Please help, winding mechanism problem

[Alexander Ax:son Johnson]

Hi everybody,

First time reader and poster on this forum. Searched for something which I can't seem to find anywhere, so I was hoping you guys would be the ones with the knowledge!

My girlfriend did a big no no when handling my 500 cm and extension tubes. You know what I'm talking about. Anyway, it all froze and she tried to take the lens off. In doing so, I don't know how. She's quite petite, she broke the inner iron ring of the (not sure about any of the correct words here btw) lens winding mechanism on the body. That is, not the winding part itself, just the iron ring with a sort of knob that turns with the mechanism itself and sits around/underneath it.

I took the camera to a repairman who said he needed to take it all apart and replace the mechanism. The cost was to be as high as buying another used body. After trying to buy a body from K*H, who won't approve my payment any way I try, I decided to take a pair of tongs and pry the metal part away (since it was hindering the mechanism from firing).

Lo and behold, it started working again. Flawlessly. So my question to you knowledgeable people, what does this little iron ring do, and am I risking everything by using the camera without it?

Best regards,
Alexander Axson Johnson

 

[Swissblad]

You can contact Douglas at: http://www.classicv.co.uk
Perhaps he can give some advice.

 

[blowupster]

Do you have a picture of the part ?

 

[Douglas Fairbank]

I didn't contribute at first because you seemed to get past your initial problems and are based in the USA. That ring can get broken sometimes by lenses/tubes going on/off out of sync. Not all models of the camera have the ring but those other models have a limit stop on the key, maybe it is not totally necessary but my instinct is that it should be replaced. The ring is available as a seperate part but it will need a knowledgable and skilled Hasselblad technician to fit it with special tools to re-align the drive.