Bye Bye Hasselblad? Please say it isn't so!

david b · Dec 22, 2005

Several websites are posting that Hasselblad is dumping the the 500 series and Xpan series now, leaving only the H1 and H2D or whatever they are called. So is it now a Fujiblad?

Can anyone help in confirming this?

clogz · Dec 22, 2005

I thought Hasselblad was bought by some Chinese investors!?

Fintan · Dec 22, 2005

not sure if this is true, its the first I've heard of it however i wouldnt be surprised.

the h cameras are horrible, i'll be sticking with my 500cm and xpan for the forseeable future. might even pick up another lens for my xpan if this is true

clogz · Dec 22, 2005

http://www.worldofphoto.com/pdf-archiv/2004/05_October_November/Seite_72_73.pdf

waynecrider · Dec 22, 2005

It was bought this year from what I read by a concern based in China or SE Asia from what I remember.

André E.C. · Dec 23, 2005

It was bought by a Hong-Kong based group called Shriro, in January 2003!

Dead Link Removed

Cheers!

André

Thomassauerwein · Dec 23, 2005

Medium formatt really has been taking a beating for a long time now. I'm amazed they have lasted this long. I love them though , think I'll hang on to them till they fall apart. It is a shame they qualitied themself out of a market.

Jim Chinn · Dec 23, 2005

Not suprising at all. I don't know if there is any real demand for any new MF professional gear today. I know of three local commercial shops that dumped all their MF and LF gear for high end digital Cannon and Nikon 35mm SLRs. The cost and complications of using digital backs for the MF and LF cameras far outweighed any perceived quality issues. I don't know any professionals locally that still use film for weddings, portraits or commercial work except a couple that specialize in B&W portraiture.

Give it a couple more years and Blads and the Ziess lenses will be going as cheap as all the Bronica and Mamiya stuff goes for today on Ebay.

The other question is once the cameras are no longer produced, how does one get replacement parts for repairs when they break?

arigram · Dec 23, 2005

The title at Hasselblad's website says "Hasselblad - DSLR - Digital Camera Solutions".
The "Older" systems are still listed under products but ofcourse the spotlight goes to the digital stuff.
Not surprising though.
Hasselblad has been nudging 50x users to "upgrade" (as they write) to the H cameras and has been actively propagating digital in favor of film.

I just bought 30,000 euros worth of "V" Hasselblad equipment.
Just hope they support me in the future.

Marco Gilardetti · Dec 23, 2005

Jim Chinn said:
The other question is once the cameras are no longer produced, how does one get replacement parts for repairs when they break?

Just find a repair shop which keeps used broken units for spare parts in the warehouse. There have been around billions of these cameras, there will be used spare parts for a thousand years.

Changeling1 · Dec 23, 2005

Give it a couple more years and Blads and the Ziess lenses will be going as cheap as all the Bronica and Mamiya stuff goes for today on Ebay.

The other question is once the cameras are no longer produced, how does one get replacement parts for repairs when they break?[/QUOTE]

I'm sure the same law that requires Tamron Bronica to perform repair and warrantee service for a period of 7 years after halting production of the Bronica line of analog cameras will apply to Hasselblad as well. I know that the mere mention of corporate responsibility swiftly chaps the hides of some of our members but...
part of doing business in the Land of the Free is that you will be accountable, in a limited way, to the legions that have made you (and your grandchildren's grandchildren) wealthy beyond imagination by supporting the very expensive professional equipment they have purchased from you in good faith. Seven years isn't THAT long anyway- it should be ten, at least. But it IS the law which makes me wonder why film makers couldn't be held to a similar standard. Wouldn't it be great to know that you had seven years to buy and stash all the film and chemistry you would ever need?

As far as repairs and parts go- you could always buy three or four good units each (they're cheap enough) of whatever cameras you plan on using and you'd be in good shape 'til the day you tip over! Repair manuals on CD for $5 and $10 are all over the place. The hardware of analog photography is the least of my worries - it's the film, paper, and chemistry that makes me nervous. If not the manufacturers halting production- then the environmentalists who scream about how dirty the analog process is etc., etc.

Don't worry- service and parts for the analog Blads and will be around for quite a while.

mario Ag+ · Dec 23, 2005

The "C" series lenses have been discontinued for over 30 years and yet it is still posible to repair them. Parts for Blads exist and I personally don't think they are going to become scarce any time soon.

gr82bart · Dec 23, 2005

OK, I've read this thread entirely twice now and I don't see anywhere proof that the V system is discontinued. I've been to the Hasselblad User's Group and there's no such panic. Perhaps the original poster is refering to the discontinued 2000 series?

Is the sky really falling? Is there really a wolf?

Regards, Art.

Robert Budding · Dec 23, 2005

Jim Chinn said:
The other question is once the cameras are no longer produced, how does one get replacement parts for repairs when they break?

Not a problem getting a mechanical camera repaired. I had a Contax IIIa restored to like-new condition last year. It was already in fine shape and just needed a new Selenium cell and a full overhaul.

Donor bodies are available for parts. And a really good machine shop can manufacture any part you might need. Now, electronic cameras are another story.

Robert

Lee Shively · Dec 23, 2005

I am tempted by used 500C/M's every time I go to the KEH website. Prices are very low right now even for KEH's better-than-average quality Hasselblads. I really like using my Pentax 645's and the results are excellent but I also like the 6x6 format.

Maybe after the Christmas bills are all paid off.

ineffablething · Dec 23, 2005

Hasselblad fired all their reps, including some really smart, great old-timers over the Thanksgiving weekend this year. That leaves only the Imacon reps to discuss their products with dealers and customers. That should tell you something.

c6h6o3 · Dec 23, 2005

I stopped off at Penn Camera last night in Rockville to buy film. There was a Mamiya RB67 in their used display case with 120 back and the standard lens for $300.00. I came very close to buying it, just to have a backup, but then it occurred to me that 'blads must be going for just as cheap.

rfshootist · Dec 23, 2005

arigram said:
T
The "Older" systems are still listed under products .

The film systems will be sold as long as there are some new ones on stock, and there seems quite a bunch left.
But there are no film cameras built new, not now and not in future. Over and out, Hasselblad is a digital company now. Not surprising tho, this was what we had to expect from a company making pro equipment exclusively.

bertram

Gabe Racz · Dec 23, 2005

Lee Shively said:
I am tempted by used 500C/M's every time I go to the KEH website. Prices are very low right now even for KEH's better-than-average quality Hasselblads. I really like using my Pentax 645's and the results are excellent but I also like the 6x6 format.

Me too, then I go look at the lens prices.

david b · Dec 23, 2005

I emailed Hasselblad and asked if the film cameras were dead and this is the response from Mark Brady...

"Not true. Hasselblad continues to produce the 500 Series cameras, the
905SWC and the XPan system.

Sincerely,
Consumer Relations Department
Hasselblad USA Inc"

hortense · Dec 23, 2005

Shiro

Juba said:
It was bought by a Hong-Kong based group called Shriro, in January 2003!

Dead Link Removed

Cheers!

André

They are a distribution outlet not a manufacturer.

John Luke · Dec 23, 2005

Phase One is in talks to revive the Contax 645 line, so there is still hope for Zeiss lenses on medium format.

John Luke · Dec 23, 2005

Juba said:
It was bought by a Hong-Kong based group called Shriro, in January 2003!
Dead Link Removed

From the above link:
"Hasselblad today has the most wide spread camera system in the world within the medium format, the so-called V system. This system originates from 1948 and will also in the future be an important part of the sales."

Liars!

Bye Bye Hasselblad? Please say it isn't so!

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