Best/Worst Hasselblad Lenses For V Bodies

Steven Lee

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Sirius Glass said:
I would suggest you checkout CLA prices. It is my understanding that my 250mm CF's CLA required all the lens element be removed to get to the shutter to service it and the lens elements required recollimating.
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How does this look like? I mean the process of recollimating? I am not a camera tech, but I've taken apart a few lenses to clean up shutters or remove large debris. Mamiya, Bronica, Nikon but not Zeiss. I have not seen anything inside that seemed adjustable. The optical elements are always held by a solid metal housing. Never noticed any focusing issues after my DIY service either. Is this something Zeiss specific?
 

Sirius Glass

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Recollimation or Collimation requires an optical bench and shining a light through the lens components. Some electro-optical instruments and lenses it is done as each lens is added and adjusted OR for all the lens components at once. It depends of the procedure of each instrument or lens. My Hasselblad repairman said that when Samys Camera sent the 500C lens out for repair, Hasselblad charged around $750US for the recollimation alone. That is why I recommend finding out the cost of the CLA for the lens in post #72.
 

Mark J

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itsdoable said:
That is a lens I have never seen in real life!
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They were quite expensive, and they only sold somewhere between 100 and 150 units ( with the x1.7 teleconverter ). I checked a few months ago on EBay and found one selling for £52,000, which is about 5 times the 1999 selling price !
 

GLS

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Mark J said:
They were quite expensive, and they only sold somewhere between 100 and 150 units ( with the x1.7 teleconverter ). I checked a few months ago on EBay and found one selling for £52,000, which is about 5 times the 1999 selling price !
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I know Christopher Burkett used this lens, along with the other two Superachromats. Beautiful work too.
 

GLS

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@Mark J I'm curious then: did you work directly for Zeiss, or was the design subcontracted?
 

Mark J

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GLS said:
I know Christopher Burkett used this lens, along with the other two Superachromats. Beautiful work too.
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Thanks, I'll look him up later.

I worked directly for Zeiss at that time, in Oberkochen, 1997-1998. They had about 6 of us full-time on the photo optics then, I don't believe anything was sub-contracted.
 

rulnacco

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The 180 is, optically, pretty spectacular. But whether you choose it over the 150 depends on how you intend to use it. The 180 is longer, heavier, and especially *front* heavier than the 150. It's great for studio portraiture, where the camera is on a tripod--but for portability and use in the field, particularly handheld, I always carry the 150. With the 150, you'll get 90-95% of the the performance of the 180, at about half the cost (or less), and only ¾ of the weight (785g vs. 1075, for the CF versions). If you're shooting digital, you *can* see some differences between the two, with the 180 coming out, as I said, superior. But you'll really only notice them clearly at 100% or close to. If you're talking about normal viewing resolutions/sizes, or you're shooting on film, I think the differences will be a lot more subtle.

My 150 was the second lens I got after my 80mm--and I got it really cheap, because the plastic trim ring behind the focusing ring (which keeps it from sliding down the lens barrel as you're using it) was cracked, which is a drawback of the 150mm CF, as this seems to be a fairly common problem with that lens. I had a new one 3D-printed, and while it's not as glossy as the original, it really blends right in and it has worked perfectly.

So when I did manage to land a 180 at a very good price from my favorite dealer later, that's why I've kept the 150 even though it seems a bit superfluous since I've also got the 120mm. My small carry-around kit for field use is the camera with the 80mm mounted on it, and either the 50mm or the 150mm in the bag as my second lens. The smaller size and weight, and better weight distribution, make the 150 better for that purpose than the 180.

But yes: if you want to *know* you have the best quality lens you can get, if you are printing really big, or you can notice more subtle differences than I can in small or medium-sized prints, and the size/weight/price aren't an obstacle, definitely go with the 180mm. It might be *the* best Hasselblad V lens ever, and from reading online, it seems I'm not the only one who thinks that's a possibility!
 

Nokton48

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The 50 CT*, the 150mm CT* are both just new to me (again), and both are a good match to the new CFV16 Digital Back. I'm so glad I picked them out again. The 250 CT* from MPEX had a busted back mount, so it was returned for a full refund. So the search for a decent black 250 CT* continues. I'm staying with the original V lenses and I'm happy with my results. The 250 C T* Achromat is still out of my price range. Is anybody here using it for conventional Hasselblad photography?h
 

Arthurwg

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Mark J said:
Thanks, I'll look him up later.

I worked directly for Zeiss at that time, in Oberkochen, 1997-1998. They had about 6 of us full-time on the photo optics then, I don't believe anything was sub-contracted.
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A friend has one of his prints on her wall. Spectacular.
 

eli griggs

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Kodachromeguy said:
This is the first time (in my recollection) that I read a criticism of the 80mm f/2.8 lens. I'm perplexed. Recall, there are 2 versions, the 7 element and the 6 element CB lens. The MTF diagrams are slightly different.
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I've had both CF and CFi 2.8 80mm lenses and also believe they are great lenses.

Perhaps, because of it's focal length and "kit lens" statius, any complaint about a working lens, with no fungus, is because of the fine blur to some degree in images because of handheld shooting at relatively slow speeds or wide F-stop settings.
 

Sirius Glass

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Mark J said:
They were quite expensive, and they only sold somewhere between 100 and 150 units ( with the x1.7 teleconverter ). I checked a few months ago on EBay and found one selling for £52,000, which is about 5 times the 1999 selling price !
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That is just slightly over my budget. I will wait for a price drop.
 

Kodachromeguy

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Your hypothesis is valid, Eli. A lot of photographers "test" lenses or claim a certain lens is not "sharp," and then you find out they hand-held the camera. Duuh......
 

Mark J

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I was very impressed with the vids I saw of Christopher Burkett, looks like total commitment to photography, with the LF work & darkroom.
I should check out prices on his books. Some of the work reminds me of Shinzo Maeda.
 

Photomultiplier

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I own both of his books as well as some of Shinzo Maeda. There are definitely some similarities.

I ordered the books directly from Christopher and i find the price to be very moderate, considering the extremely high quality. He really put his heart into making them.
 

GLS

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Photomultiplier said:
I own both of his books as well as some of Shinzo Maeda. There are definitely some similarities.
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Agreed. I enjoy the work of both photographers, but the printing quality of Burkett's books are a step above.
 

BMbikerider

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Is there such a think as a bad lens to fit a Hassie?
 

Nokton48

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Not really IMO. BTW still looking for a black 120mm f5.6 CT* Planar, and a 250mm f5.6 black CT* Sonnar. The 250 C Achromat is off my radar due to pricing. For V film and V digital use. If I can get a nice looking 8x8 or 10x10 I'm content. Olde lenses still have a lot of utility.
 
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