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Inherited Hasselblad: Stuck Winding Crank

B

BigBenJammin

Member
I recently inherited my father's 501cm with an 80 mm CB lens. I have never used a Hasselblad before so I purchased the 6th edition of "The Hasselblad Manual" by Ernst Wildi so I could understand what I am dealing with. I began exploring the camera only to find that the Winding Crank will not move except for a slight wiggle back and forth as if locked. I got the camera to prerelease and then release, but now it is stuck in that mode. On the back, there reads a "1" for the number of pictures taken and a red dot to indicate the film has been exposed and needs to be advanced. And here lies my problem. It seems that because the film needs to be advanced the back will not come off and the mirror stays up. I checked the Manual and Wildi says in one part: "to remove the winding crank, push the locking lever downwards..." (pg. 80). Now I am not trying to remove the winding crank but the mention of a locking lever has me worried as I see no locking lever present on the winding crank. I would much rather fix this myself then have to send it somewhere and pay a buttload of cash. Am I missing a a locking lever or just being an idiot? Any information would be greatly appreciated!
 
As a recent buyer of a 500CM, I understand your angst. I am no Hasselblad guru, but provided you follow the basic rules, there shouldn't be a problem. First, is there a film in the camera? You can tell by looking at the crescent shaped indicator on the left hand side of the film back - if it has a film in and is on frame 1, the crescent shape should be all white, but will progressively change to red as the film is exposed. Even with an empty camera, you can only wind and fire the shutter 12 times on a 12-on back before the camera won't wind on - this is from memory, as my camera is loaded at present! To remove the magazine, you need the dark slide - do you have that? If so, insert it and remove the magazine. Both the magazine and the camera should have the same colour indicators - if the mag has red and the camera body is white, fire the camera after removing the back, attach the mag and wind the crank. Both indicators should then be white. If the mag is white and the camera body indicator is red, again remove the back and then wind the crank. The status colour will then be white and will match the back. Re-attach the back, remove the darkslide and you should be good to go.

I hope I am not telling you something you already know and tried. If all this doesn't work, a trip to a Hasselblad repairer might be needed. Apparently, the 500 series are tough as old boots, but the one area where damage can be caused is in lens removal - both the camera and lens needs to be cocked before removal. If you have the manual, this is pretty clearly stated.

Good luck - let me know how you get on.

Ray
 
By the way, as far as I know, there is no locking lever on the wind-on crank - and you certainly do not need to remove the crank to resolve your problem. In my post above, the reference to the wind on crank is for the large crank handle, not the small crank on the film mag.

Ray
 
There is no film in the camera. Before I tried releasing the shutter I took the magazine off and the view finder just to look around. I have now removed the magazine but one thing I guess might be because i have an older version, but there is no indicator on the body of the camera. Only on the magazine has an indicator, which is red. I was able to get the camera into prerelease mode and then i proceeded to release it and thus the shutter on the lens is closed. So it seems i have taken a picture (without film), but the winding crank will not turn. I did take the lens off while I was first examining the camera. Could this be why the crank is locked? Also, the crank is stuck in a position where the red dot on the body lines up with the large arrow on the winding crank. Also, after I "took a picture", because the winding crank was stuck, I wound the small crank on the magazine. Should this make a difference?
 
To be clear, the magazine has two indicators - the crescent shaped one on the left side and the other on the lower right side. It is the one on the right side that should be matched with a similar one on the body - they should both be showing the same colour - if not, you need to follow my instructions in my first post to correct that. Please tell me what colour that body indicator is showing - red or white? As far as I know, all V series cameras operate the same 2 small circular indicators.

Ray
 
GREAT UPDATE!!!! I was stupidly toying around with the barn doors, the camera gave a satisfying click and the mirror dropped down. I then proceeded to attempt to take a picture and voila! Release and wind! Not to sure what was wrong in the end but I'm guessing the barn doors got held up on something or missed a lever/switch to enact the wind. Either way I'm happy that I didnt destroy my father's Hasselblad! Thanks for all the help!
 
Our posts crossed - I got your last one after I had posted the 'hang on' one. No sure what you mean by the barn doors - do you mean the back shutter? This opens first when you press the shutter, then the shutter in the lens fires and lastly, the back shutter closes. This is why if you hold your finger on the release with the faster speeds it sounds as if you have selected a very long exposure. I will look at the window issue and report back, but in the meantime, go to http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/PDF/HasManuals/503CW.pdf if you do not have the manual. This covers the 501CM too.

Ray
 
Yes i do mean the back shutter. I believe they were in the closed position when they should have been open, which gave the camera some confusion. I moved the back shutter and then fired the camera and it is working now.
 
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