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HB lenses on Pentax K10D/Info about old HB lenses

T

TwoTon

New Member
Hello everyone,

As I wrote elsewhere in this forum, I inherited a truckload of Hasselblad V-series gear (two 500 EL/M bodies and a dozen lenses, ranging from Distagons to a 500 f/8 Tele-Tessar); and since I don't have the moolah for a digiback yet (sorry, complete film idiot here), but believe that those fantastic lenses need to be worked out regularly, I ordered a Zörkendörfer adapter for my Pentax K10D. It's bound to arrive next week, and I can't wait!

Of course, now I'm eager for any kind of information on what I'll be dealing with. Anyone play around with HB lenses on 35mm DSLRs? Care to share your experience?

And what would I need to know about operating such a rig? I've found that you're supposed to shoot in aperture priority mode and use DOF preview to decide on how far to stop down the lens manually. Anything else? Will all three metering settings still be working and accurate? What's the "workflow" for taking a shot?

On a related note, I've been trying to find out what exactly the rings and tabs etc. on the lenses are for. I've figured out most of them, but can't find any info on the Net so far on what the slider under the letters V, X and M is for? I supoose to override the synch function - but how exactly? And what's the thin, half-inch tube socket next to the letter M for? Flash connection?

Thanks very much in advance for your answers!

Hans
 
Carl Zeiss lenses work very well with 35 mm based digital gear.
I just took some test shots with a K200D camera and a 500 mm Tele Tessar.
Very good results even hand held without image stabiliser of the camera activated.

Light metering works in stop down mode with aperture priority.
I suggest centre weighted metering to start with.

The socket you found is the PC contact for a flash unit.
The switch near that socket has two functions:
You can choose "X" synchronisation for electronic flash or "M" for
old fashioned bulbs.
The later is not of much interest unless you want to start with flash gear from the fifties.

"V" stands for "Vorlauf" and can only be set with a cocked lens.
Vorlauf delays the shutter action by 8-10 seconds.
You can fire the camera and get in the picture yourself or you can use this to prevent
camera shake that comes from touching the release button for long exposures.
The switch is best left at X.
 
Dear polypal,

thanks a million for your answers - they certainly clear up a lot of fog!

Another question I forgot yesterday: is it possible to override the synchro rings and set aperture and shutter speed individually? Or will I need to set the aperture on the lens and the shutter on the camera?

Thanks very much again!!

Hans

PS:
polypal said:
"V" stands for "Vorlauf"
Click to expand...
I really should have know, being German and all....but after 20 years abroad, you think everything printed on consumer electronics and the like is in English.
 
I guess you have not found a way to decouple the aperture/shutter speed rings?
To change the EV setting move the shutterspeed ring towards the body and change the selected
speed or move the aperture ring to the desired setting.
 
Thanks again for that, polypal - that's exactly what I needed to know!

In fact, I had stumbled across this function, but the lens I used for most of my experiments (Planar 100mm f/3.5) never allowed me to set the shutter any faster than 1/30. Anything between 1/30 and 1/500 couldn't be set (synchro or no). Now I find that it works fine on all the other lenses. Is that a common malfunction (or is it one at all?)

Another daft questions, whilst I'm at it:

Does the camera release the lens shutter, or is that a mechanical function in the lens?

Also, where could I find operation manuals for these lenses - either online or as hardcopy?

Thanks again for your patience!

Hans
 
Most information can be found at www.hasselblad.se
That is the site from Hasselblad Sweden.

To get acces to manuals you have to register as a user with a product like a body.
If your 500 ELM is no longer listed use any of the later motordrive cameras and use
the body number of the 500ELM.

Once correctly decoupled the shutterspeed should be free to move to any
value. If this is not possible the lens needs attention.

Hasselblad cameras trigger the lens. The body starts a sequence of the lens:

First the lens shutter closes, than the aperture goes to the preset value,
the shutter opens and closes for the chosen shutter speed.
After cocking the camera the shutter and aperture are fully open to allow
viewing of the next image.
 
Thanks again for your great help, PP! I'll check the HB site Sweden asap. I visited before, but found no way to register, as the 500 EL/M didn't seem to be listed...

Hasselblad cameras trigger the lens.
Click to expand...
What triggers it when a lens is connected to Pentax bodies?

Cheers

Hans
 
Guess I could have answered that on my own :z04_augenroll: Really, thanks so very much for guiding me through this maze, PP, this is certainly a whole bushel of revelations for me. Again, sorry for being so thick at times, until half a year ago I was a lifelong Point&Shooter.

By the way, the 500EL/M manual I downloaded from the Hasselblad site shows everything I wanted to know about the lenses.

I believe my adapter will come in tomorrow, so now I'm good and ready for my hybrid rig (mentally, at least - I guess it'll take a few years to actually get any good!)

Cheers!

Hans
 
As soon as you have gathered enough courage try to load a film back and take some images with the ELM camera.
Powering an ELM can be done in many ways if there are no suitable batteries with the kit.
You will be hooked for life once you see the prints, minimum 8"x 8" size.

It would not surprise me you will have everything under control in a couple of weeks with the Pentax camera.
 
TwoTon said:
Guess I could have answered that on my own :z04_augenroll: Really, thanks so very much for guiding me through this maze, PP, this is certainly a whole bushel of revelations for me. Again, sorry for being so thick at times, until half a year ago I was a lifelong Point&Shooter.

By the way, the 500EL/M manual I downloaded from the Hasselblad site shows everything I wanted to know about the lenses.

I believe my adapter will come in tomorrow, so now I'm good and ready for my hybrid rig (mentally, at least - I guess it'll take a few years to actually get any good!)

Cheers!

Hans
Click to expand...

You will soon discover that "shooting square" is a helluvalot different from P&S photography. And much more fun.

For the ELM make sure you get a set of decent batteries. And train your arms, ELMs are a bit of the heavy side. But built like a tank, they last forever.

enjoy... I am sure you will...
Wilko
 
Thanks for the encouragement!

I bought the Pentax in March as I was sick of my P&S cam, and through it discovered the glory of REAL nature and wildlife photography (I live in a National Park in Northern Taiwan).

Alas, I can't shoot film with the EL/M (even though I do have functioning batteries), because over here it's extremely expensive, not to mention the development costs. So I have to wait until I get the chance to buy a digiback.

By the way, the EL/M is indeed built like a tank. My dad used it for heavy-duty outdoors photography for over 20 years, and the only time it needed servicing was when he fell head over teakettle off a very steep 60-foot cliff in Brittany with the camera around his neck. He had to spent a month in a French hospital, but the camera STILL FUNCTIONED. Only the mirror was a tad wonked-out, so it had to be sent to Göteborg for readjustment.

Cheers

Hans
 
Hello Hans,

Nice story about the accident although it must have hurt your father real bad when it happened.
I will keep that in mind and use it in a college about Hasselblad cameras next year.

Paul
 
The cliff had a slight slope with an angle of ca. 70 degrees. Just enough to roll down, but not flat enough to keep him out of the hospital. A little like this place, only it was low tide (fortunately!)

Anyhoo, that was 30 years ago, and today it's his favorite story about the Hasselblad's sturdiness. Thanks for including it in your course - I'm sure my dad will get a kick out of that :)

Cheers

Hans
 
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