# Hasselblad advice needed!



## symesad (Mar 5, 2012)

Hi everybody, thanks for having a look 

Here is my situation, I don't know as much as I could or should about Hasselblads, but I am learning all the time. I purchased a Hasselblad 500 c/m on ebay recently for a good price, it was only after the experienced eyes of my tutor looked at it did i realize that the light seal at the back is broken, the line from where it was is traced with a black permanent marker.

Question 1: Can this be fixed non professionally? Can it be fixed at all?

So, I was shopping in town the other day and I noticed a collector I know with his stall, I managed to pick up a Hasselblad 500 el/m, with a fixed light seal. I have 2 lenses, a 150mm lens with the coating worn away and an 80mm still fully coated.

Question 2: Were I to sell on the 500 c/m and start using the el/m, what features and quality will i be sacrificing? I am aware of the fact that the el/m is automatic.. how could I not be.. but essentially, which one should I stick with and focus on and which should I attempt to sell on?

Thanks everybody


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## gsgary (Mar 5, 2012)

Hasselblad Historical - How to change light seals in Hasselblad film magazines

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=hasselblad+light+seal


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## symesad (Mar 5, 2012)

I mis-spoke.. THe light seal is damaged on the rear of the camera body


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## Ysarex (Mar 5, 2012)

I'd dump that ELM and use the proceeds to have the 500 CM repaired. Keeping ELM batteries functioning isn't worth the headache. The seal you're talking about gets worn down by repeatedly gouging away with film magazines, scrapping off a little more of the metal ridge each time. The only repair is to replace the camera back plate that has the raised ridge. Doing the job isn't so hard but you've got to get the part. Hasselblad isn't going to sell you the part. You're going to either send it in for the repair or find a repair shop that will sell you the part knowing that they're not going to get to charge you for the labor of replacing that part. I used to repair Hassleblads for a living years ago. Every so often a do-it-yourselfer would come in and want a part like a shutter main spring, whatever. We would gladly sell it to them for the cost of the part plus double what we would have charged in labor to install it.  We used to call it the dumb#$*& surcharge. We also applied it when it was clear the dumb#$*% had already tried and failed and was bringing us their screwup. Good luck.

Joe


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