Are Hasselblad 503cw rain proof?

ted_smith · Dec 4, 2011

Hi

I know this sounds daft, but being in the position of considering a move from Nikon F5 to Hasselblad 503cw, one thing occured to me - are hasselblad 503cw rain proof? In other words, if I'm stood on the edge of a cliff waiting for the light in the rain, is my expensive hasselblad 503cw going to get wrecked? Converesly, my F5 just brushes the rain away.

Ted

fmajor · Dec 4, 2011

Yup, wrecked.

benjiboy · Dec 4, 2011

No it certainly isn't Ted.

rudolf · Dec 4, 2011

503cw maybe isn't rain-proof, but...
In general when we're talking about Hasselblad 5xx cameras, I think it depends - my friend used to take photos with his 500c/m in heavy norwegian rain, and was just pouring out the water from his 50mm lens from time to time.

ted_smith · Dec 4, 2011

Oh...that's a bit of a show stopper then? How do landscape photographers who use Hassies protect them from the elements? Or are they really only ever used for weddings and portraiture?

vpwphoto · Dec 4, 2011

My 500 has seen wet snowy extreems, I used to have a 503cw and it also seemed bullet proof as well, although I never used the flash metering chip anyway.
I wouldn't expect the winder to fair well, put the manual crank on and go for it.
I never just let water pour down on it! It's no Nikonos.

@ Ted... My Hasselblad system has been dusty farm combine/harvest operations, hung outside flying aricraft, cathedrals, the most dirty and hot steel mills, coal fired powerplants, welding operations, pig farms, and hiking in the snow, frozen in the car to 10 below, and Cherenkov radiation at a small nuke plamt (that place was clean).

They can do anything (reasonable).Hasselbald used to have this "school" that traveled the country in the early 1990's there was a women that gave a talk, about her photography of yellowstone and rainforests using the Hasselblad she got them more than wet.... I'm a believer in the 500 system by experiance. Go use it sensibly and make some great images.

Fashion a zip-lock bag to protect it. In a word, my 500 /503 and CF lenses have been rained on and snowed on, I bush them off, keep them under my jacket when not on a tripiod or being aimed at something. Yes mine have been wet (sensibility is needed).

Sirius Glass · Dec 4, 2011

Hasselblad does not make claims about being water-proof nor water-resistant. You are on your own.

YMMV

olleorama · Dec 4, 2011

I have owned both 500C and 500CM, I wouldn't rate them as waterproof but a rain is not a problem. I used them in monsoon in thailand and freezing snow falls on spitzbergen, never had a problem.

wildbill · Dec 4, 2011

2 gallon ziploc bag with a hole in it for the lens. or one of the many rain covers made for cameras.

kreeger · Dec 4, 2011

I have used 5xx Hasselbad gear for years. I always carry a small trash bag with my gear to help keep rain out regardless. I would do that for any camera. I never depend on supposed weatherproofing in cameras. Murphy's law is always in effect.

pgomena · Dec 4, 2011

+1

Peter Gomena

Sirius Glass · Dec 4, 2011

ted_smith · Dec 4, 2011

OK, so can we summarise\generalise by saying that light or moderate rain for a shortish period of time (a few minutes) probably won't cause it any bother. Obviously I realise it's not an 'underwater camera' and wouldn't leave it stood in heavy rain either. I just wanted to check that if it got a bit of a splash it wouldn't ruin it.

I don't actually leave my F5 stood in a torrent of rain either, but I know that I can use it in the rain without having to fret about getting it covered up straiht away.

By the sounds of it, the Hassies are quite tough and can be used in a variety of conditions, from hot to cold, dry to wet, but just nothing too extreme. If that's not the case, please let me know, but that is what I have summised by the replies to date.

Ted

Sirius Glass · Dec 4, 2011

Are you looking for something like this?

http://www.amustard.com/?page=kit&ext=hass&subpage=photo&size=s

film_man · Dec 4, 2011

I'd say a F5/1V/1D/D3 class body with a sealed lens (Canon L or new Nikon ones with gaskets) is more water resistant than a Hassy. However a F5 with a regular AFD lens is probably just as good, your main issue is getting water in the lens, if you wipe it before using the aperture/shutter rings you'll be ok and make sure you don't transfer water in focusing (water on extended barrel carried inside when focusing). Obviously if you're not using a prism, leaving the WLF chimney open in the rain is not very wise.

I've used my 501 in moderate (i.e. I could stay out with waterproofs without thinking "this is crap") rain with no issues, just made sure to wipe it every now and then to avoid getting standing water on it.

Overall, I'm more comfortable using the hassy in the rain as if water gets in it should still work while an electronic camera will just die. How you get the water out and avoid rust is another issue!

vpwphoto · Dec 4, 2011

grit is the worst....

benjiboy · Dec 4, 2011

I just saw this on Amazon Ted http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fotodiox-Ol...5G18/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323045018&sr=8-1 It looks ideal for a Hasselblad.

Leigh B · Dec 5, 2011

The Hasselblad 5xx is a "wet" camera, in the sense that it's well-lubricated.

That lubrication will protect some of the internal parts from moisture, although exposure to same is not recommended.

The cameras are not waterproof, but they're very solidly built and not delicate.

- Leigh

ted_smith · Dec 5, 2011

Benjiboy - a neat link, thanks. I'll consider one of those for any of my cameras I think! Thanks.

Thanks to all for the help. I think we've arrived at a fair number of views which seem to largely echo each other.

Ted

benjiboy · Dec 6, 2011

Ted part of being a photographer is knowing how to protect your equipment the only cameras I would trust to be waterproof are purpose built ones like the Nikon Nikonos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikonos.

Are Hasselblad 503cw rain proof?

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