Hasselblad 500c /cm or 501cm?

[pcooklin]

Im looking in to getting a Hasselblad and would like your opinion on which model to get. While all models have come down to an affordable price, the 500c is relatively cheap compared to the 501cm, can anyone offer some guidance.
I currently have a few MF systems including a Bronica ETRSi, a few lenses, metred prism, grip etc. The Blad appeals to me as it's 6x6, and although I have a Arax 60 and a goold ol' Holga, the Blad has advantages (and of course disadvantages) over these.

Which model should I go for, and why?

Thanks,
Paul.

 

[Q.G.]

Wrong forum (a Hasselblad is medium format, not large format).

A 501 CM (note the M. The 501 C, without M, is almost exactly the same as a 500 C/M), has a larger mirror.
The one in the 500 C/M causes viewfinder (only in the viewfinder!) vignetting when longer lenses are used, or short lenses combined with extension tubes or bellows. The top of the focussing screens darkens a bit.
The mirror in the 501 CM is a bit longer, and doesn't vignet.

Apart from that, there are a few minor differences.

And there is the age thing, of course. A 501 CM is newer than any 500 C/M than you will find, so maybe (! it is by no means certain) in a better condition than a 500 C/M.

 

[pcooklin]

so sorry, I posted to the wrong forum by accident. Thanks for the reply though!

 

[Paul Goutiere]

The 500CM has a shutter status indicator, which I personally happen to like and I'm sorry my 501CM doesn't have this. I can live with my camera easily as it is but I'm thinking of getting a 500CM as a second body in the near future. Since the longest lens I have is the 150mm, vignetting is not an issue.

So, in my humble opinion; getting a 500CM in good nick would be a good idea.

 

[Q.G.]

All 500 series Hasselblads, including the 501 CM, still have another shutter status indicator: just have a look through the viewfinder.

 

[JPD]

The mirror in the 501 CM is a bit longer

Well, of course it is, if the camera itself is 501cm!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Paul Goutiere]

All 500 series Hasselblads, including the 501 CM, still have another shutter status indicator: just have a look through the viewfinder.

Waaal, I blush. I've owned the thing for all these years and never thought of this.

I think this is indicator is just a little handier when fitting a back and the finder is down. No big deal, for sure, but when I'm in a hurry I like the indicator.

 

[Q.G.]

Well, of course it is, if the camera itself is 501cm!

Well, i know one or two ladies that are huge, yet that is not reflected (also couldn't resist) in the size of the mirrors they have in their handbags.

The old style naming convention put a "/" between the c and the m.
What would a physicist make of c over m?

 

[Q.G.]

I think this is indicator is just a little handier when fitting a back and the finder is down. No big deal, for sure, but when I'm in a hurry I like the indicator.

I do too.
It was a cost cutting exercise that took this indicator away from us.
A sign that, by that time, Victor Hasselblad AB already was well under way to not being Victor Hasselblad AB anymore.

 

[RJS]

Why not get a much more versatile camera/ Rolleiflex SL 66. Same lenses , focuses closer w/o tubes, tilting front,only one shutter so not so much maintenance, and heavier so it is steadier on the tripod.