Hi

[NormG]

First of all I would like to say hi from Perth Western Australia. Photography has been a passion of mine for many years, off and on with various work committment!

I learned to shoot film with a manual camera and although I have quite a good digital camera I find myself going back to my trusty Canon AE1. Which is how and why I found this fabulous site.

I'm considering buying a medium format camera and so far like Hasselblad as they don't appear as bulky and seem more portable. I also like the square format.

Having said that i'm not sure what some of the differences are between certain models. The model i'm considering is the 500 series. What is the difference between 500, 501 or 503?

 

[Jeff Kubach]

Hello and welcome to APUG. I don't know much about Hasseblads but I know they're excellent cameras. I do have a Rolleiflex TLR which I love. I have a Mamiya RB67 which is a little on the big and heavy side, but that doesn't bother me. I always use a tripod.

Jeff

 

[M.A.Longmore]

.
Welcome To APUG Norm !

I got a 500C last year but that was my first Hasselblad,
so I'm not familiar with the differences of the other units.
I definitely think that is more manageable than the other
brands, but I am always using a tripod. Except when
I'm doing some Drive-By Shootings from the car.


Ron
.

 

[film_man]

Everything you ever wanted to know about Hasselblads but were too afraid to ask.
http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?Hasselblad500.html~mainFrame
http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/

 

[NormG]

Thanks for the response people. Those sites explain what i needed to know. Thanks again.

 

[Q.G.]

[...] Having said that i'm not sure what some of the differences are between certain models. The model i'm considering is the 500 series. What is the difference between 500, 501 or 503?

Hello!

500 C, C/M?
501 C or CM?
503 CX, CXi or CW?


The (main) differences between all Hasselblad V-System models is listed in the "concise tabulated history of Hasselblad camera models" you can find here.

Basically, the 500 C and C/M models are the 'archetypical' Hasselblads. Fully mechanical.

The 503 models added TTL-OTF flash control (using the appropriate flash units and adapters), with the 503 CXi (note that little "i"!) and the 503 CW also taking an add-on motor winder.

The 501 models were meant to be a "budget" (still expensive) choice, offered along with the 503 CW model. The 501 C and CM differ in that the later (CM) has a larger non-vignetting mirror. The only other non-motorized 500-series camera that has that longer mirror is the 503 CW.

I'll explain what that mirror thing is about:
The 500 cameras had a mirror that was made too short, and thus created a slight viewfinder vignetting (the top of the image was cut off by the mirror. But only in the viewfinder. Not on film!), but only when when using longer lenses or when adding extension between the lens and the camera.
The mirror was made too short on purpose, because of the 80 mm lens which protruded just a bit too far into the body, and a large-enough mirror would hit the lens when moving up or down.
Starting with the 503 CW (in the non-motorized 500-series line; the focal plane shutter 2000-series cameras had it first, some 20 years before the 503 CW. In the 500-series the 500 ELX was way ahead of the 503 CW too), the mirror mechanism was changed so that the mirror would move backwards as well as up, avoiding the lens, and making a larger mirror possible. The 501 CM was the only other camera in the non-motorized 500-series that has this mechanism.
That mechanism is now called the Gliding Mirror System. Before the 503 CW it didn't have a name.

 

[Chazzy]

Welcome to APUG, Norm.

 

[papagene]

NORM!!!!!! Hello and welcome to APUG!

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Welcome, Norm, from Melbourne. By the way, there is a whole separate forum here called "Introduce yourself to the APUG community", so you may like to introduce yourself there.

I own a 500 C/M and love it. By the way, there is a great Hasselblad repairman based in Adelaide, so that could be handy to know.

 

[rorye]

Norm!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome to APUG!

Relative to Hasselblads, please read my signature.

Steve

 

[Wade D]

Welcome to APUG! Unless you have loads of money for medium format go simple at first.
A nice Yashica will only set you back $US100 or less. Granted, it won't have interchangeable lenses or backs but you will get a lot of fun for little money.

 

[Q.G.]

And you will also have a continuous burning desire for stuff that will allow you to do other things, which that one trick pony can't.
So my advice: don't waste $ 100 on cheap fun that you could also have invested in a sensible camera.
A sensible camera that will give you even more fun.

 

[NormG]

Welcome, Norm, from Melbourne. By the way,
there is a whole separate forum here called "Introduce yourself to the APUG community", so you may like to introduce yourself there.

I own a 500 C/M and love it. By the way, there is a great Hasselblad repairman based in Adelaide, so that could be handy to know.

Thanks for the response everybody. All the basic information i've received is what I needed to know. The 500C/M is what I need...!

Kevin, what is the name of that repairer in Adelaide?