Hasselblad to cease production of V system cameras

olwick · Apr 29, 2013

Sad, sad news: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.u...ease-production-of-legendary-v-system-cameras

Jeff Kubach · Apr 29, 2013

Hate to hear about that.

Jeff

Thomas Bertilsson · Apr 29, 2013

Depressing, but is anybody surprised?

pgomena · Apr 29, 2013

Sad news, but what could we otherwise expect? Like Sinar cameras, there are a whole lot of V-system Hasselblads, lenses, and accessories on the used market. In fact, I think the value of my gear finally may have stopped sliding.

I'm much more concerned about future availability of 120 film.

karl · Apr 29, 2013

Sad, though not surprising considering Zeiss stopped making lenses for the V system a while ago. I love my V system bodies and lenses. 201F and 202FA here.

Paul Goutiere · Apr 29, 2013

It is sad, however, be heartened, there are about a jillion of 'em on the used market, working perfectly and looking for new homes.

BrianShaw · Apr 29, 2013

No surprise in that announcement... but very sad news.

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 29, 2013

Here's Hasselblad's press release.

http://press.hasselblad.com/press-releases/2013/2013-04-29_vsystem-discontinued.aspx

Slixtiesix · Apr 29, 2013

Sad news indeed, but what was even more of a surprise to me was that they apparently made the camera until recently. Until now I had thought that production had already ceased years ago and they were merely selling the remaining stock.

Richard S. (rich815) · Apr 29, 2013

Slixtiesix said:
Sad news indeed, but what was even more of a surprise to me was that they apparently made the camera until recently. Until now I had thought that production had already ceased years ago and they were merely selling the remaining stock.

This is what I thought too.

adelorenzo · Apr 29, 2013

I think the saddest part is that the H-series cameras are UGLY.

arealitystudios · Apr 29, 2013

INDEED! I used an H2 many years ago and not only was it ugly but it just was not comfortable to hold at all. Maybe they have improved over the years but my experience was terrible.

As for the V System, this is indeed sad news but I actually thought this was true years ago. Much like those brand new Rollei TLRs one can still buy, I question who goes out and buys these camera brand new with so much used equipment on the market.

DanielStone · Apr 29, 2013

arealitystudios said:
INDEED! I used an H2 many years ago and not only was it ugly but it just was not comfortable to hold at all. Maybe they have improved over the years but my experience was terrible.

As for the V System, this is indeed sad news but I actually thought this was true years ago. Much like those brand new Rollei TLRs one can still buy, I question who goes out and buys these camera brand new with so much used equipment on the market.

People with LOTS OF MONEY

I asked a HB rep this same question a few years ago whilst at Samy's in DTLA, he smirked and comfortably stated The Asian market primarily, Japan and China.

Personally, I was neither surprised nor saddened.
Interesting times we're in...

Dan

MattKing · Apr 30, 2013

Glazer's in Seattle Washington have Hasselblad posters advertising Hasselblad H systems for lease starting at $499 per month.

If you have high volume applications that require high resolution files, that may make sense.

JPD · Apr 30, 2013

That's sad, but I'm not surprised. There are enough Hasselblad (and Rollei and other brands) cameras and accessories out there to satisfy generations of professional and amateur photographers, as long as they can be serviced and 120-film is available. I would think that more than 95% of the users buy they MF equipment on the second hand market these days.

ChristopherCoy · Apr 30, 2013

Is anyone concerned what this might do to the prices in the used market? Specifically for lenses and such?

Dr Croubie · Apr 30, 2013

ChristopherCoy said:
Is anyone concerned what this might do to the prices in the used market? Specifically for lenses and such?

Someone said earlier in the thread that Zeiss had stopped making lenses for them years ago, this is just the cameras now that are being stopped as well.
But still, it's a bit of a gamble depending on how you look at it. Supply is fixed and falling. There will not be any more lenses or cameras made, cameras will break and lenses will go mouldy, no new ones are coming onto market. But what about Demand? Either it will fall (people are selling their big old clunkers and buying the latest 35mm lenses for digital), or it will rise (collectors move in, hoping to score something nice for the cabinet, for the grandkids to sell to fund their way to college). Which one? No idea.

My observations in general have been that prices are rising, or at least have risen a lot in the last 10 years, for a lot of 35mm gear. I've heard of people here getting soviet junk almost for free 10 years ago, I read yesterday someone bought a decent condition kiev rangefinder with Jupiter 3 50/1.5 for $20 a few years ago. I saw a Jupiter 3 50/1.5 sell yesterday on fleabay for $150!
But that's 35mm, and a lot of those lenses are being adapted to NEX and other mirrorless, especially wide-angle and fast primes, so that explains them going up a bit.
Still, in MF the lens prices are gradually going up too, I regularly see CZJ Pentacon6 gear going for over $200 for the rarer MC 50/4, 120/2.8, 180/2.8, whereas I bought my set of those for maybe $100 a piece only a year or two ago.
Long story short, if I had the cash I'd be investing in some good hassy glass if you can find it cheap and second hand.

Tom Richard · Apr 30, 2013

This is very sad news indeed! Seeing how the 6x6 negative holds so much unique quality over digital sensors this probably has to do with business politics as well as profit margins. I truly believe that there is a market for a V series classic back to basic camera with a small selection of lenses and accessories. After the new ownership and merge with imacon, politics seems to be geared towards killing off the V series, not because theres no market but more because they only have interest in their freshly aquired digital products which obviously generate more money. Crossing my fingers for that they will still sustain parts and service for a long time to come. Second hand prices will probably rise down the road at least for well cared for items as will spare part prices.

Kudos to Leica for staying true to their legacy while at the same time beeing innovative.

Dr Croubie · Apr 30, 2013

I was always holding out hope of a proper square digital sensor to keep 6x6 alive and kicking, but the biggest anyone's got is 53.9x40.4 in the latest $50,000+ ranges. With phasemiya only ever making 645 and hassy starting the 645 H-range a few years ago, 6x6 was always going to die this death unfortunately. They're still making adapters to put the latest digiback on V, RB/RZ, Hy6 and all those other defunct cameras, as long as they continue that, and 120 is around for us film-shooters, all of those systems will still be viable even if it just means we have to buy 2nd hand.
Still, think about how many people around are shooting on gear 50+ years old? I know that well more than half my kit is pre-1980, the V system is so ubiquitos that it'll be hanging around long enough for most of us to be old and grey.

But hey, think about this: when (the new) Hassy brought out the H1 and H2, they could take any digiback from anyone, as well as film. Not sure about H3D, but the H3DII locked out film, then the H4 locked out other brands of digiback. Only last year they realised their mistakes, and brought out the H4X, which can again take other brand digibacks, plus film again. They're obviously not above admitting their mistakes and bringing out a new product to compensate. Maybe if/when they realise that discontinuing the V system was a mistake, they might do a special run of V-cameras in 5 or 10 years' time?

Poisson Du Jour · Apr 30, 2013

I looked over a Hasselblad 503CW in March 2012, owned by an APUG member; it looked new, undeniably pretty and shiny in the stalwart Hasselblad tradition. Returning home, I researched the camera and considered that Hasselblad no longer made it, and never thought any more of it, so this announcement, a year on, propagated in the Hasselblad newsletter, was quite strange; lots of people think that Hasselblad discontinued most analogue models some years back in favour of the digital breed. Maybe they had a back-inventory of the cameras, now exhausted?

But there's something everybody needs to know and keep in mind: you do not need a Hasselblad to create beautiful photographs, not at all. Truth be told, a Hasselblad will not even help you! It's not the camera that does the seeing and feeling, but the photographer. So we are not deprived of choices losing one or more (or all) of these cameras and can actually land the alternative camera of our dreams (6x7, 4x5 or 8x10, among) without mortgaging the home or selling the wife, just for the privilege of carting around a Hassy on our hairy chest. Ugh, perish the thought.

benjiboy · Apr 30, 2013

Poisson Du Jour said:
I looked over a Hasselblad 503CW in March 2012, owned by an APUG member; it looked new, undeniably pretty and shiny in the stalwart Hasselblad tradition. Returning home, I researched the camera and considered that Hasselblad no longer made it, and never thought any more of it, so this announcement, a year on, propagated in the Hasselblad newsletter, was quite strange; lots of people think that Hasselblad discontinued most analogue models some years back in favour of the digital breed. Maybe they had a back-inventory of the cameras, now exhausted?

But there's something everybody needs to know and keep in mind: you do not need a Hasselblad to create beautiful photographs, not at all. Truth be told, a Hasselblad will not even help you! It's not the camera that does the seeing and feeling, but the photographer. So we are not deprived of choices losing one or more (or all) of these cameras and can actually land the alternative camera of our dreams (6x7, 4x5 or 8x10, among) without mortgaging the home or selling the wife, just for the privilege of carting around a Hassy on our hairy chest. Ugh, perish the thought.

Come on mate be serious, a woman's just a woman, but a Hasselblad's a "Hasselblad"

Slixtiesix · Apr 30, 2013

The newest Hasselblad 503cw I´ve seen so far were from 2008/2009. I wonder wether there are really cameras with VS, VV or VH stamped on it... I also wonder if the CFV50 and CFV39 are effected by this as well.
Anyhow, I would not bother. Mind that most Rollei TLRs date from the 50s and 60s and Rollei TLR photography is alive and well today. There is no reason the same could not be true for Hasselblad.

Dr Croubie · Apr 30, 2013

Poisson Du Jour said:
you do not need a Hasselblad to create beautiful photographs, not at all.

Yeah, but that's not the point. Me holding hasselblad doesn't help me make better photos, but photos of me holding it are better (especially if it's in front of my face)

Tom Richard · Apr 30, 2013

Poisson Du Jour said:
But there's something everybody needs to know and keep in mind: you do not need a Hasselblad to create beautiful photographs, not at all. Truth be told, a Hasselblad will not even help you! It's not the camera that does the seeing and feeling, but the photographer.

Not always true. Different cameras have different expressions and different personalities. A camera can get in the way of your vision or it can get a little less in the way of your vision. Experience will make you choose the camera that offers the result as close as possible to your photographic vision or style. You can paint with red paint even tho you prefer blue but no doubt you will be more pleased using blue paint. Personally i feel the Hasselblad offer something unique. Or should say, the specific Carl Zeiss lenses in combination with the format size offers somthing unique.

A practical example. I worked with a D300/D2H for a couple of years and found that i always was chasing something in the editing process. Eventually i switched to a Canon 1DSmkII as a part of a personal project and bang! I was completly floored. All those hours spent tweaking the imagery i was now getting straight out of the camera before editing. That doesnt mean the Canon were a superior camera it just ment that it suited my eye better although both cameras were capable of proffesional work.

fotch · Apr 30, 2013

Hasselblad to cease production of V system cameras

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