Hasselblad parts: mix or match?

bags27 · Sep 10, 2023

Since we're talking Hasselblad parts, does anyone mix chrome and black parts or is that sacrilegious? I have an all-black 500 c/m and looking for an extra film back, but the best deals are for chrome. Would I look like even more the rube that I already am to walk around with that?

mshchem · Sep 10, 2023

I would use whatever you want

chuckroast · Sep 10, 2023

bags27 said:
Since we're talking Hasselblad parts, does anyone mix chrome and black parts or is that sacrilegious? I have an all-black 500 c/m and looking for an extra film back, but the best deals are for chrome. Would I look like even more the rube that I already am to walk around with that?

If the condition of the component is good, it makes no difference. These are tools to be used not objectified as status symbols.

Steven Lee · Sep 10, 2023

bags27 said:
Since we're talking Hasselblad parts, does anyone mix chrome and black parts or is that sacrilegious? I have an all-black 500 c/m and looking for an extra film back, but the best deals are for chrome. Would I look like even more the rube that I already am to walk around with that?

When I purchased my first black Hasselblad from KEH, it came with a mismatched chrome back. I did not know any better and was happily using it for more than a year, being convinced that it was gorgeous. I only realized that backs comes in different flavors when I started shopping for the 2nd back.

The all-black Blads look better IMO, but they don't age as well as chrome.

Sirius Glass · Sep 10, 2023

My Hasselblad cameras, lenses and film backs are free to mix black and chrome as they wish.

bags27 · Sep 10, 2023

So, it looks like a consensus is building that I wouldn't necessarily be a bigger rube than I already am....

You all are way more relaxed than Leica folks. Just sayin'.....

Steven Lee · Sep 10, 2023

bags27 said:
You all are way more relaxed than Leica folks. Just sayin'.....

Aww. Thank you for noticing how nice we are. But what is it you're referring to? Leicas are monolithic. They don't have backs. I guess one can mount a chrome lens onto a black body. Is that what Leica people shy away from? If so, that would be strange because some of the lenses are chrome-only, or black-only!

bags27 · Sep 10, 2023

Just about everything Leica. Certainly when the bodies and lenses can match, they should. And then there are the luxury bags and straps...

Not complaining. I have lots of respect for Leica optics. But I'm back in touch with my inner grunge now. Not that medium format film photography is exactly grunge...Just I don't feel I have to dress up to go out shooting.

chuckroast · Sep 10, 2023

bags27 said:
So, it looks like a consensus is building that I wouldn't necessarily be a bigger rube than I already am....

You all are way more relaxed than Leica folks. Just sayin'.....

Well, there are several groups of Leica "folks". There are people that want to make images with them an are happy to live with cameras and accessories that are not cosmetically perfect so long as they work well. I am one of those. I have a IIIf with an uncoated collapsible Elmar to prove it.

Then there are the collectors. These are people who - for various reasons - seek out the closest to perfection they can find and/or look or rare and hard to find items. They may do so as an investment, as a hobby, because the historicity of the camera is appealing or what have you.

Then there are the pretentious, preening hipsters that think having a $10,000 digital camera that only shoots monochrome makes them "ironic". Preserving the pretension of the brand and waving it around in people's faces is their core skill. I just put a roll of Gooberpan 400 through my Leica MP with a bespoke pinhole lens for that dreamy look, man. They are not infrequently to be found in the various ~~sewers~~ provinces of entertainment, music, pop culture, and most of all, internet "influencers". Bah. ( I deeply admire Leitz marketing for finding ways to part these people with their money.)

bags27 · Sep 10, 2023

chuckroast said:
Well, there are several groups of Leica "folks". There are people that want to make images with them an are happy to live with cameras and accessories that are not cosmetically perfect so long as they work well. I am one of those. I have a IIIf with an uncoated collapsible Elmar to prove it.

Then there are the collectors. These are people who - for various reasons - seek out the closet to perfection they can find and/or look or rare and hard to find items. They may do so as an investment, as a hobby, because the historicity of the camera is appealing or what have you.

Then there are the pretentious, preening hipsters that think having a $10,000 digital camera that only shoots monochrome makes them "ironic". Preserving the pretension of the brand and waving it around in people's faces is their core skill. I just put a roll of Gooberpan 400 through my Leica MP with a bespoke pinhole lens for that dreamy look, man. They are not infrequently to be found in the various ~~sewers~~ provinces of entertainment, music, pop culture, and most of all, internet "influencers". Bah. ( I deeply admire Leitz marketing for finding ways to part these people with their money.)

Really love your description of the monochroms!

I shoot uncoated LTM lenses on my M4-P as well. Sold my digital Leicas and modern lenses to fund my return to film. I have a lot of respect for a lot of what they do. Their appeal to lifestyle, not so much, though I suppose everyone does it. No one more than Hasselblad with those absurd videos for the 907x--a camera I greatly admire.

MattKing · Sep 10, 2023

If you are bothered by mixing chrome and black, than avoid that.
You may be the sort of person who restores classic cars, and works hard to ensure that the parts are accurate for the age of the car. Nothing wrong with that, if it gives you joy.
Mixing can affect market value, so if you intend to sell, you should probably take that into account.
Just make sure you base decisions on the criteria that matters to you, not to others.

AnselMortensen · Sep 10, 2023

My 500 C/M is chrome.
My 120 backs are chrome.
My 220 backs are black.
Easy to tell the difference when I'm on a shoot and the stress level is high.

pkupcik · Sep 11, 2023

If I were you I would buy a matching black back even if you had to wait a little bit until you find one. Now if someone gave me a mismatched kit or I bought one already mismatched for some reason it wouldn't bother me and I would happily use it. But why buy a standalone back that's mismatched if you can buy a matching one. I would just keep checking the usual places for Hassy used gear until one pops up.

rulnacco · Sep 11, 2023

Use whatever you can afford, and helps you make photos. What comes out of the camera is far, far more important than what's on the surface of the camera.

And if using a chrome back on a black body bothers you bad enough, it's not too hard to peel the leatherette off carefully, and paint it. Because I'm fairly sure it's just the same chrome as on chrome bodies under the black paint.

You *could* apply a durable black finish to your back, but I don't think you need to be too particular--Hasselblad paint jobs aren't terrifically hard-wearing themselves. Personally, if I had to do it all over--and didn't get such a good deal on my 500CM kit--I'd have gone for chrome, partially because I'd never have to worry about the paint.

I've got a black 500CM and a chrome 553ELX and 500ELX, and really, I kinda prefer the look of the chrome over black, anyway.

Sirius Glass · Sep 12, 2023

I prefer to buy black bodies but I buy used film backs in any form that they come, chrome or black. If I ever have to reskin anything, I will do that in blue and then nothing will match.

itsdoable · Sep 12, 2023

...mixing backs makes it easier to identify the different film stocks (...as Ansel mentioned above).

Sirius Glass · Sep 13, 2023

itsdoable said:
...mixing backs makes it easier to identify the different film stocks (...as Ansel mentioned above).

That is what the film box clip is used for.

RezaLoghme · Apr 27, 2024

rulnacco said:
I've got a black 500CM and a chrome 553ELX and 500ELX, and really, I kinda prefer the look of the chrome over black, anyway.

O/T buy why 2(!) motor Hasselzadehs?
(I like them, maybe I should follow your example, and its seems most people don't want them)

RezaLoghme · Apr 27, 2024

I would also take an educated guess and claim that chrome parts are easier to find. I am trying to buy a black late-version WLF and it seems rarer than hen's teens.

guangong · Apr 27, 2024

I have been a Leica folk since early 1960s. I use the cameras to make pictures. I have a variety of Leica paraphernalia and cameras, but M5 for wife was latest Leica camera acquired, bought new. Marketing as a fashionable accessory began after Leitz family lost control. Leica Boutique says it all.

jk0592 · Apr 27, 2024

My Blad is chrome, two A12 backs also chrome for BW films, and one black A12 back, used for color film only, no mixup.

bags27 · Apr 27, 2024

RezaLoghme said:
I would also take an educated guess and claim that chrome parts are easier to find. I am trying to buy a black late-version WLF and it seems rarer than hen's teens.

I bought one recently because the one I had was shedding way too much black paint onto the glass and spoiling my experience. The one I bought is great but very costly. IIRC > $400 maybe more.

btaylor · Apr 27, 2024

RezaLoghme said:
O/T buy why 2(!) motor Hasselzadehs?
(I like them, maybe I should follow your example, and its seems most people don't want them)

I did the same thing- 500 c/m first, then the 500 ELX (so cheap!) and then a 553ELX- but why? A back up to the back up? I guess I just couldn’t resist such a beautiful piece of machinery at such a low price.
And to be on topic, all are chrome. It’s my teenage vision of what a Hasselblad should look like.

RezaLoghme · Apr 27, 2024

Yes one of mine is black and compared to the chrome ones it looks a bit bland.

RezaLoghme · Apr 30, 2024

Hasselblad V System:

Are you a purist - keeping chrome and black components apart, and only using components from the same era?
Are you a mixer - using chrome or black parts from different eras but never mixing black with chrome?
Are you an Iconoclast - using a CFV or Phase 1 back on a 500C chrome body with a black WLF?

Hasselblad parts: mix or match?

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