I want A Hasselblad. Talk Me Out Of It!

[Sirius Glass]

I believe the ArcBody needs special lenses to fully exploit its movements whereas the FlexBody mounts standard CF lenses with some limitations in movement. At least, that's how I heared it.

Yes you are correct.

 

[chuckroast]

50, 80, 150.

Pretty much the default trio for many 'Blad shooters, especially working pros.

Two additional lenses you may want to consider:

The 60mm f/3.5 Distagon, my hands-down most used lens. It's an absolute razor sharp,
contrasty shooter that has just the right angle of view for oh so many situations. I easily use this 3x more than any of the other 5 lenses I own. If I want to take a 'Blad on a trip where I have to keep bag size reasonable, a V body, an A12, and that lens is all I take.

The 100mm f/3.5 Planar. I thought it wouldn't be different enough than my 80mm that I'd use it much, but truth be told, I now reach for it as- or more often than the 80mm.

Honourable mention to the 40mm f/4 FLE CF Distagon if you like shooting wide. It's a bit of a beast but it's oh so fun. Even the original C 40mm is spectacular - mine was stolen and insurance bought me the CF FLE, but I could have lived with that C no problem. Generally speaking the pre-T* Cs have only two drawbacks: A) They're getting kind of long in the tooth and the shutters will need CLAs and helicoids may need cleaning and lubing and B) You have to be a bit more careful with hoods and flare control with the pre-T* lenses. Is it a huge deal? No. You can manage it well by paying attention.

Hasselblad never made bad lenses. They just made better and better ones ...

 

[Sirius Glass]

50, 80, 150.

I have 38mm CF [SWC], 50mm CF, 80mm CF, 100mm CF, 150mm CF , 250mm CF and 500mm C lenses

To help avoid problems from having lenses not used enough, my Hasselblad repairman advises shooting each lens ten to fifteen times at 1/second and the smallest aperture [biggest f/number every 90 days. I have it marked on my computer calendar on 1 January, 1April, 1 July and 1 September.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Pretty much the default trio for many 'Blad shooters, especially working pros.

Two additional lenses you may want to consider:

The 60mm f/3.5 Distagon, my hands-down most used lens. It's an absolute razor sharp,
contrasty shooter that has just the right angle of view for oh so many situations. I easily use this 3x more than any of the other 5 lenses I own.

The 100mm f/3.5 Planar. I thought it wouldn't be different enough than my 80mm that I'd use it much, but truth be told, I now reach for it as- or more often than the 80mm.

Honourable mention to the 40mm f/4 FLE CF Distagon if you like shooting wide. It's a bit of a beast but it's oh so fun. Even the original C 40mm is spectacular - mine was stolen and insurance bought me the CF FLE, but I could have lived with that C no problem. Generally speaking the pre-T* Cs have only two drawbacks: A) They're getting kind of long in the tooth and the shutters will need CLAs and helicoids may need cleaning and lubing and B) You have to be a bit more careful with hoods and flare control with the pre-T* lenses. Is it a huge deal? No. You can manage it well by paying attention.

Hasselblad never made bad lenses. They just made better and better ones ...

I believe you mentioned the 60mm several pages ago, and have been keeping an eye out. The 40mm would be great as I do love WA...but I would have to save up $$...which means, work more...in order to obtain one... or sell off some of my gear, which I do not want to do

 

[Sirius Glass]

I found that 60mm too close to the 80mm lens and therefore I have the 50mm. I like the progression of 50mm, 80mm, 150mm and 250mm lenses and 50mm, 100mm, 150mm and 250mm lenses. The 40mm lens is pricey but less that a SWC.

 

[chuckroast]

I believe you mentioned the 60mm several pages ago, and have been keeping an eye out. The 40mm would be great as I do love WA...but I would have to save up $$...which means, work more...in order to obtain one... or sell off some of my gear, which I do not want to do

Just for reference, I believe the sequence of options was:

C -> C T* -> CF T* -> CFi T*

T* coating made a difference is flare performance of the lenses, so bias towards that if you can. But like I said, it's not like the C lenses sucked

From the CF T* onward, Hasselblad moved away from the older style Synchro-Compur shutters and used Prontors instead. The only real practical difference is the the older shutters are harder to get serviced because parts are harder to find. But there are people who do still work on them so it's not a deal breaker.

All things being equal, I'd always opt for a CF T* or later but this wouldn't prevent me from buying an older C T* if the price was right and it was in good shape. Let's not forget that every single one of these generations of lenses was used to excellent effect by the wedding, fashion, product, and other professional photographers of their day...

 

[chuckroast]

I found that 60mm too close to the 80mm lens and therefore I have the 50mm. I like the progression of 50mm, 80mm, 150mm and 250mm lenses and 50mm, 100mm, 150mm and 250mm lenses. The 40mm lens is pricey but less that a SWC.

I think this comes down to how you shoot. a 60mm/80mm lens paring is roughly the same as a 35mm/50mm lens pairing on a 35mm camera. I shoot the vast majority of my 35mm negatives on a 35mm focal length, both on SLRs and rangefinders. For this reason, the 60mm feels right to me on a V body. Different people shoot differently of course, so everyone's mileage will vary. I also find the 60mm f/3.5 Distagon just a tad sharper than the 80mm f/2.8 Planar - not night and day better, but slightly noticeable.

 

[Pieter12]

I think this comes down to how you shoot. a 60mm/80mm lens paring is roughly the same as a 35mm/50mm lens pairing on a 35mm camera. I shoot the vast majority of my 35mm negatives on a 35mm focal length, both on SLRs and rangefinders. For this reason, the 60mm feels right to me on a V body. Different people shoot differently of course, so everyone's mileage will vary. I also find the 60mm f/3.5 Distagon just a tad sharper than the 80mm f/2.8 Planar - not night and day better, but slightly noticeable.

If I were to limit myself to a single lens, it would be a 60mm.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I believe you mentioned the 60mm several pages ago, and have been keeping an eye out. The 40mm would be great as I do love WA...but I would have to save up $$...which means, work more...in order to obtain one... or sell off some of my gear, which I do not want to do

I got my SWC fairly cheap so the 40mm didn't mean much to me. My old chrome 50mm is much better than people think. I could get by with the 50mm for wide angle work just fine. The first time I used my 50mm for a group shot at a wedding where space was tight I found out that you want to keep things pretty level. You start tilting the 50mm up and down and you'll have some bridesmaids with odd shaped arms. Lesson learned!

 

[thinkbrown]

50, 80, 150.

I don't have any intuition for how a 50 on 6x6 compares to 6x7 or 6x9, but the Mamiya press 50mm is one of my favorite lenses ever. Something about a really wide medium format lens looks so much cooler than an equivalent 35mm lens

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I don't have any intuition for how a 50 on 6x6 compares to 6x7 or 6x9, but the Mamiya press 50mm is one of my favorite lenses ever. Something about a really wide medium format lens looks so much cooler than an equivalent 35mm lens

The 50mm lens on my RB67 is by far, my favourite. Next up is the 127.

 

[thinkbrown]

The 50mm lens on my RB67 is by far, my favourite. Next up is the 127.

This is a shot from up in Nova Scotia last summer on the 50mm. I only recently acquired a 127 for the press and I've yet to shoot with it.

 

[Alexander6x6]

The SWC was good for particular applications, and as much as I like the idea, I cannot imagine anything is would do better than my 40mm f/4 CF FLE Distagon. If someone knows, do share what magic that 38mm Biogon has that the 40mm does not...

The Distagon 40 IF, released in 2003, is much better than the FLE version. Actually this lens has completely another dimension in performance. Additionally it has 200 lpmm resolution.

 

[skahde]

On the topic of flare-problems with the older C-lenses: It may occur even with T* coating and I think it is more due to the narrow bodies of the long lenses which give less room for efficient baffling than with the CF-lenses which followed.

But if internal baffles aren't doing their job external baffling can sometimes be helpful and using the compendium with the correct masks eliminated my problem with bright, overcast skies just outside the picture and the CT* 250mm.

 

[John Wiegerink]

On the topic of flare-problems with the older C-lenses: It may occur even with T* coating and I think it is more due to the narrow bodies of the long lenses which give less room for efficient baffling than with the CF-lenses which followed.

But if internal baffles aren't doing their job external baffling can sometimes be helpful and using the compendium with the correct masks eliminated my problem with bright, overcast skies just outside the picture and the CT* 250mm.

My worst lens for flare is the non "T" 38mm Biogon on my SWC. You really don't want that big glowing fireball anywhere near the edge of the frame. Like many wide angle lenses of similar construction the lens hood just can't do the job it can on a longer lens. Still, a hood is better than nothing I guess.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Speaking of compendium lens shades...there just happens to be one in case!

 

[John Wiegerink]

Speaking of compendium lens shades...there just happens to be one in case!

That's good and it's one less purchase you have to make. Did it come with any Hasselblad brand filters in baynet mount? Really good filters in bayo nount can get expensive in a hurry. I do have a Cokin setup with adapters for my Hasselblad cameras and Pentax 67 cameras. I really like the Cokin filters for special affects, but for B&W I mainly use the Hasselblad or Hoya bay filters.
I was going to take my Medalist II and Kodak Monitor 620 for a stroll today, but changed my mind. It was -6F when I got up this morning and won't get above -1F for the whole day. Sun is shining, but the wind is starting to pickup so I'm heading to the darkroom to hunker down for the day. Suppose to be -15F tonight and cold again tomorrow. That's Michigan for you. At least we're a little used to this weather here, but those poor folks that are getting blasted down South don't know how to handle it.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

That's good and it's one less purchase you have to make. Did it come with any Hasselblad brand filters in baynet mount? Really good filters in bayo nount can get expensive in a hurry. I do have a Cokin setup with adapters for my Hasselblad cameras and Pentax 67 cameras. I really like the Cokin filters for special affects, but for B&W I mainly use the Hasselblad or Hoya bay filters.
I was going to take my Medalist II and Kodak Monitor 620 for a stroll today, but changed my mind. It was -6F when I got up this morning and won't get above -1F for the whole day. Sun is shining, but the wind is starting to pickup so I'm heading to the darkroom to hunker down for the day. Suppose to be -15F tonight and cold again tomorrow. That's Michigan for you. At least we're a little used to this weather here, but those poor folks that are getting blasted down South don't know how to handle it.

There's a polariser...A filter that I rarely used. I ordered a ring that'll bayonet on, and accept my regular screw on filters for now. We've had gorgeous weather out here. Will be going out the door in a couple of hours to grab a shot I need on the 8x10 so that I can finish up the carbon transfer video. Then it's Hassie time!

 

[Michael Mutmansky]

Andrew,

Be careful with the BAY60 to 67mm adapters. If it is a cheap aluminum one, they can bind. I tracked down some brass ones (Heliopan and original Hasselblad, IIRC) and find them pretty reliable.

Heliopan is gone now and Hasselblad doesn't make them any more, but the adapters should be available on ebay if you look and are persistent. In my opinion, worth the price over the aluminum ones.

 

[Pieter12]

Andrew,

Be careful with the BAY60 to 67mm adapters. If it is a cheap aluminum one, they can bind. I tracked down some brass ones (Heliopan and original Hasselblad, IIRC) and find them pretty reliable.

Heliopan is gone now and Hasselblad doesn't make them any more, but the adapters should be available on ebay if you look and are persistent. In my opinion, worth the price over the aluminum ones.

I have a number of those adapters, made from brass and aluminum. They are cheap enough to keep them attached to the filter, that way there is no problem with them binding.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thanks for the heads up, @Michael Mutmansky!

 

[John Wiegerink]

There's a polariser...A filter that I rarely used. I ordered a ring that'll bayonet on, and accept my regular screw on filters for now. We've had gorgeous weather out here. Will be going out the door in a couple of hours to grab a shot I need on the 8x10 so that I can finish up the carbon transfer video. Then it's Hassie time!

Enjoy your weather and have fun. It's absolutely gorgeous here also, but bitter cold. We've been really dumped on with very pretty satin white snow and now with the full sunshine..................well I don't have to tell you how prety it really is. That's from the inside looking out of course.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Andrew,

Be careful with the BAY60 to 67mm adapters. If it is a cheap aluminum one, they can bind. I tracked down some brass ones (Heliopan and original Hasselblad, IIRC) and find them pretty reliable.

Heliopan is gone now and Hasselblad doesn't make them any more, but the adapters should be available on ebay if you look and are persistent. In my opinion, worth the price over the aluminum ones.

Older lenses, so it's the B50. The adapter arrived in the mail yesterday. One of those cheap Chinese ones... It slipped on easily. I'm going to keep it in an unused clear plastic filter case. The bayonet bits look quite fragile.

 

[BrianShaw]

Older lenses, so it's the B50. The adapter arrived in the mail yesterday. One of those cheap Chinese ones... It slipped on easily. I'm going to keep it in an unused clear plastic filter case. The bayonet bits look quite fragile.

Thye bayonet might look fragile but in practice are actually quite robust. The less expensive (or old and used) adapters often need to be adjusted for a good fit so they aren't too tight or too loose. It takes a ew minutes but isn't really that difficult. I've found hte "cheap" apdaters to be fine and haven't ever had binding problems because of aluminum material.

 

[Arthurwg]

I wanted a Flexbody as well, but put it on the "found cheap at a flea market" purchase list.

I want a Flexbody too. But beside being rather expensive, it's difficult to find a complete set, which I think has seven components. Finding missing pieces might be near impossible.