Flare and the Hasselblad 50mm Distagon CF T*

logan2z · Jul 19, 2022

I have a 50mm Distagon CF T* lens that I love, but it does seem to have a tendency to flare when the sun is just outside the frame. I have the correct hood for it, but it is pretty small and clearly doesn't do a great job at reducing flare. I've tried shading the lens with my hand, but I like to shoot in mirror-up mode and my hand has been known to encroach on the frame

Is anyone aware of another Hasselblad hood that will work with this lens and do a better job at flare reduction?

Here's an image showing the sort of flare that I'm referring to (upper right):

Sirius Glass · Jul 19, 2022

There are Hasselblad lens hoods, of various brands, that are for the 50mm lens. You appear to be using one that is a bit too short.

BrianShaw · Jul 19, 2022

Sirius Glass · Jul 19, 2022

I use this for my 50mm CF lens.

logan2z · Jul 19, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
I use this for my 50mm CF lens.
View attachment 310707

Sorry, should have posted this in my original post....

This is the OEM Hasselblad hood I'm using. It doesn't look any shorter than the after-market hood you're using.

logan2z · Jul 19, 2022

BrianShaw said:
View attachment 310696

That should do the trick!

choiliefan · Jul 21, 2022

Is that what's been known as a compendium hood?
Not very familiar with the terminology...

MarkS · Jul 21, 2022

Yes, a lens hood with a bellows is called a 'compendium'. When I used a Hasselblad on the job we used a Lindahl "bello-shade"(?) because it fit (and we already had it on hand).

Paul Ozzello · Jul 21, 2022

A compendium hood is your best bet. Or use an app like photopills to plan where the sun will be and avoid shooting directly into the sun...

logan2z · Jul 22, 2022

Paul Ozzello said:
A compendium hood is your best bet. Or use an app like photopills to plan where the sun will be and avoid shooting directly into the sun...

I do try and avoid shooting directly into the sun but this lens tends to flare with the sun outside the frame. I'll look into a compendium hood.

logan2z · Jul 22, 2022

BrianShaw said:
View attachment 310696

I see there's another 'Hasselblad Professional Shade' that has part # 40676 that looks like this:

Is there any functional difference between the 40676 and the 6093? Not clear why one would choose one over the other.

BrianShaw · Jul 22, 2022

logan2z said:
Is the

I see there's another 'Hasselblad Professional Shade' that has part # 40676 that looks like this:

Is there any functional difference between the 40676 and the 6093? Not clear why one would choose one over the other.

The big difference is price and which adapter is available. To use the outside hood bayonet you’ll need the 60 adapter for your CF lens. Standard for the hood I showed. The older compendium has a 50 adapter for the C lens as standard and an optional 60 adapter which is absolutely impossible to find. I bought the older and more affordable compendium first , searched unsuccessfully for months trying to find the correct adapter for my CF lenses… and learned the hard way.

logan2z · Jul 22, 2022

BrianShaw said:
The big difference is price and which adapter is available. To use the outside hood bayonet you’ll need the 60 adapter for your CF lens. Standard for the hood I showed. The older compendium has a 50 adapter for the C lens as standard and an optional 60 adapter which is absolutely impossible to find. I bought the older and more affordable compendium first , searched unsuccessfully for months trying to find the correct adapter for my CF lenses… and learned the hard way.

Yeah, it looks like the 6093 is about 3x the price of the 40676.

Assuming the B60 adapter was available for the 40676, is there any reason you'd still recommend the 6093 instead?

BrianShaw · Jul 22, 2022

LOL… yes, assuming you could find the correct adapter the older compendium will work just fine. Actually, maybe even a bit better because the bellows aren’t as stiff as the newer model.

But you’ll be a lot luckier than me (and I can get really lucky finding obscure old stuff generally)… or you’ll end up like me buying two to get one that will work to my liking.

The older model came with two adapters, a 50 and 63. You can use the 63 with a bay60-67 adapter, but you’ll be attaching to the filter bayonet. That works okay but I didn’t like that when using a filter.

Check out Roberts Camera. They generally have lots of these compendiums at a range of prices. But as you know… the newer one is always going to cost more.

logan2z · Jul 22, 2022

BrianShaw said:
But you’ll be a lot luckier than me (and I can get really lucky finding obscure old stuff generally)… or you’ll end up like me buying two to get one that will work to my liking.

Thanks. Found a 40676 that comes with a B60 adapter - or so it said We'll see when it gets here...

BrianShaw · Jul 22, 2022

logan2z said:
Thanks. Found a 40676 that comes with a B60 adapter - or so it said We'll see when it gets here...

I hope so!

eli griggs · Jul 24, 2022

I have a couple different Hasselblad bellows hoods and if it's worth the film, it's worth putting one on the lens, IMO.

jlirola · Aug 2, 2022

this was my favorite body, I still have the winder, the release on the deerskin rope, a magazine or two and a waist level finder from when it was stolen. anyone interested in these bits? I'm looking. get wild and try a roller 6008 with a 50 instead, why? who knows, probably because I know what I'll get with the hassy and I'm dow not try something different. if you want any parts hit me up j_lir@mac.com thanks or if you want to sell a Roller with a 50 plz do as well1

Arthurwg · Aug 2, 2022

I'm wondering if the 50 is more flare prone than the 60. I've never noticed flare with my 60.

Sirius Glass · Aug 2, 2022

I never had a flare problem on the 50mm lens. Come to think about it, I always use a lens hood and I never has a flare on any of the Hasselblad lenses. I do not have the 60mm lens, but based on my experience I would think that with a lens hood the 60mm lens should not have flare problems.

logan2z · Aug 2, 2022

FWIW, in Ken Rockwell's review of the 50mm CF T* he said this:

Don't get your hopes up; in spite of the showy T✻ multicoating, the multicoating isn't that great, and with seven separate elements, flare can be pretty bad.

Most modern DSLR lenses are much better than this.

Granted he was talking about shooting directly into the sun which I don't do, but the lens does seem prone to flare even with sun outside the frame.

Anyway, I picked up a compendium shade and will give it a shot the next time I'm out shooting in bright sunshine.

Sirius Glass · Aug 2, 2022

<<Sigh>> KR <<choke>> <<gag>> <<gag>> I do not aim any SLR at the sun because I would like to continue seeing. I tend not to aim too close to bright objects such as the sun or bright light sources but I have not had the need very often. Perhaps if I go back to available light night photography again, although I did take a series of recent photographs of the Eiffel Tower at night, but the distance was so great that there flare was never an issue.

logan2z · Aug 2, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
<<Sigh>> KR <<choke>> <<gag>> <<gag>>

I know, I know. Hence the 'FWIW'

In the few cases that the lens has flared for me, I did not aim it directly at the sun, but the sun was low in the sky and just outside the frame. I try and avoid these situations as much as possible but it has happened a few times regardless. Hoping the new shade will eliminate the flare in these situations.

Sirius Glass · Aug 2, 2022

logan2z said:
I know, I know. Hence the 'FWIW'

In the few cases that the lens has flared for me, I did not aim it directly at the sun, but the sun was low in the sky and just outside the frame. I try and avoid these situations as much as possible but it has happened a few times regardless. Hoping the new shade will eliminate the flare in these situations.

KR has been known to be right but much less frequently than the twice a day of a broken clock.

etn · Aug 5, 2022

Big deal, KR found out that a modern coating is better than one designed 50 years ago
He'll surely make it to the first page of the NYT with that info.

Joking aside, I would be interested in knowing if there has been an evolution of the T* coating from the Hasselblad lenses to, say, the ZM (M-Mount), the Canon/Nikon (I think they dub it "Classic") to the fancy modern Otus and the likes. Any idea?

Flare and the Hasselblad 50mm Distagon CF T*

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