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Author Topic: Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes  (Read 21149 times)

hubell

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« on: May 03, 2006, 06:55:42 am »

Michael:
Regarding your woes with the Hasselblad H1 50-110 zoom lens. I recall that there was a thread on the RG med. format forum about similar issues that was started by Jack Bingham. You may want to look through  the archives there and contact Mr. Bingham as I recall he was doing his own  informal survey about this lens.
For the future, as the 50-110 is such a light, compact and inexpensive lens, you may want to take a couple of extras with you on your next trip as back-ups. <G>

michael

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2006, 08:01:49 am »

Jack and I are already in contact. Thanks.

Michael
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RicAgu

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2006, 11:51:27 am »

Hello,

What problems were you guys having with the 50-110?  I have one and it has been wonderful.  What should I expect?

In the film days the biggest problem we had was which developer to use.  Anything else could be fixed with some duct tape, liquid nails, or hitting it a couple of times.  THANK GOD FOR THE INTERNET!  OOPS I may upset RG or MS if they are reading.  THANK THE FLOATING ENTITY ABOVE FOR THE INTERNET.  I couldn't help it.

Thanks,

Ric
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ddolde

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2006, 05:09:20 pm »

Michael,

While I agree that having a lens fall apart in your hands is insane and absurd, I can't help wonder if the root cause was a "blad" camera decision.

If I were going this route I'd seriously look at the Alpa 12SWA with Digitar lenses.  Then you get the hi res lenses and the portability at the same time with just one camera/lens system.  With the very wide lenses like 28mm or 35mm you don't really need tilt that much and the shift is there for when you need it.

I tried an M679 a few years ago with a film back.  I thought it was a beast to haul around and really only good as a studio camera.
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Camdavidson

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #4 on: May 04, 2006, 07:46:28 am »

Quote
Michael,

While I agree that having a lens fall apart in your hands is insane and absurd, I can't help wonder if the root cause was a "blad" camera decision.

If I were going this route I'd seriously look at the Alpa 12SWA with Digitar lenses.  Then you get the hi res lenses and the portability at the same time with just one camera/lens system.  With the very wide lenses like 28mm or 35mm you don't really need tilt that much and the shift is there for when you need it.

I tried an M679 a few years ago with a film back.  I thought it was a beast to haul around and really only good as a studio camera.
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It sounds like weight was a concern for you on this trip.  Given the cost of getting to this location, why did you not consider taking a second lens for the Hassy?  Even a normal for those "just-in-case" scenarios?  As insurance, for this type of situation.
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michael

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2006, 08:45:04 am »

Another lens would have been a good idea. But, as someone wrote, who would have thought that this lens would fail? I would have far sooner expected the P45 or the camera itself to be the point of vulnerability.

But as I wrote, I had two other cameras and three lenses as backups and so the day was saved, so to speak.

Michael
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William_Good

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #6 on: May 04, 2006, 12:53:34 pm »

Quote
Another lens would have been a good idea. But, as someone wrote, who would have thought that this lens would fail? I would have far sooner expected the P45 or the camera itself to be the point of vulnerability.
...........
Michael
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=64473\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Its not fun when  expensive gear breaks down during a shoot!
Nobody's perfect, i suppose......

Any response from hassie on this situation?
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michael

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2006, 02:03:32 pm »

Hasselblad's position is that there is no problem and that they've almost never heard of this before.

At this point I've heard from a dozen people who have experienced the same non-existant problem.

I'm continuing to tally feedback, and we'll see what happens.

Michael
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ErikKaffehr

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2006, 02:30:28 pm »

Here in Sweden we have a joke about that:

It is highly inprobable that it would happen, so it probably did not really happen. :-)

Actually I have seen that happen to an inexpensive Sigma lens within my family. Several camera makers did issue service notes about certain serial numbers of cameras or lenses having "issues" or as you say in Canada "snags". I think H-blad should do just that. Honesty is, more often than not, the best policy.

To me it seems to be nice to have a Canon around when the Hassy fails. I feel very much emphaty, thinking about you putting a lot of effort in just taking the P45 and Hassy with you to Namibia, just to find out that you are carrying like 6 kg of ballast.

I was really interested about your findings aboot the value of having  a 39 MPix back on a medium format camera. I hope that Hasselblad will make a real effort to make you a satisfied customer, even if I can see that it will take a significant effort on their side. Hopefully you can soon publish many insightful articles on MF equipmet that  we, noncommercial amateurs, cannot afford. The excellent articles you write give us (or at least me) a glimpse of the future.

So Michael, I feel sorry for your effort in Namibia, but I'm looking to see more articles on high resolution backs. The insight you gain might save us quite a few bucks.

Best regards

Erik Kaffehr


Quote
Hasselblad's position is that there is no problem and that they've almost never heard of this before.

At this point I've heard from a dozen people who have experienced the same non-existant problem.

I'm continuing to tally feedback, and we'll see what happens.

Michael
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mkravit

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2006, 10:16:33 pm »

Quote
Another lens would have been a good idea. But, as someone wrote, who would have thought that this lens would fail? I would have far sooner expected the P45 or the camera itself to be the point of vulnerability.

But as I wrote, I had two other cameras and three lenses as backups and so the day was saved, so to speak.

Michael
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In all seriousness, with all of the money you guys spent on a once in a lifetime trip like this, what could you have possibly been thinking, who in their right mind would take a high end MF Camera , a $30,000 Digital Back, and ONLY 1 lens? I find this incomprehensible.
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MarkKay

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #10 on: June 27, 2006, 03:25:16 pm »

i am wondering about the latest follow-up.  Did Hasselblad fix this problem on new stock?  They must have at least acknowledged this by now. Mark

Quote
Michael:
Regarding your woes with the Hasselblad H1 50-110 zoom lens. I recall that there was a thread on the RG med. format forum about similar issues that was started by Jack Bingham. You may want to look through  the archives there and contact Mr. Bingham as I recall he was doing his own  informal survey about this lens.
For the future, as the 50-110 is such a light, compact and inexpensive lens, you may want to take a couple of extras with you on your next trip as back-ups. <G>
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michael

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #11 on: June 27, 2006, 04:07:45 pm »

I missed Mr Kravit's comment originally, so here's a quick reply.

If you'd read my artcile on the trip you would have discovered that I brought along a number of other cameras and lenses. The H2 with the zoom was just a single system for a particular purpose.

As for other followup, my lens was replaced promptly and the new one is fine. But, there are quite a number of other people who have not been treated anywhere near as well as I was.

Stuff is brewing, but it's inappropriate for me to comment further at the moment.

Michael
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MarkKay

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #12 on: June 27, 2006, 11:37:52 pm »

The reason i asked is that I just ordered an H2 system and 50-110 and 35mm HC lens

Quote
I missed Mr Kravit's comment originally, so here's a quick reply.

If you'd read my artcile on the trip you would have discovered that I brought along a number of other cameras and lenses. The H2 with the zoom was just a single system for a particular purpose.

As for other followup, my lens was replaced promptly and the new one is fine. But, there are quite a number of other people who have not been treated anywhere near as well as I was.

Stuff is brewing, but it's inappropriate for me to comment further at the moment.

Michael
.
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michael

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #13 on: June 28, 2006, 08:03:35 am »

The 50-110 is a superb lens. The second one which I have is solid as a rock, and an excellent performer.

Unfortunately it does seem that some lenses have suffered from either a design flaw or a manufactruing defect which leads to the focusing mechanism freezing, and in some cases the front element falling out.

Even more unfortunately Hasselblad is denying that there is a problem, and is treating some customers differently than others. Some get warrenty repair or replacement, others are told that they must have dropped the lens and are forced to pay as much as $1,500 for repair, even if the lens is quite new.

I have now heard from more than a dozen people who have experienced this issue with their 50-110mm lenses.

My recommendation would be to buy the lens. It's a very fine optic. But just keep your eye on the front focusing mechanism for any sign of a grinding sound, or binding. If it occurs, stop using the lens right away and send it back to Hasselblad.

Michael
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MarkKay

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #14 on: June 28, 2006, 04:03:45 pm »

Thanks for the update.  I believe that making a mistake is human but not admitting to it or trying to ignore it is inappropriate.  I sure hope that this forum will be read by the Hasselblad folks and make them understand that there is an issue and that we the consumers do know about it. I will follow your advice when i get the lens.   Mark


Quote
The 50-110 is a superb lens. The second one which I have is solid as a rock, and an excellent performer.

Unfortunately it does seem that some lenses have suffered from either a design flaw or a manufactruing defect which leads to the focusing mechanism freezing, and in some cases the front element falling out.

Even more unfortunately Hasselblad is denying that there is a problem, and is treating some customers differently than others. Some get warrenty repair or replacement, others are told that they must have dropped the lens and are forced to pay as much as $1,500 for repair, even if the lens is quite new.

I have now heard from more than a dozen people who have experienced this issue with their 50-110mm lenses.

My recommendation would be to buy the lens. It's a very fine optic. But just keep your eye on the front focusing mechanism for any sign of a grinding sound, or binding. If it occurs, stop using the lens right away and send it back to Hasselblad.

Michael
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ericevans

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #15 on: June 28, 2006, 11:53:48 pm »

Quote
Hasselblad's position is that there is no problem and that they've almost never heard of this before.

At this point I've heard from a dozen people who have experienced the same non-existant problem.

I'm continuing to tally feedback, and we'll see what happens.

Michael
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=64492\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


I just posted a thread on my own problems wit Hasselblad service . They should drop the blad part and just call it Hassel .
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jecxz

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #16 on: June 29, 2006, 07:15:48 am »

Michael, you probably got your 55-110 fixed fast without issue because of your voice here.

I considered purchasing the 55-110 lens for my H2 but decided against it when Hasselblad told me "it may break if you lean on the front of the lens element" --which is what happens when you gently rest the camera (with lens attached) down on a table. "Every issue we've seen with the 55-110 has been user related impact, there has been no design or production issues" according to Hasselblad.

Every other lens is excellent (the only one I don't have the 100 f2.2).

I'm also hopeful that more outdoor photographers use the H system, at the very least, so that Hasselblad gets more field testing for this system because they do sincerely see it as their future.

I'm content with the system with the exception of a few lockups here and there (1 out of 10 times the film doesn't wind to the first frame and I have to remove the back, somtimes it hangs (yes, with film too)).
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SeanBK

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #17 on: June 29, 2006, 07:34:22 am »

I use H system too. I have NEVER had any problems, though I don't have their zoom. For landscaping the results are spectacular. The 1/2006 issue of their Forum magazine has a wonderful article @ Elizabeth Carmel. Check out her site www.elizabethcarmel.com  She uses nothing but H system (50-110 zoom too) with Ixpress CF 132C back with ImageBank. The magazine has printed results of some of work at Lake Tahoe, which are just spectacular.
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ecarmel

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #18 on: June 29, 2006, 09:51:45 am »

Hi Sean - Thanks for the comment about my work with the H1/132c. I love this system and the lens is superb when it is working. I regularly make fine art prints 40" x60" from images taken with this system and could not be happier with the quality. I thought I would add my comments on the lens to this forum - there is also a running thread over at the Flexframe users group in Yahoo Groups for those that are interested. Here is what I recently posted. I appreciate Micheal bringing light to this problem - this lens costs way too much to fail in the field like this.

I was at the ClearFocus studio last week and talked to
Hassleblad reps about this problem. One told me that the 50-110 lens
is quite heavy and has not been designed to hold in the downward
position - this leads to stress on the front element and can cause the
front of the lens to fall off, similar to what happened to me. Mine is
off for repairs in NJ, it is under warranty so I expect it to be
repaired or replaced. I have heard that Hasselblad has considered some
other instances of this problem to be caused by impact to the lens,
and would not cover it under warranty. My lens was not dropped or
impacted, I just took it out of my padded LowePro pack and the front
came loose after I rotated the focusing ring and heard a grinding noise. I will let the group
know the outcome of the repair/replacement. I have been without my
lens for a little over a week now. From now on I will be taking the 80
mm with me on all trips as a back up. When I was in the Grand Canyon I
was left with the 35mm and the 300mm and nothing in between!

Elizabeth Carmel
www.ElizabethCarmel.com
www.HawksPeakPublishing.com





Quote
I use H system too. I have NEVER had any problems, though I don't have their zoom. For landscaping the results are spectacular. The 1/2006 issue of their Forum magazine has a wonderful article @ Elizabeth Carmel. Check out her site www.elizabethcarmel.com  She uses nothing but H system (50-110 zoom too) with Ixpress CF 132C back with ImageBank. The magazine has printed results of some of work at Lake Tahoe, which are just spectacular.
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Ed Jack

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Hasselblad 50-110 Zoom Woes
« Reply #19 on: June 29, 2006, 10:33:48 am »

Quote
I'm also hopeful that more outdoor photographers use the H system, at the very least, so that Hasselblad gets more field testing for this system because they do sincerely see it as their future.

I'm content with the system with the exception of a few lockups here and there (1 out of 10 times the film doesn't wind to the first frame and I have to remove the back, somtimes it hangs (yes, with film too)).
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I use my H1 kit out doors most of the time. As I tend to load my camera into my kit back lens down I am now worried about this compression issue on the front element. Can I suggest that if you are in manual focus mode when you put the camera down, that you return to autofocus and just half press for an instant to get the front element back into its notmal range/pressure before any manual focus. I think the way Michael R describes his use of a custom AF button and NOT the shutter release half press is interesting and I am now trying this/

I have had a couple of newly loaded film wind-on locks. I find that if you manually keep the film tight as you load and lock it, then this causes a problem. I naturally try to get the film taught and tight by winding the spockests away from each other as I load and keeping the tension on as I push it into teh body. Counter intuitively this can lead to problems. I think they expect us to load the film "as is", which is slightly slack, I think (hope) that slightly more pressure is applied to the top spool upon locking to automatically tighten the film flat, so maybe you don't need to fuss about getting it quite so flat as the film back goes on ? Anyone know ?

This happened to me in Rome the other day and I had to remove the back  and replace it. I did this in a dark room, but still the back automatically winds on 3 frames! I forgot that it does this by default to avoid fogging, but in this case there was no fogging issue in the dark. Does anyone know how to turn off the auto 3 frame advance to avoid film wastage ?

Ed
« Last Edit: June 29, 2006, 10:37:43 am by Ed Jack »
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