[HUG] Re: Oh, my aching (A12) back....

Dear Uncle Dick,

What a coincidence I just ordered 10 darkslides for my backs. With me they do 
not have a chance to become
buckled I simply lose them. This habit did not change with the use of the 
latest model backs. I still forget
where I left the things. It is often overlooked but dark slides are an 
essential part of the system.
 
For some unknown reason I always liked film backs so I have a good supply of 
those.
Even before I had my first 500C body and a pair of lenses I owned 3 film backs.

Besides the ones you mention I also have 4 A16 backs and even a rare A12V.
The A12V is worth mentioning as it is gives 12   6X4.5 exposures in portrait 
mode.
I heard the Swedish designer team worked 3 years on this particular model.
I returned the A12V to Sweden twice because I was under the impression it was 
an A16 wrongly assembled.
It took a lot of effort from the after sales department to convince me this is 
a usefull tool for photographers.
These backs did not sell in quantities so I think they forgot to explain the 
features from the A12V to the rest of the world.

I would like to forget about Polaroid backs.By now I can admit I am a cheap 
shot so I found myself a nice 88 Pola back.
I even managed to find some film for it. What I did not know is this back 
should not be used with a focal plane shutter camera.
By saving 100 dollar on a polaback I ruined the shutter of a perfect 2003 FCW 
camera.
Mind you the feeling to blow up a 1500 $ shutter in 1/500 of a second is a very 
special.
You loose a good investment faster than in any poker game.
With age we all get a little wiser and sometimes a little sadder too.
The 2003 FCW is still in use. I had all the insides removed and converted the 
camera into a clock.
Every time I look at it I think of the nice Swiss watch I could have bought for 
the money I lost.  

Richard
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Stein 
  To: hasselblad@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2008 4:16 AM
  Subject: [HUG] Oh, my aching (A12) back....


  Dear Richard,

   

              Please forgive me for replying late. I have just been dug out of 
an industrial accident and it has taken time for the paramedics to bandage my 
head.

   

              I was caught in a landslide of old Linhof Super Rollex backs at 
work. The pile shifted and a 6x9 slid over and then all hell broke loose. I 
barely escaped one Cine Rollex as it hurtled past my ear but the next one got 
me. It all went black and then this bright white light shone down and it was 
Nicholas Karpf…who reached down and rescued the Linhof back and left me there 
on the floor. I think this is a message….

   

              NEVERTHELESS. You asked about the A series backs. Get any one you 
want – they all fit the basic mounting frame. Get black or silver and it makes 
only an aesthetic difference – not a mechanical one. But discipline yourself – 
restrict your buying to backs that are a matched pair – insert and shell – and 
do not bother with chatty old things that have pieces missing or obvious 
mechanical damage. The market is so favourable at present to the buyer that you 
do not have to put up with questionable equipment – good gear is affordable. 
The seals that trap the dark slide need replacement every so often but this is 
an easy tech or home job.

   

              Likewise do not continue to use the stainless steel dark slides 
if they are noticeably buckled. New ones are cheap enough and do not strain the 
magazine structure in use.

   

              You can never have too many magazines. A reasonable supply for, 
say, a retired grandmother from Pasadena would be 5 x A12, 3 x A24, 2 x A16S, 
and one of the Auto 9.5 Panorama backs that takes Pathe cine film and makes the 
panorama pictures that featured in Grand Central Station in New York. Kodak 
used to take credit for them but it was really the little old lady from 
Pasadena.

   

              Oh, and a Polaroid back but don’t use Polaroid film – use Fuji. 
Trust me on this.

   

  Uncle Dick



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8:32 PM

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