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I got my new 503cx

G'Day Paul:

I'm sure we are all very pleased for you and your SWC.

The Rollei is no slouch, and when I am using it, over the ""ffftTT!"" of the shutter, I can hear the footsteps of ants walking to the cotton field to take a piss.
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BTW, how does that SWC work out for you when you're framing accurate images at right angles.

Don't make me get out the big stick, now. There are lots of Holga lovers reading this.
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Cheers,

Colin

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Hello Colin,

I would not dare saying anything against the Holga camera.

I must admit the SWC takes some time to get used to.
After I bought the house I moved to last year in August I happened to have one of the older Super Wides in my car, a 1956 model.
It was fitted with a 6X4.5 A16 back.
I took some pictures of the house not having the special finder mask for 6X4.5 with me.
It turned out I was lucky as these pictures were exactly as intended.
They gave perfect 13X18 prints.
I showed these snapshots a few days later to the people I bought the house from.
They were very surprised to see their house in these pictures and said these pictures were the best ones from their former home they had ever seen.
It was not me, it was all due to a great camera built by Hasselblad nearly fifty years before.

When I was a student many years ago I started MF with a Rolleicord.
This Rolleicord was soon followed by the first Hasselblad.

Maybe it is time for a Holga.
I wonder if they come with such a nice adjustable camerahead Jürgen showed us last time.......

For those who now think I drive a 1956 model car I meant the SW camera from 1956.
My car is a bit younger.

BTW I hear there are great improvements with hearing aids.
No wonder you can hear the ants sneeking away to take a piss.


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"It is silent like an ant pissing on cotton." - I love that expression... I was wondering if it was a local expression so I googled it and learned that it's from the movie "Heist". Gotta thank Google for those useless bits of trivia!

The SWC is definitely very quiet. The finder is barely more precise than my Holga's, but if you really need precision, there's always the option of putting the camera on a tripod and using a focusing screen.

Manu
 
Simon

Thank you very much for your very wise words and analysis .

May I add , that I went through the same process when going from MF to LF .
There you are bound to , may be just two or three 4x5 film holders , and you can not afford just shooting around .
That means , as i understand you , that you shoot your images with much more care .

More time for good composition and therefore better images .

Regards Jürgen
 
Manu,

I allways thought "An ant pissing on cotton" were famous words from
King Lear by Shakespeare.
Now it turns out some American moviestar spoke these words in what is a great movie. Highly recommended!
I allways enjoy pictures starred by Gene Hackman.

So it turns out my education is money not well spend.
I am glad my arithmethic is a little better.

Simon,

You brought up the subject amateur.
I could not qualify you as an amateur for all the money in the world.
The only thing that does not give you professional status is the fact that you do not make money from your pictures.
Quality, attitude and the continuing wish to improve your work make you a pro without any restriction.

Jürgen,

You got a pm from me and thank you again for the tree.

Paul
 
G'Day:

@ Paul. You know I'm just messin' with ya. On my wish list in order are the 903SWC (not 905), the Linhof 6x17 (when I sell my house!!!), and the Mk II version of the CFV, being released next year (right?).

@ Jurgen. Anti-Tank Units have a motto - "One Shot One Tank". There is good reason for this - you may never get your second shot away!!

So, that is how I feel with MF. Plan it. Think it through. One shot.

Cheers,

Colin
 
To followup a bit more on the filmback alignment, based on some questions I received in PMs:

The procedure outlined for checking and if needed align the back is normally part of a full checkout / adjustment / cleaning / relube. As an ex&le, I own an A16 that was suffering from irregular spacing & overlap. Very inconsistent, some films OK, some not. In the end this proved to be a worn-out gear. Not an obvious thing as the outside of the back did not show any high-use signs. The reverse is also true: a shabby appearance but aligned to within 0.01mm.

So what I am trying to say is this: if you buy a used back, it is an excellent idea to invest in properly servicing it. An out of alignment filmgate gives you pictures that absolutely do not justice to the expensive lenses that are your pride and joy. A dirty mechanism can ruin a carefully composed shot due to overlap.

Wilko
 
Thanks for this info guys. My 503cx is really a blessing in disguise even with all the things happening cause it's really giving me a great appreciation for the workings of the beautiful camera. I LOVE every aspect of it and how it demands to be known and used unlike a point-and-shoot DSLR (not that there's anything wrong with that). For those car lovers out there its like a classic car that demands to be driven, not like a mass produced "one-finger" steered automatic car. }
 
Hi Wilko,

> The procedure outlined for checking and if needed align the back
> is normally part of a full checkout / adjustment / cleaning /
> relube.

Three of the US well known Hasselblad repair people I spoke with do not have the "special" rig for checking the film gate registration. And, one of them who worked for Hasselblad until a decade ago, said the US Hasselblad didn't even have one, and only got one recently. So, if a repair guy doesn't have this rig, then I'm not sure how they would check this alignment.

So, though this is a good suggestion, to have a back CLA'd, I don't believe you're guaranteed this alignment check...you need to ask if they (can) do that if you want it done.

Regards,

Austin
 
Austin,

I have not asked him but I can imagine that David Odess does have this alignment rig.
He is the sort of guy that takes pride in delivering jobs that will give Hasselblad gear a new lease of life after his work is done according to factory standards.

What surprised me most was the fact that filmbacks that looked clean with only moderate use were out of alignment.

In case you cannot find a service center that does have the facility to check and align your filmback just send them to me and I will gladly see to it.

BTW there is a waiting list because I just received 32 backs from one forum member guess who???

Paul
 
Colin,

I know you are just messin about. No harm in that.
I was European ch&ion weightlifting what seems like ages ago.
Rest assured I can still lift and drop things without much effort.

Your wish list seems quite healthy.
Do not be afraid to get the 905 SWC.
Stories this camera is less good than the old faithfull 903 are just stories.
I did a little project to compare all SWC models starting with the Supreme Wide Angle.
Guess what: you need scientific instruments to find differences that matter.

Paul
 
Hi Paul,

I can only say that I was surprised that it is not a common tool amongst the well known repair guys.

In fact, none of the ones I asked (and I asked three that we all know and love including David) and none of them had it. And, as I said, only Hasselblad USA got one "recently". And, Hasselblad told me that it was only "typically" used in the assessment of impact damage, not as a routine part of back service.

I could easily make my own. It's a pretty easy thing to make especially if you have a CNC machine.

Regards,

Austin
 
G'Day Paul:

I only stated 903SWC because I had been advised by a well known HB repair man that these seem to have least problems, and of course, from a hip pocket view, they 'should' be less $$ than a 905.

As for differences in glass 903/905, I don't care so much. I regularly use BW in CLACK, Bessa 6x9, Juwenta 6x9, Zeiss 6x9 and 6x6 and now I have 127 film again available, some of the smaller folders. There are times when I prefer 'dreamy and creamy BW' to 'sharp as a fisherwife's tongue'.

On the other hand, I do lust after the 6x17. Size counts, I read somewhere.

Cheers,

Colin
 
Austin,

I am surprised there is such a difference in facilities and tools between the US Hasselblad centers and European centers.
Most European centers have the rig and carry out the alignment procedure with a full service of a filmback.
Wilko and I both watched while a few backs were checked and aligned.

I think I will ask David Knapman who trained the majority of the current repairmen what happened in the US.

Do not underestimate this test rig.
To make one is one thing. The problem starts when it needs to be calibrated.
For that purpose you need a special caliber that is only supplied with the rig.

Whenever I have a chance to buy one of those factory tools I will certainly do so.

Paul
 
Colin,

"There is no substitute for cubic capacity."
Oh yes that belongs in another thread sorry.

There are several nice alternatives for the Linhof 6X17.
I know there is only one original and I can understand nothing but the best will do in this case.
The going rate in Europe for a clean Linhof 6X17 is around 2500 Euro.

One of its attractive points is you only need 4 shots to use a 120 film completely.

Paul
 
Hi Paul,

I don't understand why calibrating it would be any issue. The distance measured is from the front side of the mounting flange to the back side of the film gate. The back lays flat on a plate, that is your zero point. To calibrate, you simply place a plate on top of the opening, and zero out the micrometer. That should be all that is needed.

Regards,

Austin
 
Hi Austin,

The way I understood it (and which can very well be wrong) is that they use the caliber to set the rig to zero. The caliber has the nominal height from the table that the film ridges should have. So you zero the micrometer at nominal. If you now take a back and measure it you can see if it is bent inward or outward from nominal.

Or in other words: the micrometer can indicate left and right from 0 on its scale. These would correspond to the "peaks" and "valleys" in the ridge.

I don't quite understand what you mean with "place a plate on top of the opening"? What opening?

Zeroing on the table surface I don't think the construction will allow, the measurement arm cannot be moved that far down. It appeared to me there was some small linear ball bearing slide below the table that holds the measurement arm and links to the mu-meter.

I felt that dissecting it would have resulted in seriously bad karma so I refrained from doing that
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Wilko
 
Austin,

I admire your optimism but believe me there is more to it than you can imagine right now.

I take the word of a veteran in Hasselblad service for a fact that this is not an item you can copy without having the right standard to calibrate the thing.

For those interested to find out what it is all about I will organise trips to Holland to get training and a lot of hints and tips how to check and maintain Hasselblad gear.

More details later this month. Watch the section announcements for the latest news.


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Paul
 
Hi Wilko,

You'll note the tolerance they give is stated as follows:

"the distance between the edge of the picture frame and the outer plate" "the distance is 3.55mm +/- 0.5mm".

The zero reference plane is the "outer plate" as in, the mating surface where the back mounts to the body. The "picture frame" is the film rails, ie, where the film is pushed against. They want this to be 3.55mm +/- 0.5mm...so they are the ones stating this offset and reference plane.

What it sounds like that you are saying is that they have a gauge block that is 3.55mm and they zero the gauge to that...but that's only an offset, and I can machine a 3.55mm block in about 2 minutes. So, that isn't really a bug deal. You can also offset a micrometer readout with no need for the gauge block. In fact, the gauge block could add in an error that would make the measuring process less accurate. A swing of 3.55mm for a micrometer is hardly an issue either. That's less than .15".

I've developed measuring jigs (both mechanically and optically) that are far more complicated and precise that this one appears to be, and I don't see any issues. It's really pretty simple.

Regards,

Austin
 
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