Hasselblad 150mm & 120mm Macro - any point in keeping both?

Norkusa · Jan 10, 2016

I bought a nice Hasselblad 500c/m kit over the summer which included a 150mm CF lens. The other day I just bought a 120mm CF Macro because the minimum focusing distance on the 150mm was still too far away for me when shooting portraits. I love my new 120mm Macro and don't really see myself going back to the 150mm. Is there any point in keeping it or will I miss that little extra reach it has, for portraits or anything else?

BrianShaw · Jan 10, 2016

I can't find a reason to have both.

Sirius Glass · Jan 10, 2016

They serve different purposes. The 120mm is setup to do close up and macro work while the 150mm is for portraits and a short telephoto lens. I cannot see a reason to have both.

BrianShaw · Jan 10, 2016

If you are doing head-only shots, you might enjoy a 250mm lens.

LMNOP · Jan 10, 2016

I had this same question, I just purchased a 150 but I want macro abilities. Anyone feel that the 120 is better than say a 150 or 80 with an extension tube? I am looking to photograph ice and snow...

MattKing · Jan 10, 2016

I would hazard a guess that the 120mm lens could be larger, heavier and have a much longer focus throw than the 150mm.

The 150mm was a favourite of wedding photographers at one time. Speed and ease of use is/was more important than for the 120mm macro lens.

How lenses handle is important.

If I had to make the decision that the OP is making, I would want some hands on experience.

Luis-F-S · Jan 10, 2016

Never had any use for the 150 Sonnar which is why I have the 135 S-Planar with the focusing tube! L

Slixtiesix · Jan 11, 2016

My SL66 kit comprises the following lenses: 50, 80, 120, 150 and 250mm. The 150mm was the last lens I added and also the one that saw least use. I always liked the 120mm very much so I finally realised I really did not need the 150mm. Although this is a nice lens, I found it too short for tight head shots. Some time ago I bought a Hasselblad with 180mm lens and found it ideal for my purpose. It does focus very close too! The difference between 120 and 150mm did just not made that difference for me, but I think 120 and 180 is an ideal spread.

RalphLambrecht · Jan 11, 2016

Norkusa said:
I bought a nice Hasselblad 500c/m kit over the summer which included a 150mm CF lens. The other day I just bought a 120mm CF Macro because the minimum focusing distance on the 150mm was still too far away for me when shooting portraits. I love my new 120mm Macro and don't really see myself going back to the 150mm. Is there any point in keeping it or will I miss that little extra reach it has, for portraits or anything else?

the Carl Zeiss 150mm Sonnar is the classic portrait lens for the Hasselblad and will stabilize the resale value of your camera if sold in a kit.An inexpensive extension ring will turn it into a macro lens while maintaining the reach when needed.Keep it.I was never able to part with a Hassy lens;ever.

TheFlyingCamera · Jan 11, 2016

The 120mm and 150mm are two very different lenses. The 120 is a specialized macro lens. It will give you close(er) focusing by itself, but it still only gives you something like 1:4 without close-up accessories like extension tubes or bellows. It is highly corrected for optimum performance at close distance. Using it for portraits, while practically feasible, is non-ideal, as it has a somewhat harsh rendering of out-of-focus-areas. The 150mm, when coupled with say a 16mm extension tube, becomes an outstanding portrait lens. The 16mm tube will not practically alter your exposure (it technically requires a 1/3 stop compensation, which is so far within the margin of error for most films as to be meaningless). Frankly, whichever lens you keep, I strongly recommend a 16mm tube. An 8mm isn't enough, and a 32mm is often overkill unless you're looking to photograph bugs or flowers.

Sirius Glass · Jan 11, 2016

Slixtiesix said:
My SL66 kit comprises the following lenses: 50, 80, 120, 150 and 250mm. The 150mm was the last lens I added and also the one that saw least use. I always liked the 120mm very much so I finally realised I really did not need the 150mm. Although this is a nice lens, I found it too short for tight head shots. Some time ago I bought a Hasselblad with 180mm lens and found it ideal for my purpose. It does focus very close too! The difference between 120 and 150mm did just not made that difference for me, but I think 120 and 180 is an ideal spread.

I too have the 50, 80, 120, 150 and 250mm for my Hasselblad and the 150mm lens is the least used. I just added the 500mm lens for wildlife work. I do not do portraits so I do not use the 150mm much and have no desire for the 180mm lens which might be better for portraits.

LMNOP · Jan 11, 2016

Sirius Glass said:
I too have the 50, 80, 120, 150 and 250mm for my Hasselblad and the 150mm lens is the least used. I just added the 500mm lens for wildlife work. I do not do portraits so I do not use the 150mm much and have no desire for the 180mm lens which might be better for portraits.

Anyone have examples of the various ext. tubes in use? I would love to see the differences with the 150, how small can you go with a 32?

aoresteen · Jan 11, 2016

I used an extension tube 21 (old style) when I had the 150mm C lens. Worked well for me. My 150 that I use now is an F lens without shutter and it focuses closer than the C lens does.

See this:

http://static.hasselblad.com/2015/02/b257f2b0-cd24-497b-b21f-47dcf6ee295a-Closeup.pdf

and

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Sirius Glass · Jan 11, 2016

I have barely used the extension tubes. I rarely to macro photographs and when I do, I use a Nikon slr with a macro zoom. I even have the bellows marked on my Speed Graphics for the exposure compensation for several years and I have yet to use it.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jan 11, 2016

I'll never sell my 150. Incredible lens. Did you ever try it with extension tubes to focus closer? I have the 120 Makro but for my SL66 system...

Richard Man · Jan 11, 2016

I have the 150/2.8, it's sublime.

Ai Print · Jan 11, 2016

If you currently have the 120 and 150, then sell the 150 and get the 180, it is one of Hasselblad's best, just spectacular for anything you might use it on.

MattKing · Jan 11, 2016

A kit with 60, 120 and 180 would be quite nice ....

Sirius Glass · Jan 11, 2016

I prefer the 38mm [SWC], 50mm, 80mm [or 100mm], 150mm, 250mm, 500mm lenses.

jspillane · Jan 11, 2016

The 120mm might not perform as good at infinity as the 150mm. That being said, I think that issue is going to be negligible in real world shooting.

The 120mm is my favorite lens for Hasselblad, and I think it excels for pretty much all uses. I use it for portraits about 70% of the time, the other 20% the 250mm and maybe 10% the 80mm. I would agree that there is little reason for a 150mm to pair with it, just move to the 180mm or the 250mm.

The 150mm used to be considerably cheaper when new, probably one of the reasons it was more ubiquitous with wedding shooters. I know some find the 120mm to be 'too sharp' for portraits, which I find to be a bit silly - if you want soft, glowy portraits Hasselbald just isn't the right system to use.

Sirius Glass · Jan 11, 2016

Norkusa said:
I love my new 120mm Macro and don't really see myself going back to the 150mm. Is there any point in keeping it or will I miss that little extra reach it has, for portraits or anything else?

Luis-F-S said:
Never had any use for the 150 Sonnar which is why I have the 135 S-Planar with the focusing tube! L

Slixtiesix said:
The 150mm was the last lens I added and also the one that saw least use. I always liked the 120mm very much so I finally realised I really did not need the 150mm.

Sirius Glass said:
... I do not do portraits so I do not use the 150mm much and have no desire for the 180mm lens which might be better for portraits.

The 150mm lens does balance the photo backpack so I keep it for ballast.

randyB · Jan 12, 2016

I also have the 120 and the 150 lenses and mainly use them in the areas that they are designed for. Before I had the 150 I did shoot a few portraits with the 120 and as others have said it is too sharp and I do mean way too sharp especially for women. It will show any minor flaw in the skin. I did have some success using a Softar 2 with the 120 but then it was too soft for men and children. The 150 is ideal for portraits. I've not seen any difference in the infinity sharpness but I only enlarge to 11x14 for most of my shots. With the cheap prices of lenses today, I'll keep both.

film_man · Jan 13, 2016

The 150 is a very nice lens. Saying that if you need the closer focus of the 120 there really is no need to keep the 150. You could put a tube on the 150 but the hassle of putting it on/off is just too much (at least in my experience).

Besides, if you sell the 150 then you can potentially convince yourself that you need a 180

TheFlyingCamera · Jan 13, 2016

Mounting/unmounting an extension tube is too much of a hassle? It's not significantly bigger a deal than attaching/detaching a filter. Just remember to attach it first before attaching it to the body, and remove the lens and tube together, then separate the tube from the lens.

Sirius Glass · Jan 13, 2016

TheFlyingCamera said:
Mounting/unmounting an extension tube is too much of a hassle? It's not significantly bigger a deal than attaching/detaching a filter. Just remember to attach it first before attaching it to the body, and remove the lens and tube together, then separate the tube from the lens.

That was exactly my reaction.

Hasselblad 150mm & 120mm Macro - any point in keeping both?

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Hasselblad 150mm & 120mm Macro - any point in keeping both?

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