

Nonetheless i would send it back to hasselblad with a request for rapid turnaround and I think they will take good care of you. My interactions with them have proven them to be a top quality service organization. Wish Leica were half as good!

Woody

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Sounds like the mounting pins loosened up or latch

 

[bensonga]

Bummer Gary. Any play in the back is almost certainly not a good thing...

I'm worried that might be the case, but I didn't know if a very, very slight amount of looseness is within the range of acceptable tolerances or not. It doesn't look like there is more than a fraction of a millimeter of movement...but it's just enough to feel, hear and see, which is disturbing/annoying, even for me.

With equipment like this, you want to feel that it is "solid as a rock", not "loosey, goosey".

Gary

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Gary sorry to say even the slightest looseness can be deadly with a digital back in regard to image quality. May want to call Hassy and see what they say and what can be done.

 

[fotografz]

My CFV-II back is rock solid fit on the 203FE, but can be slightly wiggled on the 503CW that came with the back, and has a little less play on my older 503CW ... none of them have any shooting issues at all. None.

Same thing with the first version of the CFV I had.

If it bugs you that much, send it back. I wouldn't, it's got nothing to do with actual image making .... with the cavet that I'm not there to experience yours and how much play it may have.

What you do not want is it being too tight. Then you won't be able to get the darn thing to release.

 

[bensonga]

Gary sorry to say even the slightest looseness can be deadly with a digital back in regard to image quality. May want to call Hassy and see what they say and what can be done.

Thanks Guy, Jack and everyone.....I think I will call Hasselblad on Monday. I wasn't sure whether to contact them about something that might seem very picky and be within the range of acceptable tolerances.

I did try the CFV back on my 501CM and it fits a little tighter....not as snugly as my film backs, but more so than it does on the 503CWD body. It's probably just a very slight adjustment to the hooks or something that is required. Unfortunately, a little adjustment is also what Hasselblad said was required to sort out the 503CWD & 40mm IF lens problem....just a very slight adjustment because the tolerances were so close. It would be nice if they got everything adjusted before the camera was sold or sent to the customer the first time...oh well, I guess nothing's perfect.

I'm sure I'll get this all sorted out eventually and will have many years of enjoyment and excellent images to look forward to in the years ahead with this camera. It's just a little frustrating to start off this way.

Thanks again.

Gary

 

[bensonga]

My CFV-II back is rock solid fit on the 203FE, but can be slightly wiggled on the 503CW that came with the back, and has a little less play on my older 503CW ... none of them have any shooting issues at all. None.

Same thing with the first version of the CFV I had.

If it bugs you that much, send it back. I wouldn't, it's got nothing to do with actual image making .... with the cavet that I'm not there to experience yours and how much play it may have.

What you do not want is it being too tight. Then you won't be able to get the darn thing to release.

I should have waited to hear from you Marc.....I think you have more experience with this camera and back that anyone.

I think I'll try to get out tomorrow and shoot 20-30 images and see how they look, before I make that call to Hasselbald.

I don't want to be picky about this....it was just a noticeable difference between how snugly the CFV back fit on the 503CWD when I got it originally vs when it came back from Hasselblad service on Friday and how my film backs fit on the other bodies. I had not experienced this "looseness" with any of my film backs on the 501CM or 553ELX before....the solid feel of the Hasselblad cameras and lenses was always something that impressed me and which I enjoyed.

Gary

 

[woodyspedden]

Gary

May I make a suggestion. It is better to lose your camera and back to Hassy service for a week or two than to go through the next 10 years being "bugged" by this loose fit. Send it back to hassy, regardless of whether you see image degradation or not. Once the back is "tuned" to the body you will stop thinking about it, forever. But I agree with Marc, the last thing you want is a back to body fit which is so tight you can't release it easily. Now there is a problem

Woody

 

[dougpeterson]

As the head of tech services and support of a similar company I can tell your dealer will want to at least hear from you that you have the problem.

They can help tell you decide whether it goes in for repair, whether its within tolerance, or exactly what tests you can do to decide.

Doug Peterson
Capture Integration, Phase One Dealer
Personal Portfolio

 

[bensonga]

As the head of tech services and support of a similar company I can tell your dealer will want to at least hear from you that you have the problem.

They can help tell you decide whether it goes in for repair, whether its within tolerance, or exactly what tests you can do to decide.

Doug Peterson
Capture Integration, Phase One Dealer
Personal Portfolio

Doug,

Yes, Steve Hendrix at PPR has been terrific in helping me get the original problem with the camera and 40mm IF lens sorted out. He contacted Hasselbald for me and arranged for me to ship the camera back to Hasselblad USA service in New Jersey (at Hasselblad's expense) etc. I just got the camera back on Friday, was happy to see that the original problem had been fixed and then noticed this little problem. I suppose I should have just called Steve, instead of posting here, but as my original note indicated.....I was feeling pretty frustrated at the time and frankly, wondered if I was overreacting or not. I appreciate hearing from all of you re your experience and thoughts.....I'll call Steve on Monday an see what he thinks I should do.

Thanks again everyone.....I'm sure I'll get this sorted out one way or another and be a happy MFDB shooter very soon.

Gary Benson
Eagle River, Alaska

 

[bensonga]

Steve Hendrix sent me a note today re this slight looseness in my CFV back on the 503CWD. He checked a CFV back there at PPR on a 503CX and it did the same thing. So, based on this info and Marc's experience noted above, I'll consider it "within spec" and just accept it as one of those quirks of life (or Swedish engineering and manufacturing). I wish it weren't the case, but I'll try not to let it distract me from enjoying the camera and (hopefully) capturing some decent images in the years ahead.

I need to remember that perfection is not always achievable. Life is full of little annoyances which need to be kept in perspective. Sometimes, that's hard to do. Guess I'm more picky than I was willing to admit.

Gary Benson
Eagle River, Alaska

 

[PeterA]

Gary,

if it makes you feel any better I had a touch of lateral give' betwen my Leaf back and my H1 when I was using this combination. after a lot of testing and sweating - I proved to myself that in fact it didnt negatively imact on the sharpness of the images or the qualty of the files I was getting.

Make a few nice pics and you wil feel like the system is a friend with a foible.:thumbup:it really is a very nice set-up and I was very tempted to make this system my second back.

Cheers

 

[David K]

If the looseness bugs you (it would probably bug me too) why not just stick a tiny bit of gaffers tape or a folded piece of paper between the back and the body to snug it up a bit and get rid of the rattle. Also, I wouldn't worry about being overly picky in this crowd... I suspect most of us are.

 

[bensonga]

Thanks Peter and David....good thoughts and suggestions which I will take to heart. I might just try that gaffer's tape suggestion David and see if this does the trick for me. I just know that metallic click is going to bug me every time I pick up the camera....for awhile anyways.

Gary

 

[Guy Mancuso]

It would bug me sorry to say.

 

[Jack]

One caution on the gaffer tape thing --- it might push your back too far, enough to alter the proper plane of focus...