Bought my first Hasselblad today

[GLS]

Congrats! It's a great system. Just prepare yourself: the lenses will start their siren call next.

 

[Arklatexian]

Congrats (from a Rolleiflex user to a Hasselblad user) !

View attachment 235246

Unless I am mistaken, the man holding the Rollei is Reinhold Heidecke of Franke & Heidecke and the man holding the Hasselblad is Viktor Hasselblad. Both men seemed partial to 6cm. x 6cm., SQUARE negatives for some reason. Maybe with both mens' cameras, a larger film size was not needed............Regards!

 

[macfred]

You're right - this shot was taken in Råö / Sweden in 1955 when Reinhold Heidecke came to visit Viktor Hasselblad.
Victor and Reinhold met in 1954 at Photokina Cologne / Germany and Viktor invited Reinhold to see his factory in Gothenburg. They made friends and Reinhold stayed in Viktors house in Råö.
In those days the two gentlemen made a verbal agreement ... https://wallphotography.wordpress.c...istory-of-hasselblad-hasselblad-1600f-500c-3/

 

[macfred]

More photos here : http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/HS/HSHmeetsR.aspx

 

[warden]

You're right - this shot was taken in Råö / Sweden in 1955 when Reinhold Heidecke came to visit Viktor Hasselblad.....

I'd never heard that story, thanks!

 

[Ron (Netherlands)]

I'd never heard that story, thanks!

+1

 

[sixby45]

Congratulations! And enjoy they are truly just fun to use and stare at for hours on end

 

[sixby45]

I second the 60mm bit it’s always attached to my various V cameras

 

[logan2z]

Thanks again everyone.

It looks like the camera is due to arrive tomorrow on schedule. Unfortunately they're calling for rain here in Northern California for the next seven days or so. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a bit of time to do some shooting before too long.

 

[Pieter12]

Thanks again everyone.

It looks like the camera is due to arrive tomorrow on schedule. Unfortunately they're calling for rain here in Northern California for the next seven days or so. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a bit of time to do some shooting before too long.

There are pictures to be taken in the rain, you can even stay inside.

 

[logan2z]

The camera arrived and it looks great. My BH film order should arrive today and I'll take the camera out for a test drive.

I've started to do some research on tripods and my head is spinning. So many options at a wide variety of price points. Gitzo, RRS seem to be highly regarded but prices are very high. Can anyone recommend a quality tripod/ballhead combination with a price that won't make my eyes water?

 

[Kodachromeguy]

I've started to do some research on tripods and my head is spinning. So many options at a wide variety of price points. Gitzo, RRS seem to be highly regarded but prices are very high. Can anyone recommend a quality tripod/ballhead combination with a price that won't make my eyes water?

Oh, oh, Logan. Now you have done it. A hundred folks will tell you about their favorite tripod. I suggest you consider some broad options first:

1. Legs: wood, aluminum, or carbon fiber.
2. Leg clamps: lever release or screw collar
3. Permanently attached head or removable.
4. Head: Ball, inverted ball, or pan-tilt.

If you are new to tripods, one option is a used unit to serve as you while you decide what you like when you work in the field. The problem is shipping costs can be high, but plenty show up on eBay. Avoid the cheesy bargain units sold in big box stores. A couple suggestions:

1. Tiltall, especially the original or the later E Leitz models
2. A used original Gitzo, the ones from France
3. Linhof.
4. Cullman Titan

Another hint: choose a tripod that is sufficiently tall so that you can mount your camera without elevating the center post. Posts are wobble devices in the wind. The old real Gitzos came without post, although you could buy various length units of you wanted one.

Have fun!!!

Update: I often use a 100 year old Crown no. 4 wood tripod with a Linhof Profi III ball head. Definitely an odd combination.

 

[BrianShaw]

5. Manfrotto

 

[Pieter12]

I have a Gitzo CF Traveler with a RRS ball head. Fantastic for most everything I need. And expensive. When hiking, I use a 3LeggedThing CF tripod with ball head that is lightweight, small and adequate. Neither of these tripods goes more than 6' high which can be occasionally limiting. Sometimes I'll use a ladder with a super clamp, but it's not ideal.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Can anyone recommend a quality tripod/ballhead combination with a price that won't make my eyes water?

Why ball head? Maybe I gave up too soon, but I found it hard to do adjustments because wanting to tilt one or antoehr almost always led to motion in other directions.

Anyway, after a nicely regarded Markins ballhead was not working for me, I ended up with this Manfrotto head. The pan and tilt knobs have adjustable drag clutches built in so you can make adjustments without the head flopping around-

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1034870-REG/manfrotto_mhxpro_3w_3_way_pan_tilt_head.html

I mounted an Arca Swiss clamp onto the Manfortto quick release plate and can use L-brackets, etc. Something like this-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Metal-Clam...rotto-Arca-Swiss-Tripod-BallHead/332514076452

 

[Pieter12]

Why ball head? Maybe I gave up too soon, but I found it hard to do adjustments because wanting to tilt one or antoehr almost always led to motion in other directions.

Anyway, after a nicely regarded Markins ballhead was not working for me, I ended up with this Manfrotto head. The pan and tilt knobs have adjustable drag clutches built in so you can make adjustments without the head flopping around-

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1034870-REG/manfrotto_mhxpro_3w_3_way_pan_tilt_head.html

I mounted an Arca Swiss clamp onto the Manfortto quick release plate and can use L-brackets, etc. Something like this-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Metal-Clam...rotto-Arca-Swiss-Tripod-BallHead/332514076452

I find a good ball head to be indispensable because once adjusted properly for the weight of the camera and lens, it allows effortless, fluid movement around its axis to easily position the camera and then locks down securely.

 

[k.hendrik]

Manfrotto 055XproB with head 804-RC2. It carries my ROLLEIFLEX SL66SE for some years; so it's more than adequate for that Swedish camera.
If the load is heavy take the Manfrotto 028B + 808-RC4.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The camera arrived and it looks great. My BH film order should arrive today and I'll take the camera out for a test drive.

I've started to do some research on tripods and my head is spinning. So many options at a wide variety of price points. Gitzo, RRS seem to be highly regarded but prices are very high. Can anyone recommend a quality tripod/ballhead combination with a price that won't make my eyes water?

I use the Hasselblad handheld unless I am using the Zone System and a filter with a filter factor of 3 or higher. I found that the carbon fiber INDURO tripods are less pricey and do the job as well as the Manfrotto and Gitzo tripods.

 

[logan2z]

I use the Hasselblad handheld unless I am using the Zone System and a filter with a filter factor of 3 or higher. I found that the carbon fiber INDURO tripods are less pricey and do the job as well as the Manfrotto and Gitzo tripods.

I'll probably shoot for a little while handheld and see how it goes. I usually use Tri-X 400 and shoot in pretty good lighting conditions so handheld may work fine for much of the time.

Re: Induro, a friend of mine recently bought one and has been very happy with it. The Benro TMA38CL Series 3 seems to have received great reviews online too and it's under $400.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I use the Hasselblad handheld unless I am using the Zone System and a filter with a filter factor of 3 or higher. I found that the carbon fiber INDURO tripods are less pricey and do the job as well as the Manfrotto and Gitzo tripods.

I'll probably shoot for a little while handheld and see how it goes. I usually use Tri-X 400 and shoot in pretty good lighting conditions so handheld may work fine for much of the time.

Re: Induro, a friend of mine recently bought one and has been very happy with it. The Benro TMA38CL Series 3 seems to have received great reviews online too and it's under $400.

I use Kodak Tri-X 400 and Kodak Portra 400 and use a shutter speed 1/[lens focal length] or faster.

 

[guangong]

I usually shoot hand held except when using 300 and 400mm lenses. With these I find that a Linhof ball head I bought in early 70s works just fine and makes tracking subject easier. It seems to me that Victor Hasselblad designed the camera to be used hand held, which is why it fits so well in the hand compared to all other MF SLR cameras. My Gitzo tripod was also bought in 1970s, but if buying now I would probably follow Sirius’ suggestion.

 

[brent8927]

I actually find the 80mm quite preferable to the 60mm. Just seems more poetic for the square shots. That and a 16mm extension ring was all I used for over 10 years. Even now when I have a 120mm and a 60mm, the 80mm is still my lens of choice for over 95% of my shots.

 

[logan2z]

I have a Gitzo CF Traveler with a RRS ball head. Fantastic for most everything I need. And expensive. When hiking, I use a 3LeggedThing CF tripod with ball head that is lightweight, small and adequate. Neither of these tripods goes more than 6' high which can be occasionally limiting. Sometimes I'll use a ladder with a super clamp, but it's not ideal.

Which RRS ball head do you have, the BH55 or BH40? The BH55 seems like overkill for my use, but it's only a bit more expensive than the BH40 and seems to have better ergonomics.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I use the Hasselblad handheld unless I am using the Zone System and a filter with a filter factor of 3 or higher. I found that the carbon fiber INDURO tripods are less pricey and do the job as well as the Manfrotto and Gitzo tripods.

While I can hand hold the 250mm lens and shoot at 1/250 or 1/500, I am quite unable to hand hold the 500mm lens and do anything useful with it. The 500mm lens with or without the 2XE sits on the tripod always.

 

[Pieter12]

Which RRS ball head do you have, the BH55 or BH40? The BH55 seems like overkill for my use, but it's only a bit more expensive than the BH40 and seems to have better ergonomics.

I have the BH55. I have not found it to be too much, and it's a wonderful piece of equipment. It works with any Arca plate, but I tend to use the RRS plates. I have them for just about every camera I use, so there's no need to swap plates. Acratech makes less expensive ones and seems to have more for older cameras.