Hasselblad H4D Mirror/Shutter Issue

[jhoff]

Hi there,

I recently purchased a used Hasselblad H4D as my first foray into medium format, I have shot Canon for years up to this point.  I am having an issue with the H4D where when I press the shutter release button and the shutter and mirror actuate I get distortions and flares no matter what, I have tried changing the mirror delay time with no noticeable effect. The only way that I don’t get these distortions is by first having to press M-Up, in all situations. Now I am not sure if this is a quirk of medium format that I was unaware of but after talking with some other people it sounds like this is a situation where i need to send it in to get serviced, am I wrong?

[Joe Towner]

Just checking if any of the tidbits below made sense.

Having said that, what does the seller say about this?  How long has the camera been sitting around before you purchased it? 

What model battery are you using, is it fully charged, and have you recharged it fully?  Can you tether to a computer using FW800?  It may want to be plugged in and charged for a while - there's a rear curtain that's on the body that protects the sensor and that may be having issues.  Have you pulled the back off the body & looked at the contacts?

What lens are you using, and was it part of a kit from the seller, or was it acquired separately?  When you're shooting these images, are you doing it hand held or on a tripod?  Does it happen across multiple lenses, or do you only have the 1 currently?  Do you get the same visual when the camera is in vertical orientation as in horizontal?

-Joe

Since the image with M.UP looks fine, I think it's safe to say the back is fine, that the issue would be in the lens/body.  Because it's a vertical strip, It makes me think it's related to the curtain or mirror assembly.  Where are you located?

[jhoff]

I haven’t gotten a response from the seller as they are a camera shop and are closed due to Covid. 

I bought it with 3 batteries and I have cycled through them with the same results.  I’ve removed the back and the contacts are looking fine by my eye, although I’m not a Hasselblad expert.  I have the 80mm lens as my only lens currently and it came with the camera.  I’m getting these results both handheld and on a tripod.  I tried shooting with vertical orientation and the lines remain the same.  From what you’ve said it is making sense to me that the shutter curtain is the issue here, is there anything I can do to troubleshoot that further? I shot a slowmo video of the curtain firing and it doesn’t look damaged in any way, is there something that could be a giveaway that I could look for?

I’m in Alberta, Canada

Thanks for your help with this
Josh