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Disastrous Hasselblad Repair Experience

chrism

Well-known member
I'm very pissed off right now. Six weeks ago I sent my 848 away to New Jersey for service and repair. It had been working just fine until one day I put in a negative holder and it came back out canted to one side. As it came back out the metal clip that the negative holder slides into was out of place and it caught on the metal tongue at the back of the light table. It started making clicking noises as it got stuck and I switched it off straight away. Then I switched it on again and used Flexcolor to lock the mechanism for transport. I have the original box and packing materials, so I bundled it up and sent it back to NJ after a few e-mails. I'm in Canada, and the customs at the border held it up a long time as they were certain it was some kind of medical device ("scanner" and the sender is an MD) emitting noxious radiation. Eventually it got to NJ and after a two week wait in the queue I got an estimate of about $600 to fix it. Yes, said I, in my innocence. I enquired after it two days ago and was told it had shipped last week. It arrived back today, and on putting in a negative holder to see if all is well guess what happened? Just the same. This time the mechanism tried to moved the negative holder back and forth as it does for a preview and it caught again on the metal tongue at the back of the light table. Clicking noises and before I could hit the power switch the transport broke and moved so that it snapped the light tube. Just for fun, a black plastic part rolled out of the scanner down the light table. On e-mailing NJ, I was asked about damage to the box etc. Flexcolor's maintenance menu shows that the scanner's last service was on 4th August and that it has had 36 scans without a feeder and zero with one. I thought this meant it hadn't been tried with a negative holder, but I am told by the very polite Maryann Murphy that this refers to something other than a holder, perhaps the multiple-holder mechanism that the 848 and X5 support. She has agreed it must go back to them but has been coy about answering my questions about shipping arrangements. Having spent $600 on the last repair and around $300 shipping it there by Purolator and $200 by UPS getting it back, I'm $1100 down and no better off. I don't think I should have to pay anything more for Hasselblad to make right what they missed.

I may be an amateur, but I still have things to do. I have been asked to photograph the annual staff party at a local business ('as long as you use film'!) in ten days time. I have a Nikon 9000 and a Konica Minolta 5400 as backup, but I've been spoiled by the Flextight, and I now find that six weeks of using the Nikon have been wretched, especially as I have to use Vuescan instead of NikonScan given Apple's relentless march of progress. To add to it all, I was diagnosed with leukemia two weeks ago, and while it might seem silly and a good example of denial in action, I had been rather counting on getting my scanner back and enjoying a few films before the chemo starts. Since Hasselblad are the only game in town that are going to be better than the Nikon 9000 and the Plusteks, I have ordered an X1 this evening from B&H. I can't take the cash with me and my widow can sell it when I'm done with it. But I am so angry that Hasselblad have the nerve to charge so much and do such a rotten job. I hope you all have better experiences with your scanners - they are the best but Hasselblad isn't doing its part as far as I'm concerned. Should they manage to repair the 848 I will sell it, but you can be sure I will test it out first!

Chris
 

Oren Grad

Active member
< * OUCH * >

...not to mention...

:(

Here's hoping that Hasselblad will figure out in a real hurry how to do right by you. Most important of all, best of luck with your treatment!
 

docmoore

Subscriber and Workshop Member
... I've been spoiled by the Flextight, and I now find that six weeks of using the Nikon have been wretched, especially as I have to use Vuescan instead of NikonScan given Apple's relentless march of progress. To add to it all, I was diagnosed with leukemia two weeks ago, and while it might seem silly and a good example of denial in action, I had been rather counting on getting my scanner back and enjoying a few films before the chemo starts. Since Hasselblad are the only game in town that are going to be better than the Nikon 9000 and the Plusteks, I have ordered an X1 this evening from B&H.

Chris
Hi Chris,

What a poignant post...I moved from a 343 a number of years ago and still have fond memories of the output...not the process.

The familiar and comforting processes that we entail in photography do bring a huge relief in the midst of our stressful lives...whether in the darkroom or the lightroom our most inner desires can be assuaged with the process of working a picture to fruition.

I do believe the the X1 will be a step up from the 848 and that in the long run Hasselblad will make things right. You may look back at this with relief that you have the newer generation of scanner in the future.

And depending on your diagnosis ... leukemia has a much better prognosis today than it did when I graduated from medical school. Much advance has made the outcome for the majority of patients a huge site better. And the advances in ameliorating the discomfort of the chemo process have been profound. Fatigue seems to be the limiting factor for patients at the present time.

Please keep us informed of your resolution with Hasselblad and how the new scanner blows the doors off the old one....

Take each day as it was intended...a gracious gift to each of us.

You will be in my prayers and thoughts.

Regards,

Bob
 

Oren Grad

Active member
A postscript, in case you're not already aware of it: the NCI's search engine for clinical trials can be set to filter for trials (from any sponsor, not just NCI) that are available in Canada.

Search for Clinical Trials - National Cancer Institute

This can often be useful in finding out what's going on at the cutting edge for a given tumor type, independent of whether you are inclined to participate in a trial at this time.

Again, all best for a course of treatment that's minimally burdensome and maximally effective.
 
PM coming your way. Have Marc Williams pristine 949 and stand ready to scan your negs from the upcoming job. Would be very careful with your negs.

No charge. Just a helping hand.

Don't let lack of scanner stand in your way short term.
 

chrism

Well-known member
PM coming your way. Have Marc Williams pristine 949 and stand ready to scan your negs from the upcoming job. Would be very careful with your negs.

No charge. Just a helping hand.

Don't let lack of scanner stand in your way short term.
That's a very kind offer, but the X1 should be here in time.

C.
 
I suggest you write a letter detailing your experience and send it via FedEx to the CEO or President of Hasselblad. Send copies to as many professional organizations (ASMP, APA, etc.) and trade magazines that you can identify. It should be easy to find the CEO and mailing address on the web. If the CEO truly cares about the company, your letter should bring some immediate action. Mark Weidman
 

chrism

Well-known member
They have agreed to reimburse me the cost of shipping it back. We'll see what happens after that.

Chris
 

szfofa

New member
I'd like to add my Imacon repair experience to this for anyone who has to face this in the future: I sent my Flextight Photo to them back in July. Maryann is the worst. Her emails to me would be so short and barely informative. "[Your scanner has arrived]".... Ok... Well then what? why do I have to write her again to get more info?!

the hasselblad site says 5 business day turn around. in email, they said looking like 10 day turnaround. They inform me they no longer service SCSI Imacons but will do a tune and lube for $300. $250 to ship it from west coast and $300 to tune it. I emailed her about once a month sometimes with no response, so I'd have to email her again and again. October, I finally get an email that the computer they use for SCSI is out for repair and they have to wait for that to be fixed. November, I email again their repair sir Tripodi gets back to me and says that their computer is broken and can't fix and they can if I want send it back not repaired(his email tone is nice and sincere though). I reply that I never even got an estimate also state that I never expected it to be repaired in the first place I merely wanted a tune and lube. so just under 4 months later, they are mailing it back after a tune and lube. I emailed maryann back and asked for a discount (because of time and lack of warranty since they can't tests it because their computer is broke, boo hoo, I am paying for a service!) and my cc info after she sent me the invoice. Of course she doesn't respond, she just charges my card for the full amount. At a point, where I just want the thing back. She just seems useless. I hope she reads this, I just cross my fingers that a tune and lube is all I need. Tripodi says even though he cant test it, he believes it should work now.

Long story short: Annmary Murphy at Hasselblad sucks and is a horrible communicator, and buy or rent a replacement scanner until you get yours back, because it's going to be a long time.
 

chrism

Well-known member
I should add that my 848's second trip to New Jersey was successful and there was no charge for doing the repair that they didn't do the first time. I never was re-imbursed for the shipping. I found Maryann helpful but I can understand your frustration with the delays you experienced.

If anyone is interested in buying a freshly serviced 848 give me a shout!

Chris
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
First, best wishes to you!!! Health is everything and I hope you find it at the end of this process.

Secondly, and much much less importantly, Hassy is NOT the "only game in town" for high end scanning. Our High-End Film Scanning System will beat a drum scanner in every metric, provide modern/fast/flexible software interface to work with the resulting raw file, and is much, much, much faster. Not to mention it's based around a digital back you can use for other things when you're not scanning film.

We've been replacing drum scanners across the country at major institutions. They were the best way to scan film... a decade ago. Moving parts with wear/tear, calibration issues, declining market share, expensive and inconclusive repairs, and extremely limited continual investment in R+D or service has led to a very untenable position for drum scanners and high-end flatbed scanners across the board.

Of course I'm very biased as I am the product manager of this system. :)
 

Oren Grad

Active member
Secondly, and much much less importantly, Hassy is NOT the "only game in town" for high end scanning. Our High-End Film Scanning System will beat a drum scanner in every metric, provide modern/fast/flexible software interface to work with the resulting raw file, and is much, much, much faster. Not to mention it's based around a digital back you can use for other things when you're not scanning film.
So what would it cost to build a system for scanning medium format film with your components? To make it concrete, let's say 6x9cm format. I know how much the backs cost - it's the other components that are unknowns.
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
So what would it cost to build a system for scanning medium format film with your components? To make it concrete, let's say 6x9cm format. I know how much the backs cost - it's the other components that are unknowns.
The system is very modular so it's hard to give a specific number. Some clients already have lightboxes they are happy with, or already have decent holders, or already have a copystand or studio stand and only need the lens/body/stage. Full setup can be many tens of thousands (including 80mp digital back) while individual components can be in the hundreds. If you're interested shoot me an email at [email protected] and I can send you component pricing.
 

SHV

Member
"Long story short: Annmary Murphy at Hasselblad sucks and is a horrible communicator.."
*****
A very poor person to deal with the public, especially with the costs associated with repairing Hasselblad equipment.

Steve
 
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