Hasselblad prices have really gone up

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Well once the good stuff is bought up like Leicas and Hasselblads then the other prices start getting driven up. If all of you had listened to me ten years ago when I told you to buy Hasselblad then you would not be griping about the high prices now.

It's great advice. Back then, a lot of photographers heard the siren call of digital cameras. Those 10 year old cameras are old news and Hassys are time tested and more valued than ever. That may change though.

 

[logan2z]

If all of you had listened to me ten years ago when I told you to buy Hasselblad then you would not be griping about the high prices now.

If wish I would have been into photography ten years ago, I might have listened.

I bought my 500 C/M and 80mm CF T* just about a year ago and paid the going rate then. I haven't looked lately, maybe they've gone up even more since.

But I've already had a lot of fun with the camera so it was worth the price - even if it was a lot higher than I might have paid had I bought several years ago.

 

[4season]

Over the past ten years, shares in an S&P 500 index fund have roughly tripled in value. If you wanted to buy cameras as an investment, you'd have done better to buy Olympus Trip 35s, Canonet GIII 1.7s and Contax T3s in 2010. Leica M and Hasselblad, not so much.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Over the past ten years, shares in an S&P 500 index fund have roughly tripled in value. If you wanted to buy cameras as an investment, you'd have done better to buy Olympus Trip 35s, Canonet GIII 1.7s and Contax T3s in 2010. Leica M and Hasselblad, not so much.

I was not interested in Olympus Trip 35s, Canonet GIII 1.7s and Contax T3s in 2010. And I am still not interested in Olympus Trip 35s, Canonet GIII 1.7s and Contax T3s now.

 

[flavio81]

Well once the good stuff is bought up like Leicas and Hasselblads then the other prices start getting driven up. If all of you had listened to me ten years ago when I told you to buy Hasselblad then you would not be griping about the high prices now.

Well, maybe you're right.

 

[cerber0s]

15 years or so ago when prices on analog gear here were at an all time low, I was offered a Hasselblad 500C/M with an 80mm lens for $350 but turned it down...

 

[flavio81]

15 years or so ago when prices on analog gear here were at an all time low, I was offered a Hasselblad 500C/M with an 80mm lens for $350 but turned it down...

Yep, i also got an almost identical officer, in this case it was about $300, and i turned it down because I didn't like it as much as my RB67.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

15 years or so ago when prices on analog gear here were at an all time low, I was offered a Hasselblad 500C/M with an 80mm lens for $350 but turned it down...

Obviously you didn't need one nor had interest in shooting with it. For me, I bought mine because I wanted since I was an undergrad in college in the 80's. I thought "Some day when I have enough money, I'd buy one." My friend had one and I saw the amazing photos shot with a Hassy. I got to use one for a photo class and load the A-12 backs for a photographer I assisted for. The irony was when I bought it, it was worth less than have during the 80's. They're really beautiful cameras and handles better than my old RZ which weighs 7lbs with 90mm, prism and film back.

 

[cerber0s]

Obviously you didn't need one nor had interest in shooting with it. For me, I bought mine because I wanted since I was an undergrad in college in the 80's. I thought "Some day when I have enough money, I'd buy one." My friend had one and I saw the amazing photos shot with a Hassy. I got to use one for a photo class and load the A-12 backs for a photographer I assisted for. The irony was when I bought it, it was worth less than have during the 80's. They're really beautiful cameras and handles better than my old RZ which weighs 7lbs with 90mm, prism and film back.

Yeah, I was tempted and I did want it, the guy I boight my dark room equipment from offered it to me. I felt like I'd already spent enough money on photo stuff so I said no. I kick myself now though

 

[ic-racer]

I have never owned a Hasselblad, but I follow the Rolleiflex prices closely. I think the TLR Rolleiflex cameras are a good value today. The TLR prices leveled off about 15 years ago. For example I got a late model, mint 2.8F for $800 USD in 1985. The inflation calculator puts that at about $2000 today. I think you can get a very clean 2.8F for less than that today.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Ha well I had a father of the bride offer me his SWC to cut the print cost down would've been 1200.00 USD for mint SWC. I declined but shot a couple of rolls at the wedding to make up for it sheesh

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Yeah, I was tempted and I did want it, the guy I boight my dark room equipment from offered it to me. I felt like I'd already spent enough money on photo stuff so I said no. I kick myself now though

Temptations abound! I drove 80 miles to pick up a studio camera stand. The seller was closing his studio because he was retired. He read me pretty well. After I loaded the stand in my car, he said "I have have some Sinar gear at great price!" I was tempted.

 

[cerber0s]

Temptations abound!

Indeed

 

[4season]

I was not interested in Olympus Trip 35s, Canonet GIII 1.7s and Contax T3s in 2010. And I am still not interested in Olympus Trip 35s, Canonet GIII 1.7s and Contax T3s now.

My point was that with halfway decent investments made a decade prior, a buyer in 2020 would find that Hasselblads and Leica M cameras have effectively gotten pretty cheap, because while those camera prices have risen (at least on eBay), they haven't risen nearly as fast as a boring S&P 500 stock fund.

 

[redrockcoulee]

When I bought my Hasselblad gear 10 or 11 years ago the prices seemed reasonable except thete were really great deals sometimes. I bought 4 of the old style backs for 65 bucks, two of which needed new seals. Have purchased little since that time. I also bought my wife a SWC for 1350 Canadian at the Camerastore in Calgary.

As far as digital goes my wife's camera is 8 years old and mine 7. Don't need to chase the newest and greatest in that media either. It's only with pinhole camera that one needs the newest camera.

 

[Jeremy Mudd]

Handling a Hasselblad can be harmful to your financial well being!

Siriously, not just the Hassys have went up in price, the Mamiya RBs too, and the Rolleiflexes too.

This is true - RB67 ProS and ProSD bodies have more than doubled in market value pricing in the past two years.

Also the Fuji GX617 has skyrocketed to eye-watering price levels. So glad I bought mine a while back when the prices were somewhat reasonable.

Jeremy

 

[NB23]

Makes me glad I got 4 xpans back when they were expensive.

I only regret 3 non-purchases that I knew would haunt me even before thet were starting to be hot items: Noctilux f1.2, M3 black original and MP3.

 

[Arthurwg]

I wanted a 200 series Hasselblad but the price was high and now even higher.

Lot's of money for something very difficult to repair or maybe impossible. Not just the shutter but all the electronics as well.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

even before thet were starting to be hot items: Noctilux f1.2, M3 black original and MP3.

Alternate view: The 1.2 Noctilux and black paint M3s have been coveted and uber-expensive since the 1980s. Recall that in the 1980s, the Japanese stock market was roaring and Japanese collectors bought all the Leicas they could find (as well as Rolleiflexes).

 

[Sirius Glass]

Lot's of money for something very difficult to repair or maybe impossible. Not just the shutter but all the electronics as well.

The Hasselblad CX, CW, C/M and many others do not have electronic shutters. There a plenty of reasonably priced qualified Hasselblad repairmen around. Stop looking for excuses, please.

 

[NB23]

Totally!
Since times go by so fast, and 15 year ago seems like yesterday, a noctilux and bp M3 and MP3 set could be had for less than 10K each.

Now it’s quadruple and more. Quadruple of 10k is not so bad.
I’m glad to have snapped other similar goodies such as BP M2, BP M4 and so on...

Alternate view: The 1.2 Noctilux and black paint M3s have been coveted and uber-expensive since the 1980s. Recall that in the 1980s, the Japanese stock market was roaring and Japanese collectors bought all the Leicas they could find (as well as Rolleiflexes).

 

[Chan Tran]

Lot's of money for something very difficult to repair or maybe impossible. Not just the shutter but all the electronics as well.

But I really like a meterless, manual camera only with an electronically controlled shutter.

 

[GLS]

If you want to really make your eyes water, check out the current going rate for an SWC 903 in good condition...

 

[Tom Kershaw]

But I really like a meterless, manual camera only with an electronically controlled shutter.

The Bronica SQ series match this description.

 

[Slixtiesix]

Lot's of money for something very difficult to repair or maybe impossible. Not just the shutter but all the electronics as well.

So it is, but on the other hand, I would not hesitate to buy one if you can get a bargain. Back in 2014 a friend of mine bought an old, beaten up 2000 FC. It had the paint coming off, scratches all over it and the shutter curtain had lots of wrinkles. I actually advised him not to buy it, even for 175 Euro. He said for this money you cannot go wrong and bought it anyway. Turned out he was right. The camera is still working and he took some great pictures with it!