Was there an issue with older HC 80mm lenses on newer bodies?

[chris giles]

I was told there was an upgrade for the 80mm which solved focus issues.

I declined the upgrade as I wasn't experiencing any however on my H3dII 39 my 80mm will happily fire away a few shots but suddenly decide to keep the aperture blades shut, or operate very slowly ultimately locking up.

When it does keep the blades shut the body errors out and tells me to reconnect the lens.

However, on my H1 and P25 back it fires continuously without any issue whatsoever. My 100mm and 35mm are fine on both bodies.

[Douglas Fairbank @ Classic V]

While it is true that the very first HC lenses had a firmware and hardware update very few of them can have escaped the update, you can tell them by the chrome bayonet being held on with chrome screws, black screws were fitted after the update.

The reconnect message means that a glitch occurred, clean the contacts with a little alcohol if you can, see if all the sprung pins on the body sit at the same level.

Despite reports in the other articles regarding how good alcohol was for cleaning battery connections, alcohol is not a cure all, use only trace amounts and keep the remainder for the purpose it was made for.   

[chris giles]

Hi Douglas,
I just gave it a go and cleaned the pins with some sensor solution.

The 80mm I have has the chrome screws so it can have the upgrade....I was wodering if the lack of update was the cause?

I did a portrait session with someone and the 1.7x and 100mm today, faultless all the way through it. Put the 80mm on and it locks up. Absolutely fine on the H1 body though. Strange.

[Douglas Fairbank @ Classic V]

Get in touch with Haaselblad UK and arrange to get the update done. You are probably due for an update on the H1 but that is something you can do yourself with Phocus and the digital back from your H3 as an interface. The people at HUK will explain it all.