Dear Captain Tim
I only just came across your 2017 post. I would like to share that I am still diving with my old Hasselblad Undereater Housings. I have the ones built by huygyfot for Hasselblad and I have the both for the SWC and the 500cm housing. I have been using these two housing for as long as I can remember but I have over the years adapted them to keep up with the digital age. They both now take the latest Seacam strobe and the Hasselblad CFV back. I am always looking for lens gears for some of my other Hasselblad lenses. Would you know who would be carry those len gears? I also would like to get in touch with other Hasselblad Underwater Housing users.
Cheers
Felix
Felix great to here from you. Your reply, no matter how long after my original post ...supports the thought that there is still a place for MF in underwater photography. Woo Hoo!
I might be able to assist you in your search. I am currently involved in few other matters for the next week or two but I do wish to communicate further on this.
A couple of things to leave you with, at least for the time being....
Gears...I can get back to you on this but the C lenses have shutter and aperture barrel components that are equal to or only slightly off of the size for the same component on many of the C lenses. I can take this as a first step to confirm this. In fact if they are on the mark it would only be the "reach" factor of the drive gears in the housing that would be of issue. More as I look into and take dimensions of the lenses I have.
What lenses are you using that you wish to "splash" in the housing? The SWC of course has the fixed 38mm and the 500C/CM version will handle the 50 and 80 with out too much that has to be changed.
I know that one design that Akimbo and I were contemplating was the 30mm fish eye on the version 2 (blue housing) and the Jim Church design for the ELM a few thousand years back.
The idea was to supplement that with a dome from a custom design by Chuck Davis for his Contax 4.5 X 6. It is actully a Video camera dome but I would have to ask Chuck from where it actually came from.. That email request already gone.
Yes there will be solutions out there and of course your ability to "splash" any of them is strictly a matter of $$$$. Stand by I will get back to you with some more specific information on some possible folks building some limited 3D printing versions of gear sets.
BTW I still shoot film with the Hassleblads but would be very interested in what you think of the digital back you are using. Not something I will be considering at this stage for U/W but maybe topside? Right now working with Ilford on a way to bring 24 frames back to their film selections using the same idea as 35mm (continuous roll and preload the magazines in the dark room).
It is now with the number crunching folks at Ilford. Maybe ..it could happen?
Later
Tim