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500 CM tripod socket offset

G

gtreible

New Member
Hi:

I'm hoping you Hassy experts ca help me solve a mystery. I have searched the internet in vain looking for the slightest reference to this issue.

I recently acquired a used 500C/M on ebay S/N RE1433696. I also acquired a Hassy flash bracket #45020. That's an older bracket with the integrated cable release.

The problem is that the bracket does not fit the 500 C/M due to the different offsets between the flash bracket's mounting screw and the tripod socket on the body. Upon measuring (from the front of the tripod mounting flange) I've determined that the screw offset on the bracket is 9/16" while the camera body's tripod socket offset is 1"! Obviously there's no way these two devices will ever align.

I had thought that all this stuff was interchangeable? Question: Did Hasselblad change the tripod offsets somewhere along the development line? i.e., is this bracket only compatible with older bodies.

Thank you for your help.

Pete Treible
 
Your camera should be from about 1989 the bracket from the period betwen 1963 to 1978.
A later bracket 45072 (1989-1994) had the choice between 1/4 an 3/8 thread size.
I have not been able to find anything in Nordins book about the trhreadssize problem but perhaps Q.G. will know of a secret page the we "novices" have yet not discovered :)
 
Well... interestingly enough I own a 500cm from 82 which has both the small and the big thread size, whereas my other 500cm which is 5 years younger only has the big thread size.
 
Thanks for the input guys. But this has nothing to do with thread size (or screw length). It has to do with where the tripod socket sits on the camera body vs. where the screw sits on the flash bracket. When you try to attach the bracket to the body the bracket comes up 7/16" short of the tripod hole when measured from the front of the tripod plate of the camera!

Again, the flash bracket screw is offset by 9/16" from the front - the body screw hole is offset by 1" from the front: a 7/16" difference. The bracket has a flange on the front of the mounting bracket that prevents any fore/aft movement. Thus, this bracket will never mount on this camera. So much for modular interchangeability!

Anyone have a clue re: what's going on here??

If anyone needs a #45020 bracket - and knows what body it will fit, I'm willing to negotiate a sale. It's in like-new condition.

Thanks again, Pete T
 
Body tripod plate

Understandable confusion! The 45020 grip that was made up to 1978 attached by a 1/4 screw to the front threaded hole of the two holes in the tripod shoe (9/16 inch back from the front of the shoe). In 1977, the 2000FC was introduced and it had only a 3/8 hole that was 1 inch back from the front o f the shoe. In order to provide a side grip for this camera (and be compatibl e with the 500CM and SWC) a new grip was designed (45071). This grip attaches into the 3/8 threaded hole (the big hole) rather than the front smaller hole. Sometime in the 1980¹s Hasselblad bodies were changed over from the two hole shoe to the one hole shoe. If anyone knows when this changeover took place with the 500CM body I¹d like to know. (I have a 1981 500CM that is two hole.) By 1988 ­ with the introduction and/or modification of all th e camera bodies: 503CX, 500CM and 903SWC have the single tripod mount hole. Obviously this makes no difference for the quick release plates but it does for the grips. The new style grips (45071, 45072) are backwardly compatible with all the previous cameras: a 45702 grip can be used with a 1957 body bu t the newer cameras with the single 3/8 tripod hole cannot not be used with the first version of the grip (45020). This was a lapse in what is generall y a reasonable record for compatibility of accessories. So the 45020 grip doe s not fit a 1989 body! This information will be in the new edition of the Compendium (I¹ve learned a lot since it first came out!). Hope this explanation is clear? Rick
 
I most have been "in zombie state" for not noticing your name on the list before - my I complement you on your great book - Q.G: recomended it and it makes a lot of stuff so much easier with the system - thanks !!
You mention a new edition - do you know when it will be publisheed ?
all the best
Ruben
 
The flashgun bracket that you have (45020) will only work with the 500 C and 500 C/M camera bodies that have both the 1/4" and 3/8" tripod sockets. Your 500 C/M was manufactured in 1989, and has just one 3/8" tripod socket. Therefore, any of the three following flashgun brackets will fit your camera:

45071 non-reversible 3/8" tripod thread
45072 reversible 1/4" and 3/8" tripod thread
45073 reversible 1/4" and 3/8" tripod thread

David S. Odess

Factory trained Hasselblad technician

www.david-odess.com
 
To: everyone - thanks for the quick response.
To: Rick & David - yes, yes, yes. I knew it wasn't my imgagination. Riddle solved. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To: Rick (Hasselblad God!). I have your book sitting right here. I searched through it extensively looking for the answer to the riddle. You can't cover everything. Awesome book and thanks for your great effort. I feel honored by your response.

Now, anyone out there with a dual socket 500 body that needs a pristine Hassy flash bracket? Let me know.

Pete T.
 
Rick,

The changover happened when the "3rd generation" bodies appeared.
They only had one tripod socket, standard size 1/4" but changeable (parts needed) to 3/8".

As you of course know, though the 503 CX appeared, the 500 C/M remained as "Classic".
I don't know from when it too got the new plate, but i assume it must be then too.

But then, though the new 3rd generation bodies of course had to show all the new features, there was no such "pressure" with the good ol' 500 C/M. So maybe on the 500 C/M they used parts up first?

Maybe there even was a period that the 500 C/M was made in two variants, with old and new "underneaths", depending on what parts tray they happened to be reaching for?
 
Comparing my 2 500C/M bodies I do not think they have assembled both variations at the same time. The 1/4" threadplate of the 1987 body fits in a round hole in the bottom of the body. That bottom plate is reinforced(?) with a robust stainless steel plate which also has the 2 'fingers' that hold the back. My 1982 body with the dual 1/4" / 3/8" threads does not have this reinforcement plate, and the thread mounts are not interchangable. So, I assume assembly never intermixed both variants (at least not the 2 variations I happen to have, who knows what other variations they built ;-)
 
All this talk of tripod holes has got me curious about the placement of the hole(s). Were they designed for the center of gravity of the standard kit, or for the nodal point of a lens or lenses in the line?

Taras
 
How do I reverse the mounting screw?

The mounting screw on the 45072 and 45073 flash gun brackets are "reversible", but I can't figure out how to do this. Could someone describe the procedure? I have a 503CX which accepts the 1/4-20 screw, and (what I believe to be a) 45072 bracket, with the 3/8-20 screw showing.
 
I never noticed the mounting screw on these brackets is reversable.

I do know the camera part that holds the tripod nut can be exchanged for one with 3/8 thread.

It is a simple procedure but you need the correct part to carry this out.
 
Reversible screw

Thanks for the quick response. As I understand it, the flashgun bracket 45071 had a fixed 3/8th inch mounting screw, but the next model, 45072, had a reversible mounting screw, so that it could be used with the new camera bodies that had a 1/4-20 tripod socket. Finding a 3/8 tripod socket part to swap with the 1/4 socket now on the camera would be a very nice fix for me, since I have a 2000FCW that also has the 3/8th socket, but I do not know if this part is still available or where I might find one.
 
OK I found the directions

You can tell the difference between the older 45071 flashgun bracket and the newer 45072 (with the reversible mounting screw) by looking at the shaft of the knob (thumb wheel) on the bottom. The 45071 shaft has a hollow pin through it that secures the actual threaded part of the screw in the shaft, while the 45072 has a set screw that can be removed to allow the threaded part of the mounting screw to be lifted out and reversed. The respected retailer sent me the wrong model flash gun bracket.
 
Thomas,

I suppose the option you prefer is to change the 1/4 socket of your camera for one that accommodates the 3/8 thread.

In the US you can contact Hasselblad New Jersey to supply you this part.

If located in the UK ask Hasselblad in Elstree to supply the part you need.

The part is quite common and is often replaced on bodies that have been mounted on too long threads.
Those threads ruin the socket.
 
Thanks kindly

I appreciate the help. I searched the hasselbladusa.com site without finding any information about the flash gun brackets or the tripod socket. Good to know they are still available. I'll see if I can hunt one down.
 
Give them a call.
And mention parts for a V series body.
You will be connected to a friendly lady that knows what you are after.

HBUSA still believes in a friendly word and excellent service.

Paul
 
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