I want A Hasselblad. Talk Me Out Of It!

[Pieter12]

If it tilts, rises and falls?

If you are man enough, there is the Rollei X-Act2

 

[Ai Print]

If you are man enough, there is the Rollei X-Act2

View attachment 415145

Nice! Reminds me of my P2 which of course is a beast / legend.

 

[hardly any color]

If you are exploring other options, look at the Rolleiflex 6000 series. I have 6008 Integral 2 and it is an amazing camera, both from design and ergonomics as well as functionality.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

If you are exploring other options, look at the Rolleiflex 6000 series. I have 6008 Integral 2 and it is an amazing camera, both from design and ergonomics as well as functionality.

It's a beauty for sure, but I want something that doesn't rely on electronics to function.

 

[John Wiegerink]

It's a beauty for sure, but I want something that doesn't rely on electronics to function.

Very smart! I love a little automation, but it's just another thing to go wrong at exactly the wrong time. The old match needle metering 35mm, like your K1000, were fine since you could still use them if the battery or meter died, but the later programed cameras and electronic shutter jobs put an end to that. I feel safe and secure lugging my 500C, Rolleiflex or even my old Kodak Medalist II, but not so secure and comfy with the Pentax 67 or Bronica GS1. You always have the feeling that the battery might die or an electrical connection might act up when you have electronics involved. Simpler is better most of the time.

 

[mshchem]

It's a beauty for sure, but I want something that doesn't rely on electronics to function.

This is what led me to the Fujica GW690II I bought used from B&H, had to be over 30 years ago. I still have that camera works great. I use the newer version III models now, film loading is easier for me.

I had a bunch of lovely Bronica SQAi equipment I bought cheap and sold cheap. I absolutely love those cameras but absolutely zero service left.

Hasselblad is a classic, it's gloriously manual. Like driving an old 4 speed British car. So much fun, the lenses are excellent. There's always going to be people who will service the manual cameras. In time there will even be newly made parts (look to China or anywhere theres machinists)

Square format is beautiful!

 

[hardly any color]

Hasselblad is a classic, it's gloriously manual. Like driving an old 4 speed British car.

But, does it leak oil?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

...and need constant maintenance, like an old, 4 speed British car?

 

[Arthurwg]

It's a beauty for sure, but I want something that doesn't rely on electronics to function.

Not to mention plastics. The Hasselblad will outlive the Rollei by 100 years,

 

[John Wiegerink]

My cousin had a fancy MG with wire spoke wheels. It was a beauty, but a nightmare to keep headlights and braking systems working on that thing. My high school buddy bought a brand new Triumph TR6 when he got back from Vietnam. Another bright red beauty, but it was another electrical and carburetor nightmare. My old 1966 122 Volvo just kept plugging away while their fancy cars were in the service garage. I consider the Hasselblad 500C and 500CM the 122S Volvo of the camera world. Those dang Swedes use the right materials and know how to build things.

 

[BrianShaw]

My cousin had a fancy MG with wire spoke wheels. It was a beauty, but a nightmare to keep headlights and braking systems working on that thing. My high school buddy bought a brand new Triumph TR6 when he got back from Vietnam. Another bright red beauty, but it was another electrical and carburetor nightmare. My old 1966 122 Volvo just kept plugging away while their fancy cars were in the service garage. I consider the Hasselblad 500C and 500CM the 122S Volvo of the camera world. Those dang Swedes use the right materials and know how to build things.

I would add the 501c/m to that list. Not many Volvo 122s (or other Amazons) still on the road, no matter how well buuilt thay may have been.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I would add the 501c/m to that list. Not many Volvo 122s (or other Amazons) still on the road, no matter how well buuilt thay may have been.

Yes, the 501CM for sure. Those old Volvos were very dependable and most handy folks could work on them in their backyard mechanic shop. My father bought a use 1965 with 77,000 miles on it and drove it 124 miles back and fourth to work each day and put another 396,000 miles on it before the fenders rusted out so bad the headlights were shining up. He finally parked it and bought another Volvo 144s. He never replaced one thing on the drivetrain of the 122, but a lot of brakes, brake lines and that sort of thing. Sorry for flying off topic, but I had to defend the "not so fancy" 122 Volvos. Just like I would the 500 series Hasselblads.

 

[chuckroast]

My cousin had a fancy MG with wire spoke wheels. It was a beauty, but a nightmare to keep headlights and braking systems working on that thing. My high school buddy bought a brand new Triumph TR6 when he got back from Vietnam. Another bright red beauty, but it was another electrical and carburetor nightmare. My old 1966 122 Volvo just kept plugging away while their fancy cars were in the service garage. I consider the Hasselblad 500C and 500CM the 122S Volvo of the camera world. Those dang Swedes use the right materials and know how to build things.

Lucas: Prince Of Darkness

 

[John Wiegerink]

Lucas: Prince Of Darkness

Exactly!

 

[thinkbrown]

Lucas: Prince Of Darkness

Inventors of the three position light switch: off, dim, and flicker

 

[Craig]

My cousin had a fancy MG with wire spoke wheels. It was a beauty, but a nightmare to keep headlights and braking systems working on that thing. My high school buddy bought a brand new Triumph TR6 when he got back from Vietnam. Another bright red beauty, but it was another electrical and carburetor nightmare. My old 1966 122 Volvo just kept plugging away while their fancy cars were in the service garage. I consider the Hasselblad 500C and 500CM the 122S Volvo of the camera world. Those dang Swedes use the right materials and know how to build things.

Kind of ironic you say the carbs, as both Volvo and nearly everything British used the same carbs. The Japanese also used copies of the SU carbs.

The carbs work very well, the problem was they were different than North American carbs and mechanics here didn't understand them, or bother to read the manual to know how to set them up properly. If you know what you're doing, they are easy to set up and nearly maintenance free. So much better than any Holley or Edelbrock. No changing jets and needles to tune then, on an SU you just turn a screwdriver. Fast and simple.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Lucas: Prince Of Darkness

For a short while in high school I drove a 1962 Nash Metropolitan (two-tone red and white). I LOVED that car despite all its shortcomings. The electricals were definitely part of those - positive ground electrical system rather than negative ground, so every time you drove the car in the rain, it was a gamble if it would short itself out after going through a puddle. Then there was the rubber boot for the throttle pedal, which had torn, so it did not hold the throttle pedal upright - you had to catch the pedal with your foot and hook it around to get it into position (it was bottom-hinged rather than hanging down). The upside of this, along with the fact that it had a manual choke (one of three identical unmarked knobs to the left of the steering column) was that it was basically theft-proof. Anyone stupid enough to try and steal it wouldn't get far if they could even get the car started.

 

[MattKing]

For a short while in high school I drove a 1962 Nash Metropolitan (two-tone red and white). I LOVED that car despite all its shortcomings. The electricals were definitely part of those - positive ground electrical system rather than negative ground, so every time you drove the car in the rain, it was a gamble if it would short itself out after going through a puddle. Then there was the rubber boot for the throttle pedal, which had torn, so it did not hold the throttle pedal upright - you had to catch the pedal with your foot and hook it around to get it into position (it was bottom-hinged rather than hanging down). The upside of this, along with the fact that it had a manual choke (one of three identical unmarked knobs to the left of the steering column) was that it was basically theft-proof. Anyone stupid enough to try and steal it wouldn't get far if they could even get the car started.

This means that you probably have the perfect temperament for Large Format and various types of traditional and alternative types of photography

 

[mshchem]

...and need constant maintenance, like an old, 4 speed British car?

Electrical system in the old British cars require disconnecting the battery at night . My old MGA that I had in high-school was so much fun.
Hasselblad is like a German clock, it will keep ticking for decades with regular winding

 

[John Wiegerink]

Kind of ironic you say the carbs, as both Volvo and nearly everything British used the same carbs. The Japanese also used copies of the SU carbs.

The carbs work very well, the problem was they were different than North American carbs and mechanics here didn't understand them, or bother to read the manual to know how to set them up properly. If you know what you're doing, they are easy to set up and nearly maintenance free. So much better than any Holley or Edelbrock. No changing jets and needles to tune then, on an SU you just turn a screwdriver. Fast and simple.

Yes, the SU's were a work of art and like you say, many American shops didn't know how to or didn't want to work on them. My father was a master with those SU carbs and being very Dutch would fine tune them and his timing to get the best gas milage. He even had a special vacuum type tool very synchronizing both SU carbs. So folks here with Volvos ran into problems with SU carbs due to not understanding how they worked. Cameras are exactly the same way. Give someone a camera they have never seen or are familiar with and you're asking for trouble.

 

[chuckroast]

Hasselblad is like a German clock, it will keep ticking for decades with regular winding

cf https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/joke-thread-part2.89507/post-2961011

 

[Craig]

He even had a special vacuum type tool very synchronizing both SU carbs.

Fancy!

If you're cheap, you use the "rubber hose method". Take a piece of rubber hose and place it exactly at the edge of the throat of the carb and the other end goes in your ear. Listen to the hissing sound. When the hiss in both carbs is equally loud, they are drawing the same amount of air.

I've tuned carbs with the hose and then put a flowmeter on the carbs and they there perfectly balanced by listening to the sound.

 

[mshchem]

Best feature of my MGA was the squirtgun windscreen washer. If you pushed the knob on the dash too hard it would shoot clear over your head and hit the boot lid.

 

[itsdoable]

For a short while in high school I drove a 1962 Nash Metropolitan (two-tone red and white). I LOVED that car despite all its shortcomings. The electricals were definitely part of those - positive ground electrical system rather than negative ground, so every time you drove the car in the rain, it was a gamble if it would short itself out after going through a puddle. Then there was the rubber boot for the throttle pedal, which had torn, so it did not hold the throttle pedal upright - you had to catch the pedal with your foot and hook it around to get it into position (it was bottom-hinged rather than hanging down). The upside of this, along with the fact that it had a manual choke (one of three identical unmarked knobs to the left of the steering column) was that it was basically theft-proof. Anyone stupid enough to try and steal it wouldn't get far if they could even get the car started.

Just the manual transmission makes cars theft deterrents in my part of the world. Unfortunately the manual Hasselblad is not a theft deterrent, but maybe if we spread the word about expensive and often you have to service them... would be a theft deterrent...

 

[chuckroast]

Just the manual transmission makes cars theft deterrents in my part of the world. Unfortunately the manual Hasselblad is not a theft deterrent, but maybe if we spread the word about expensive and often you have to service them... would be a theft deterrent...

I just checked. Neither my 500C/M nor 501C/M has a Hurst shifter. Is that something that was available aftermarket?