Hasselblad prices have really gone up

eli griggs · Nov 23, 2020

The price for the 350 and 500 have no become so high as to be unaffordable, but still you'll see them up over what they sold for used, in Ex+ shape back in the day.

I quit looking at Super Wides and most bodies, other than for a El/M type or a repairable 500CM, (come on second Stimulus XX) and other than a long lens from above, the only 'big ticket' (to me) Hasselblad Items I might want, is the old 135mm, bellows and duel cable release, a M70 back and cassettes and a brighter focusing screen.

Don't get me wrong, I have a very good kit now, and once I find the Slow Speed Shutter Escarpment part I need for my 50mm, I'm good to go to the end of my days, but I want to do one or two cross country trips or so, before I'm so old and arthritic, I could no go and enjoy it.

I suggest younger/new Photographers consider Hasselblad 500 Kit, 'V' lenses, as investments on their future personal growth/art, and never mind it if prices rise and fall, just having and using what you can make part of your Life, long term, the real focus of their photographic ambition.

Specialized or what some consider 'exotic' or collectable kit is needed, but know why it is that you want to acquire some things, and let the 'shiny new thing' in your life only when you understand how you'll use it.

IMO.

pentaxuser · Nov 23, 2020

eli griggs said:
, but know why it is that you want to acquire some things, and let the 'shiny new thing' in your life only when you understand how you'll use it.

IMO.

Ah yes, how true and applicable to many things in life such as powerful motorbikes, fast cars and Sharon Stone if you are Michael Douglas

pentaxuser

Ai Print · Nov 28, 2020

NB23 said:
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.

In 2008 I bought a new in the box MP3 black paint kit with the 50 1.4 asph and Leicavit for $5,000 during the economic crash. I then proceeded to use the snot out of it for 3 years, mostly on a book project. When I sold it, the lens and camera had some nice but not unnatural brassing and I decided if it were a .85 VF I would have kept it but it was not. I sold it for $22,500.

And since about 2007, I have built up a pretty big Hasselblad kit, four 501CM's all serviced by David Odess in the past 3 years, 10 CF, CFi and CFe lenses, twelve A12III backs all tuned with good seals, an A24 and a couple of parts backs for down the road. And recently I bought a Flexbody to start a precise double exposure project with. I sold my CFV50C back in anticipation of the new one being available without the 907X, will likely get it next year.

I have built up an amazing digital kit too though. I upgraded all my Nikon Z cameras, bought a DJI RS2 gimbal and I am currently working on a short film that is all in black and white. It's good...it's all good man. I am still at this, still being paid well and could not be happier.

But yeah...has Hasselblad blown through the roof price wise.

Toasty · Nov 30, 2020

Medium format anything has exploded in popularity, especially in 2020. There is a huge influx of young people shooting film (even more this year surprisingly) and all the prominent photographers on social media are all shooting medium format now. Add in the stimulus checks that gave every kid in their parents' house the disposable income to buy an RB/RZ/Hasselblad kit and well... Prices have skyrocketed. It took the Mamiya 6/7 prices up along with them. Now you have people who are low on funds scrounging for any medium format camera they can find, so Lubitels, Anscoflexes and the like are all going up in price.

The really shocking one to me is the price of Leicas. M4-P's used to be the unwanted model that went for the same or less as an M2/M3 and how those are selling for close to $2,000 USD. M6's are getting close to $3,000 USD, M2's and M4s are around $1,500.

eli griggs · Nov 30, 2020

I think that there is one exception in the Hasselblad "V" series, in the EL/ELM range, which is the least expensive 500 series option to add a second 500 to your kit.

Prices have no gone up all that much and I was watching for a good buy as an option with my Stimulus, but when I went looking, I'd only see them with "out of stock" labels, which bore low prices.

I'll still try when a 2nd Stimulus, but also keep an eye out for one I can trade for, before these, too, become unreasonably expensive as new shooters of Film, discover they are the easiest buy into the Hasselblad 500 System.

IMO.

Andrew O'Neill · Nov 30, 2020

It's a good thing then that I'm not interested in Hasselblads... but I have noticed a climb in price for the RB67.

Jeremy Mudd · Nov 30, 2020

eli griggs said:
I think that there is one exception in the Hasselblad "V" series, in the EL/ELM range, which is the least expensive 500 series option to add a second 500 to your kit.

Prices have no gone up all that much and I was watching for a good buy as an option with my Stimulus, but when I went looking, I'd only see them with "out of stock" labels, which bore low prices.

I'll still try when a 2nd Stimulus, but also keep an eye out for one I can trade for, before these, too, become unreasonably expensive as new shooters of Film, discover they are the easiest buy into the Hasselblad 500 System.

IMO.

I would agree - ATM there are several decent looking EL/ELM bodies on ebay for under $250. I've been eyeing picking one up.

I think the battery being NLA and the extra bulk turn people off. To me the battery seems like an easy fix with the 9-volt adapters, and the bulk doesn't matter so much to me since I'm used to heavier cameras like the RB series anyway.

Jeremy

Sirius Glass · Nov 30, 2020

The demand is such now that KEH rarely has Hasselblad lenses to offer.

logan2z · Nov 30, 2020

Toasty said:
M6's are getting close to $3,000 USD, M2's and M4s are around $1,500.

They've already exceeded $3K for nice examples. Ironic because the M6 used to be something of a red-headed stepchild in the Leica family. I assume the fact that it has a meter and a full complement of framelines has helped its popularity. M3s are still pretty reasonable, in Leica terms.

Mainecoonmaniac · Dec 1, 2020

Allow me to go off in a tangent. I live in California’s Central Valley near San Francisco. Houses have shot up in price. I bought my small house 14 years ago in Davis. Due to the pandemic, people are fleeing out of the Bay Area driving up housing prices. If I were to buy my house at my current wage today, I wouldn’t be able to afford to live in my own house. In Sacramento, there are more homeless people that work because their rent went out faster than their wages. What’s happening to the value of our money? The price of our Hasselblads were high 30 years ago because they were professional tools. Now the prices are high because a lot of hobbyist want them. Two different markets. I think with higher prices of these luxury cameras is indicative of our economy. There are some people that can’t afford the basics while some people have money to afford expensive toys.

Toasty · Dec 1, 2020

Mainecoonmaniac said:
Allow me to go off in a tangent. I live in California’s Central Valley near San Francisco. Houses have shot up in price. I bought my small house 14 years ago in Davis. Due to the pandemic, people are fleeing out of the Bay Area driving up housing prices. If I were to buy my house at my current wage today, I wouldn’t be able to afford to live in my own house. In Sacramento, there are more homeless people that work because their rent went out faster than their wages. What’s happening to the value of our money? The price of our Hasselblads were high 30 years ago because they were professional tools. Now the prices are high because a lot of hobbyist want them. Two different markets. I think with higher prices of these luxury cameras is indicative of our economy. There are some people that can’t afford the basics while some people have money to afford expensive toys.

I live in CA too, our housing market is all screwed up because of a high concentration of very high paying jobs, foreign investment and a severe lack of supply. It'll be "fun" to see the effects of the inflation from the three trillion dollars we printed this year... That aside, the prices for the most in demand film cameras doubled or tripled, but most are still less expensive than a new Sony A7# . If demand keeps up I can see them keep going higher.

Mainecoonmaniac · Dec 1, 2020

Toasty said:
I live in CA too, our housing market is all screwed up because of a high concentration of very high paying jobs, foreign investment and a severe lack of supply. It'll be "fun" to see the effects of the inflation from the three trillion dollars we printed this year... That aside, the prices for the most in demand film cameras doubled or tripled, but most are still less expensive than a new Sony A7# . If demand keeps up I can see them keep going higher.

What's going on for quite a few years are investors buying properties to rent. I live in a duplex. For years, it was a multi-family home. Due to the university, vacancy rates were 2-3%. An investor bought it and converted the other half of the duplex and converted for student housing. The investor chopped a garage in half and made it into 2 bedrooms. With the pandemic, 90% or more of the students are having classes online. Some parents decided not to sign leases for the 2020 academic year. This had an devastating impact on the housing market as well as businesses. Higher ed as well as real estate is going through a reset. Colleges, landlords and business owners are going through a rough time. However, tech workers in general are able to sell their houses and move to cheaper locales because they could work from home. The other side of the coin is people thrown out of work or essential workers risking their lives to pay rent. The economic divide is now greater. Those high tech workers and people with cash could buy Hassys. As for me, I'm lucky enough to have a university job and I'm working from home. I don't know how long that will last. I'm battening down the hatches for the incoming storm. If things get bad enough, I could cash in my 500CM I bought 8 years ago.

Toasty · Dec 1, 2020

Mainecoonmaniac said:
What's going on for quite a few years are investors buying properties to rent. I live in a duplex. For years, it was a multi-family home. Due to the university, vacancy rates were 2-3%. An investor bought it and converted the other half of the duplex and converted for student housing. The investor chopped a garage in half and made it into 2 bedrooms. With the pandemic, 90% or more of the students are having classes online. Some parents decided not to sign leases for the 2020 academic year. This had an devastating impact on the housing market as well as businesses. Higher ed as well as real estate is going through a reset. Colleges, landlords and business owners are going through a rough time. However, tech workers in general are able to sell their houses and move to cheaper locales because they could work from home. The other side of the coin is people thrown out of work or essential workers risking their lives to pay rent. The economic divide is now greater. Those high tech workers and people with cash could buy Hassys. As for me, I'm lucky enough to have a university job and I'm working from home. I don't know how long that will last. I'm battening down the hatches for the incoming storm. If things get bad enough, I could cash in my 500CM I bought 8 years ago.

Yeah it's a terrible situation. Covid decimated my old field (live video production) and I was very lucky to find a work from home job. I have my fingers crossed that they hire me on permanently this month like they're supposed to. Where I used to work is a small business so I hope they can survive this but I'm not sure, it's probably going to be another year until production work starts going again... Where I am things haven't really changed, there's a LOT of tech workers who just work from home now. All the working class people got chopped off at the legs being forced to not work for months... All the small businesses that relied on office workers are probably going to go away for good, and all the others that don't manage to make it through until next spring. The neighborhood businesses seem to be doing well though and I've been trying to do my part to help keep them going. The upside to tech people leaving is that the housing market is starting to stabilize a bit, I can't afford to buy where I grew up but maybe a small condo would actually be something attainable in the future.

Huss · Dec 1, 2020

When I tried to buy a house in the previous economic crash (the housing bubble one), I had my house loan etc all lined up. Every house I went to had some rep from a bank show up and just give a cash offer no inspections required.
That cash offer came from the 0% loans the banks got from the gov to bail them out. Our tax money bailing out the entities that caused the crisis, which in effect rewarded them with 'free' money.
All those homes the banks bought up pretty much became rental properties, investments for them. Which resulted in the AFFORDABLE housing shortage that we see now.

Dood, if I was given an unlimited supply of 0% money, I too could have made a killing...

Sirius Glass · Dec 1, 2020

I always said that I wish that I had been born independently wealthy instead of being so incredibly handsome.

mark · Dec 1, 2020

I finally could afford a hassy at prices from several years ago. I was shocked at how much they jumped. Just can’t justify the cost now. The RZ is another one that shocked me.

Mainecoonmaniac · Dec 1, 2020

Sirius Glass said:
I always said that I wish that I had been born independently wealthy instead of being so incredibly handsome.

It's tough being poor and ugly like me.

Photowithfries · Dec 1, 2020

On the Hasselblad value idea, an old friend of mine had an old (antique) 500c camera, plus an extra lens, and an extra back. After he stopped using it for freelance work, it came into my possession, with original paperwork. The lens needed work, as did the body, and one back was too worn out to keep, so I sold the back for next to nothing, had all of the rest repaired, added a couple more lenses, hoods, a prism finder that I already had, a winder type meter, a full set of filters. Now I have this great fun camera from the year I first took a picture with someone's Hasselblad! Silver lenses and all! It's been a blast putting it all together over about two years, and it works beautifully, but I could not tell you what it cost to do it. I just did it as I could. Now I don't think I could turn loose of it! With the economic issues so many of us are up against, it is not really an expensive exotic camera to see someone with, just more of a interesting old classic. Thanks for the add, buy the way!

Mainecoonmaniac · Dec 1, 2020

Toasty said:
Yeah it's a terrible situation. Covid decimated my old field (live video production) and I was very lucky to find a work from home job. I have my fingers crossed that they hire me on permanently this month like they're supposed to. Where I used to work is a small business so I hope they can survive this but I'm not sure, it's probably going to be another year until production work starts going again... Where I am things haven't really changed, there's a LOT of tech workers who just work from home now. All the working class people got chopped off at the legs being forced to not work for months... All the small businesses that relied on office workers are probably going to go away for good, and all the others that don't manage to make it through until next spring. The neighborhood businesses seem to be doing well though and I've been trying to do my part to help keep them going. The upside to tech people leaving is that the housing market is starting to stabilize a bit, I can't afford to buy where I grew up but maybe a small condo would actually be something attainable in the future.

My brother is a freelance video producer in LA working on commercials. It's greatly effect him. He took an in-house producer job with a company for steady work. They're offering him an employee position, but he's so far declining. His health insurance premiums are killing him. Good luck with your endeavors.

4season · Dec 1, 2020

Ai Print said:
In 2008 I bought a new in the box MP3 black paint kit with the 50 1.4 asph and Leicavit for $5,000 during the economic crash. I then proceeded to use the snot out of it for 3 years, mostly on a book project. When I sold it, the lens and camera had some nice but not unnatural brassing and I decided if it were a .85 VF I would have kept it but it was not. I sold it for $22,500.

Wow, congratulations on timing your sale magnificently during the "Leica Bubble" era. I wonder if you'd be able to realize half of that price today? I think I had completely divested myself of Leica M by 2012: the sale prices were just too good.

Prest_400 · Dec 1, 2020

Mainecoonmaniac said:
What's going on for quite a few years are investors buying properties to rent. I live in a duplex. For years, it was a multi-family home. Due to the university, vacancy rates were 2-3%. An investor bought it and converted the other half of the duplex and converted for student housing. The investor chopped a garage in half and made it into 2 bedrooms. With the pandemic, 90% or more of the students are having classes online. Some parents decided not to sign leases for the 2020 academic year. This had an devastating impact on the housing market as well as businesses. Higher ed as well as real estate is going through a reset. Colleges, landlords and business owners are going through a rough time. However, tech workers in general are able to sell their houses and move to cheaper locales because they could work from home. The other side of the coin is people thrown out of work or essential workers risking their lives to pay rent. The economic divide is now greater. Those high tech workers and people with cash could buy Hassys. As for me, I'm lucky enough to have a university job and I'm working from home. I don't know how long that will last. I'm battening down the hatches for the incoming storm. If things get bad enough, I could cash in my 500CM I bought 8 years ago.

Sirius Glass said:
I always said that I wish that I had been born independently wealthy instead of being so incredibly handsome.

I live in a totally different country than the US but still real state went unobtainable and is a struggle, many European capitals are short on (proportionally) affordable housing and if the pandemic allows decentralising the concentration of the city it might be better for those of us that won't live downtown. Anyhow, I am not quite in the same point as you, as I do not focus on those who needed this concentration of people in the city and using their services.
A german bank published an article about introducing a tax to those who work from home to cover the infrastructural change you mention. That said, the part of Europe I live has the most socialistic policies so it is an entirely different reality.

Of course, it is much better to be born wealthy as Sirius says. One of my best friends here was born and raised in the city but when this topic comes up I do stand for those out of it. If your parents set up a heap of savings so you are able to purchase an apartment you are way better off than professionals coming from elsewhere.

Back to Hassies, I am in their homeland yet they do not seem to be cheap at all. There is a local auction selling off some, but it mostly seems the 500c's are OK and affordable. In general most are quite battered and I expect that on auction day people will fight over them. For some reason Tessar Rolleiflexes (usually out of the MX-EVS) can be gotten for decent prices. And in the end, a mechanical camera with some CLA will be better on the long run than electronic ones.
The idea of a Hassy is enticing but I am not sure about it, it won't magically make my photography better other than having a 6x6 option between 35mm and my 6x9.

eli griggs · Dec 5, 2020

The experience of using a Hasselblad is somewhat different than other formats, 135, 6x9cm and a large part of that is in the handling and the 'openess' between, you, the camera, the target, the environmental around of of it and you.

Like any camera, if you have pleasure in the tactile feel, sound, handling of film, lenses camera, etc, you may just find the camera you can best manipulate into a positive working relationship.

Tales and other box slr cameras can evoke similar responded, but, IMO, if you do no have a commercial need of a Hasselblad, even a 500 Series, with a digital back, and are no open to the tactile feelings, system quality and completnes, or if you feel any camera can step into the roles you want it for, stay away from the Hasselblad and find another box slr or a tlr that'll deliver what you want.

IMO.

NB23 · Dec 5, 2020

Totally crazy. Good for you!

Ai Print said:
In 2008 I bought a new in the box MP3 black paint kit with the 50 1.4 asph and Leicavit for $5,000 during the economic crash. I then proceeded to use the snot out of it for 3 years, mostly on a book project. When I sold it, the lens and camera had some nice but not unnatural brassing and I decided if it were a .85 VF I would have kept it but it was not. I sold it for $22,500.

And since about 2007, I have built up a pretty big Hasselblad kit, four 501CM's all serviced by David Odess in the past 3 years, 10 CF, CFi and CFe lenses, twelve A12III backs all tuned with good seals, an A24 and a couple of parts backs for down the road. And recently I bought a Flexbody to start a precise double exposure project with. I sold my CFV50C back in anticipation of the new one being available without the 907X, will likely get it next year.

I have built up an amazing digital kit too though. I upgraded all my Nikon Z cameras, bought a DJI RS2 gimbal and I am currently working on a short film that is all in black and white. It's good...it's all good man. I am still at this, still being paid well and could not be happier.

But yeah...has Hasselblad blown through the roof price wise.

campy51 · Dec 5, 2020

eli griggs said:
The experience of using a Hasselblad is somewhat different than other formats, 135, 6x9cm and a large part of that is in the handling and the 'openess' between, you, the camera, the target, the environmental around of of it and you.

Like any camera, if you have pleasure in the tactile feel, sound, handling of film, lenses camera, etc, you may just find the camera you can best manipulate into a positive working relationship.

Tales and other box slr cameras can evoke similar responded, but, IMO, if you do no have a commercial need of a Hasselblad, even a 500 Series, with a digital back, and are no open to the tactile feelings, system quality and completnes, or if you feel any camera can step into the roles you want it for, stay away from the Hasselblad and find another box slr or a tlr that'll deliver what you want.

IMO.

I agree with you even though I actually own 2 along with other medium format cameras. The easiest ones for me to focus are a Bronica EC-TL and a Kowa Six. I find the focus on the Hassie lenses too long from close to infinity and stiff and the 80mm focus ring right against the body so it's awkward, but it looks and feels like a tuxedo next to leisure suits.

eli griggs · Dec 9, 2020

As long as you can find Hasselblad, even broken ones, you'll have parts.

All camera's and lenses do no fail equally and some never fail, to such a degree that they can no be useful in some way, IMO.

Remember, you do no have to 'outlive' your camera to enjoy it, to the Maximum, it only has to 'outlive' you!

Cheers.

Hasselblad prices have really gone up

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