The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Fun with the Hasselblad 907x

leejo

Member
It is not quite so simple as just "switch to the split screen focusing aid". I find I need different screens to aid focusing depending upon which lens I'm using for most consistent results. Also, the standard focusing magnifier in my (older) waist level finder does not provide as good a focusing environment as using the focusing magnifier chimney with the diopter adjustment eye piece ... I get a significant bump in the percentage of accurately focused images, shooting wide open, when I switch to the right focusing screen for the particular lens I'm using AND to the chimney magnifier together. Otherwise, most of the time I find I need to stop down two stops to obtain enough DoF and compensate for focusing inaccuracy.
Not wanting to go over this again too much, but:

1) Yes, this is what we've been saying for a while in this thread and others. I said using this back with the V bodies would be a compromise and you've listed some of those compromises above. Again I'm going to rant that Hasselblad highlighting the back working with their entire legacy of V bodies but saying nothing of the problems we have talked about, and you have now realised, is poor form.

2) If you're having to use a different screen with different lenses then something is off. You should get your V body CLA'd and calibrated. Possibly even your lenses are out. If the split screen works with one lens it should work with them all.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I've been working on another project with the 907x ... TCDeveaux' question in another thread inspired that I start writing about it.

---
Question for all the 907x/CFVII users out there - any recommendations for an arca/really right stuff compatible tripod plate for the 907x body? With or without L-bracket.
Asking for a friend :cool:
I have been using a Benro PU50 camera plate with the 907x. It works well, can be fitted either in fore-aft orientation or side-to-side orientation, and its thin, inset rubber pads prevent rotation nicely once snugged properly. Key in fitting it is to center it onto the 907x body ... I found if I fitted it slid back a little ways that it was exerting a little pressure on the CFVII 50c back in one particular spot. Don't know if that was any problem, but it disturbed me.

Since then, I've been thinking of other handling improvements. Hasselblad showed their prototype grip in a photo at announcement time, which turns the 907x into an eye-level camera and gives you right-hand controls to operate it with. That looks like it will be great for that kind of use when it appears, but it isn't how I ordinarily want to hold the camera ... I like shooting with it at waist level using the LCD. What makes sense for my goals is to handle the camera using a 'dumb' grip on the left side, where there are little in way of controls, and leaving the right side free for access to the control dial, alternate button, shutter release, and focusing ring. Arranged correctly, this would also allow for using the full format (LCD in vertical orientation) by rotating the whole camera easily and again leaving the controls accessible.

Cobbling something like this together, I thought of the Three-Legged Thing short L-plate that someone had mentioned in one of these threads and looked it up. It looks like it's functional but I wasn't impressed with the style and bulk of it ... I'd want this grip to be on a camera a lot of the time so it's important that whatever I pick to build it on fits the body pretty tightly.

Poking around, I came up with the Kirk Enterprises (née Kirk Photo) Universal Small L-Bracket. This is very trim and light, sits very close to the body, and has two channels for the securing bolt. With the bolt fitted into the front channel, it allows full access to the control dial and shutter release with the vertical foot snug and nearly flat against the left side of the camera. There's a loop for a hand/neck strap on the right (in addition to the standard strap lug), and the standard strap lug is accessible through the rails on the left. That presents an excellent L-bracket all by itself for using the camera with its full 3:4 format on a tripod, and it's relatively inexpensive as these things go.

Next, I discovered the Really Right Stuff 22MM MICRO CLAMP, a really tiny A-S compatible clamp with two 1/4-20 tripod mounts on its base. Seems to me that I can fit a hand-whittled wooden grip to this with two bolts and make the combination of this plus the ULB-1 into a nicely adjustable, reasonably compact and light left-hand grip for the 907x package that will suit my desires. So I've got all the bits on the table, a nice block of wood, and my whittling knives. :D

Here are a couple of photos of the camera with ULB-1 fitted:



Click image for a video of the camera and L-bracket from a variety of angles and orientations.

You'll notice that the camera is tilted forward in the L-bracket. This is because the rubber pad that provides grip for the L-bracket is only compressed under its leading edge and the rear of it is not compressed, forcing the rear of the camera upwards. I'l cut and trim the rubber pad so that it only spans the narrow width of the 907x body to solve this issue ... then the camera will sit level in the bracket. (These bits only just arrived a day or so ago, so I'm still working out how to use them best. :).

The last two photos in the video show the RRS 22mm micro-clamp fitted on the vertical portion of the L bracket. I'm looking for the appropriate bolts and selecting the bit of wood I'll whittle into a grip.

G
 
Last edited:

Photon42

Well-known member
I'm trying to figure out to whom and to what this comment refers...? I'm a bit perplexed about its relevance (and hopefully intended humor content). :)

G
check out the hasselblad commercial for the new digital back. I am perplexed you did not watch it :shocked:
Here is the link.

Cheers
Ivo
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
check out the hasselblad commercial for the new digital back. I am perplexed you did not watch it :shocked:
Here is the link.

Cheers
Ivo
LOL! Oh, that. Well, Ivo, I remember seeing that (and nipping a copy of it for my archive) back in June of 2019. It certainly wasn't in the forefront of my memory until right now when you reminded me of it. :D

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I wrote some more on this topic on the CFV II 50c back thread, though I'd combine the posts and pull them into the 907x thread since this is actually specifically 907x information.

..
You'll notice that the camera is tilted forward in the L-bracket. This is because the rubber pad that provides grip for the L-bracket is only compressed under its leading edge and the rear of it is not compressed, forcing the rear of the camera upwards. I'l cut and trim the rubber pad so that it only spans the narrow width of the 907x body to solve this issue ... then the camera will sit level in the bracket. ..
Further on this: I trimmed the rubber pad which helped, but there's still a bit of tilt. The issue is that the rubber pad sits into a recess in the L-bracket. The bottom of the recess is flat, as is the upper ledge. On a camera with a larger base, the rubber would compress and the upper ledge would contact the camera base and provide a secure level point. Unfortunately, this isn't the case due to the 907x very narrow, wide base surface.
...

IMO, the camera should be resting on the metal when the bolt is snugged to about 3-4 Nm, the rubber should be there purely as an twist prevention measure.

The issue is that the 907x base is very narrow, only 14mm front to back engagement onto a surface, and the tripod bolt hole is offset to the front, centered at about 9mm from the back of that surface; there's only 2mm of material from the front of the bolt hole to the front edge of the plate. A slot for a necked 1/4-20 bolt is 5.5mm wide, so that leaves only a very little bit of engagement of the plate and camera in the fore-aft direction on the sides of the slot on a universal plate with the slot running side-to-side. A better plate for the 907x would have just one properly positioned hole at the right spot so that the engagement with the camera was all the way around the attachment point, distributing the amount of pressure on the camera base to the largest possible area.

It makes me uncomfortable to see how small the engagement area is with a lateral slot when I consider the torques of a largish and heavy lens (like my 21mm f/4, never mind the 120mm f/4 macro or 80mm f/1.9 that I'm thinking about) hanging off the front of the bayonet with the camera turned sideways for a vertical shot, never mind if I'm carrying the camera by a grip affixed through this bolt hole. There is a recess on the baseplate of the camera for a locating dowel centered about 13.5mm from the tripod hole: The best plate for this camera would have a snug fitting dowel on the plate there so that when the camera was in any orientation other than level and horizontal, twisting forces would not be defeated purely by friction at the plate/base juncture.

I'm thinking now that one solution I can use is to construct a mounting shim—brass or steel material, 1mm thick, the length and width of the 907x's mounting base, with a properly positioned dowel for the locating peg hole, a through hole for a plate's securing bolt, and another dowel or similar designed to drop into the lateral slot. Probably way more engineering than is necessary but, as Heinlein once said, "Everything to excess, moderation is for monks!" :D

The Fotodiox Pro Leica R to X mount adapter has a built-in tripod foot, and the Hasselblad XV Adapter takes the XH Bracket tripod mount: Both of them move the loads of securing the camera on a tripod from the base plate to the large and robust lens mounting flange, and all that the flange ever has to support is the weight of the body and back. This is nearly ideal, but doesn't suit my customized idea for a left hand grip.

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
No, not for me. I like seeing any photos made with the 907x.

I've just been busy with other things the past few days. :)

G
 

B L

Well-known member
I hope I didn't kill the thread by posting phOtOs:facesmack:
I think it is because not many members have got this camera yet, I will let you enjoy clicking it and I will enjoy the photos uploaded.
PS: I will recommend this thread to any would be buyers of 907 because our friend Godfrey is doing a real life test without involving any stupid mathematics or science :D Just real test,no confusing jargons. Godfrey, this thread will become a reference thread as it grows. Thanks for the hard work.



 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
PS: I will recommend this thread to any would be buyers of 907 because our friend Godfrey is doing a real life test without involving any stupid mathematics or science :D Just real test,no confusing jargons. Godfrey, this thread will become a reference thread as it grows. Thanks for the hard work.
And I will continue to post stupid mathematics and science discreetly in other threads, where they belong. :grin:

Matt
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I think it is because not many members have got this camera yet, I will let you enjoy clicking it and I will enjoy the photos uploaded.
PS: I will recommend this thread to any would be buyers of 907 because our friend Godfrey is doing a real life test without involving any stupid mathematics or science :D Just real test,no confusing jargons. Godfrey, this thread will become a reference thread as it grows. Thanks for the hard work.
Thank you for the compliment!

I'm not a great reviewer, don't really have the patience, but I buy equipment to use it and I'm happy to share my experiences in that use. :)

Although I haven't posted more 907x photos (yet), indirectly I have because I've been working out how to use it best as a copy camera for my Polaroid prints and 6x6 negatives. The Leica Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm lens does a fine job with the 907x (using Fotodiox Pro R to X mount adapter and the electronic shutter) for these purposes: no vignetting in the corners in the near field and beautiful rendering quality.

This Polaroid is from my cycle ride across the Golden Gate Bridge on Wednesday, that's my riding buddy:


Linda at the Golden Gate Bridge on the 83rd Anniversary of Its Opening - San Francisco 27 May 2020

Come for the ride! On YouTube @ https://youtu.be/oP5W_-oEn0I

The first time I tried to use the 907x as a copy camera, I had a very odd problem: Whenever I fitted it to the copy stand, the touch screen and controls would freeze up after just a couple of minutes and I had to power cycle the camera. I reported it to Hasselblad Support and spent a good hour on the phone with the tech trying to figure out what was happening. We couldn't suss it, so he sent a report and a log file over to engineering in Sweden.

A day later, trying to get some more specific data on the problem, I had it on the tripod and flipped it nose down to see if I could get it to fail after some repeatable set of steps. I had the bubble level display on so I could orient the camera accurately and my finger brushed the icon to calibrate the user mode of the level. I figured what the heck, hit the calibrate button. And since then the problem has disappeared. I sent that to Sweden via the tech as well.

Anyway, the 907x works really well for this purpose, and both Phocus Mobile 2 on my iPad Pro 11 and Phocus on my Mac mini drive it very nicely.

I'm continuing to work out the issue I found with the Kirk Photo L-bracket and waiting for the other two to arrive to see if I find them suitable instead. If they don't work to my satisfaction I know exactly how to modify the Kirk bracket now and will do that instead. Meanwhile, I've started whittling out my custom, left-side, wooden handgrip to use with the L-bracket and mini clamp. :D

I'll get back to posting a few 907x photos perhaps tomorrow...

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I have a 907x L-Plate Winner! :D

Getting an L-Plate for the Hasselblad 907x that fitted snugly and worked to my satisfaction has been a couple of weeks effort. The 907x' very narrow front-to-back base poses issues that surfaced on the Kirk Photo UL-1 plate due to the thick rubber insert in that plate's base. These were lessened but still apparent on the Three-Legged Thing Ellie (short) plate due to the positioning of the adjustment rails on the vertical support and again due to the rubber pads in the base plate.

Finally, the Desmond Arca L-Plate DAL-1 solves all the issues: It's a very simple plate, just the L-rails and three laterally oriented attachment slots in the base plate. NO rubber, no adjustments ... It just fits. Because the base is all flat metal and the vertical leg is a simple 90° bend up, the 907x base sits very securely and stably on metal across its width and to the full 14mm depth. Here are some photos:







Link to my album of six photos of the DAL-1 fitted to the 907x on Flickr.com:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmNB2911

The really good news is that this is the least expensive of the three L-plates I've experimented with, only $26 delivered from B&H Photo to California: Desmond DAL-1 L-Plate..

I've tested the DAL-1 on both my Arca-Swiss ball head (as you see in the photos) and on the Peak Design Travel Tripod head (you need to remove the Travel Tripod head's guard screws). Fits perfectly, sits securely and the camera is absolutely level in both orientations to within a degree or so. Setting up the camera on the A-S Monoball P0/P0h in either horizontal or vertical orientation allows for smooth and level panning.

I'll send the Three-Legged Thing Ellie back for a refund. I've already modified the Kirk Photo plate, so I'll set that aside for some future project. :)

G
 
Last edited:

jotloob

Subscriber Member
Hello Godfrey

That L-PLATE looks very good in deed . I will have a look to it in detail , just out of interest .

The best ever made L-PLATE , in my opinion , was made by SUNCHAI .
I have V1 . V2 has an integrated Q-plate .

It is made by cambo .

https://www.getdpi.com/forum/medium...3-smart-flex-l-plate-2.html?highlight=sunchai

Unforunately , this company disappered after V2 was on the market . But there might still be some V2 L-PLATEs
around at various dealers and/or ebay .

If there is anyone out there , who knows more about SUNCHAI , please come back with your info .
 

phOtOny teXas

Well-known member
I have a 907x L-Plate Winner! :dd

Getting an L-Plate for the Hasselblad 907x that fitted snugly and worked to my satisfaction has been a couple of weeks effort. The 907x' very narrow front-to-back base poses issues that surfaced on the Kirk Photo UL-1 plate due to the thick rubber insert in that plate's base. These were lessened but still apparent on the Three-Legged Thing Ellie (short) plate due to the positioning of the adjustment rails on the vertical support and again due to the rubber pads in the base plate.

Finally, the Desmond Arca L-Plate DAL-1 solves all the issues: It's a very simple plate, just the L-rails and three laterally oriented attachment slots in the base plate. NO rubber, no adjustments ... It just fits. Because the base is all flat metal and the vertical leg is a simple 90° bend up, the 907x base sits very securely and stably on metal across its width and to the full 14mm depth. Here are some photos:


The really good news is that this is the least expensive of the three L-plates I've experimented with, only $26 delivered from B&H Photo to California: Desmond DAL-1 L-Plate..

I've tested the DAL-1 on both my Arca-Swiss ball head (as you see in the photos) and on the Peak Design Travel Tripod head (you need to remove the Travel Tripod head's guard screws). Fits perfectly, sits securely and the camera is absolutely level in both orientations to within a degree or so. Setting up the camera on the A-S Monoball P0/P0h in either horizontal or vertical orientation allows for smooth and level panning.

I'll send the Three-Legged Thing Ellie back for a refund. I've already modified the Kirk Photo plate, so I'll set that aside for some future project. :)

G
Thanks gOdfrey:clap:
Appreciate your looking into this... I will be getting a DAL-1, could of used it yesterday on a commercial all-tripod shoot yesterday.
 

jotloob

Subscriber Member
The DAL-1 L-Plate is momentarily not available in EUROPE .
An other interesting L-Plate is the ROLLEI L-WINKEL (plate)
Have a look here

ROLLEI.jpg
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
The DAL-1 L-Plate is momentarily not available in EUROPE .
An other interesting L-Plate is the ROLLEI L-WINKEL (plate) ...
One issue with that plate, for me anyway, are that the rubber pad will make the 907x's 14x60mm base difficult to seat flat and square to the plate. This is the problem I had with the Kirk ULB-1 and the TLT Ellie (short). The Ellie would be fixable in this respect by removing the rubber pads, or shaving them down; the Kirk wasn't fixable that way because the pad sat in a recess and the edge of the recess gets in the way of the 907x body when the pad is removed.

The other issue is whether the attachment bolts align with the 907x body. The body is very nearly square from the front, so to achieve what I wanted the bottom and side attachment points must sit very close to the body so that you can rotate the camera around the lens axis without having to realign the tripod. To me, that's the point of an L-bracket. If the vertical fixing leg is spaced away from the body, when you flip the camera to vertical position it will shift the lens axis upwards ... unless the base piece is thick enough to shift the lens axis up a similar amount.

Perhaps I'm a little geeky about this, but I wanted something trim and tight to the body that worked correctly without a lot of fussing. I could have modified the TLT Ellie Short to work the way I wanted if I hadn't found the DAL-1, but I'd rather not have to do that sort of thing.

:)

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Returning to the issue of the XV Adapter bayonet latch not working with my V-system extension tubes or the
Distagon C 50mm

...
Oh yes: I sent a note to Hasselblad about the bayonet mount latching problem with my Distagon 50 and V-system extension tubes yesterday. I received a response this morning: They'll evaluate (and hopefully fix) the problem for me. Yay!
...
postscript - I've packaged and shipped the X-V Adapter and a 21mm extension tube that illustrates the problem to Hasselblad Service. AND I've ordered the H-V Bracket tripod mount for it... That makes it much more usable for my needs.
...
Well. This happened over several weeks time: Hasselblad Service examined the XV Adapter and concluded that it was fine, all of their tests succeeded, and were going to ship it back. I immediately called my friend in Customer Service and asked if they had tried the 21mm extension tube I supplied with it. He tested that and, of course, it didn't latch, so he asked the repair tech to look at it. The repair tech said, "it's too old, they stopped making this extension tube in 1982.

I said, "Huh? They have never changed the bayonet flange and its mechanism, and btw these are my four lenses' dates of manufacture (1967, 1973, 1981, and 1992) ... It's the 1973 that doesn't work along with the two extension tubes which have no serial numbers so they cannot be dated. Why would the XV Adapter work properly with the 1967 and 1992 lenses, and both those lenses work fine with the extension tubes, yet the extension tubes and the later lens not work?" The repair tech had no answer, so the Customer Service rep said he'd send a query to engineering in Sweden.

Hasselblad Engineering in Sweden responded today, through the Customer Service rep, that a situation exists where *some* legacy lenses and accessories fail to latch correctly on the XV Adapter (randomly, I presume). They are (now) aware of this problem and are planning to release an updated XV Adapter to solve it, some time in the (hopefully) near future. I will receive one of the updated XV Adapter units when it is released.

My take on this: I conjecture that the manufacturing spec on the XV Adapter is right on the limits of tolerance for the latch mechanism and that production variances throw it out of spec with random lenses and other accessories that use the lens mount flange. My measurements showed that if the lens/extension tubes that won't latch could rotate about 0.4mm further, the latch would work. These same components work fine on both my 500CM bodies (and on other, later bodies I've tried them on) with about a 0.05mm clearance or slop when latched. A variance of 0.5mm is not unusual in manufacture of these kinds of components: the bayonet latch is otherwise not a critical accuracy component. That's all just my conjecture, but I've been in and around manufacture of such components for long enough that I think it's pretty close to the truth.

So ... my existing XV Adapter is on the way back and I can use my 80, 120 Macro, and 150mm lenses on it. The temporary loss of the 50mm isn't significant because I have the 45P lens; the loss of the extension tubes is not too significant because the CFVII 50c format is smaller than the original film format, so what I usually use them for requires a little less magnification to work with. I can always put the 500CM body into action as an adapter tube if need be as well...

What I'm glad about is that Hasselblad has admitted there is an issue and has made a statement that they will fix it, which was my goal in sending the XV Adapter to them instead of just exchanging it for another that might not have the same problem. I'm also delighted with the Customer Service rep who persevered rather than just telling me to kiss off on this relatively trivial issue (as some other reps from other companies have done, although not in quite those words :) ).

Now on to the next 907x project .. and maybe back to making some photographs! LOL! :D

G

"No matter where you go, there you are."
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
From my walk on May 11 ... Hard to believe it was that long ago!


Twigs - Santa Clara 2020


Sprig - Santa Clara 2020


Leaf & Twig - Santa Clara 2020

all:
Hasselblad 907x + XCD 45mm f/4 P
ISO 100 @ f/5-6.3 @ 1/80

enjoy! G
 
Top