Photography: Glenn's Hasselblad 1600F

My friend Glenn’s father used this camera for decades. The serial number CH11894 indicates it was built in 1952. Sometime in the 90s it was broken, and since then it’s been in storage. Knowing my interest in photography and gadgets Glenn loaned it to me. I cleaned it up a bit, diagnosed the problem (broken shutter curtain, something far beyond my meager abilities), and generally geeked out on it for a few days.

Other than the utterly debilitating issue with the shutter the rest of the kit is in amazing condition for a 70 year old camera. Cosmetically the leather strip around the viewfinder is missing, as is the trim on the winder knob. The viewfinder and mirror are clean and bright Both lenses are free of dust and fungus, and aside from a stiff focus action on the 80mm lens, everything works smoothly.

Manuals:

• Original user’s manual
• Factory repair manual
• Cellphone shots from my friend’s copy of the “unofficial manual” p. 321 p. 322 p. 323 p. 324

Some useful and/or interesting external links about the 1600F:

• Hasselblad’s page on the 1600F
• Hasselblad has a photo essay on 1600F serial number 00001
• A list of brochures & manuals
• The Camera Wiki entry on the 1600F
• A collector’s notes on the 1600F & 1000F
• Instructions on repairing a 1000F, with photos
• Lens-DB pages for the 80mm lens, the 135mm lens, and the camera

And here’s the obligatory glamour photo shoot.