I want A Hasselblad. Talk Me Out Of It!

Andrew O'Neill said:

It'll probably be a blad or nothing. I don't want any knock offs or wannabes!
I'm thinking of something that I can use well into old age. I remember back in the mid 80's, while hiking up in Cathedral Provincial Park in BC (this is about 6 years before I became interested in photography as at the time I was working on my BFA studying "real" art making LOL) I came across an old guy with a weird looking camera on a tripod, pointing down at some vegetation. My friend who was with me, and was into photography, gasped, Hasselblad! I said hasselwhat? We stood there watching him toying with the camera, pointing some weird thing, then fiddling with the lens...then K-WHUMP and trodded off with camera over his shoulder. This was waaaay in the wilderness, and he must have been at least 80. That memory stuck with me.

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'Blads in one's 3rd chapter are not uncommon. Saint Ansel even switched to a 'Blad as he was aging.

I still love my 4x5, but with a 'Blad, I can actually walk around looking for a snapshot.

They really are amazing machines so long as you are realistic about the costs of their ongoing care and feeding. These seem high until you send a Leica in for a CLA. After that, everything is rounding error.

Sharktooth said:

2) Ask yourself where you can get the camera repaired locally. A nice looking brick is still a brick, albeit a very expensive brick. As well made as these cameras are, they are likely many decades old and will be in need of service at some point. If you can't find anyone nearby to service your camera at a reasonable price, well .......

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Although it would be nice to walk into a local repair shop to get a camera serviced, I wouldn't let the lack of a local repairer dissuade me. I've packed and shipped off lots of cameras for repair and haven't had any issues. Oh wait, we're trying to talk him out of it. Yeah, what @Sharktooth said

chuckroast said:

Uh ... we need to talk.

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He can be anything he wants. He wants to be an astronaut.

@Andrew O'Neill If you do give in to the Hassy Virus, a good reference text is Wildi's "Hasselblad Manual". The newest one was, I think, the 7th edition but added a bunch of digital stuff in there I never cared about so I never bought it. I have the 4th edition which is sufficient. I'd look for a used one on Alibris.com or other used book seller.

Well NOW you've done it, you've misgendered your camera. For shame!

chuckroast said:

Well NOW you've done it, you've misgendered your camera. For shame!

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Don't Hassel me about it.

I own a pretty complete Hasselblad system with several 500 series bodies, a SWC/M and a Flexbody and a passel of lenses, so if anyone is asking, you won't get anything but general support for the gear and quality of image, etc.

However, I have also used LF and ULF gear in the past and I have a strong preference for a different 6x6 camera if you are also still shooting LF gear because I feel it is a better compliment for "fast" shooting when also having LF gear in the field.

That camera is the Mamiya 6 or the 6MF bodies and the 50/75/150 lenses. It's a great rangefinder, square format, and very compact. I have take it with me on shoots while also shooting a 7x17 or other ULF camera and have achieved excellent images from both cameras at the same location and with good relative speed and efficiency... I feel the Mamiya 6 is so much easier to shoot handheld and without muddling with an external meter to capture the higher-speed shots while also getting the 7x17 set up for a shot.

I think the Hasselblad could be used similarly, but it really does want a tripod because of the mirror and it is much more substantial of a system in weight/bulk, so I don't think it is a particularly good complimentary system for someone also shooting a larger format.

These days, when travelling light, it's the Mamiya 6 all the way. If I am focused more on shooting, the Hasselblad gets the call, and if I'm planning on shooting 4x5, I think it's going to depend on how I'm travelling, but I don't see a lot of point to having the Hasselblad along (other than possibly the SWC/M body as more of a P&S body).

Let me also mention that the Mamiya 6 is the only camera system that I really, truly, regretted selling fairly quickly after I did and eventually, I replaced the system through Ebay and other avenues. If there were one other camera that I felt that way about, it would be the Phillips 4x5 body I had because of how excellently solid, compact, and light it was. I replaced that camera with a Chamonix body this year mostly because the newer Chamonix cameras are better than what Dick had made back around 1995-2005 or so and finding a 4x5 Phillips is like searching for hen's teeth.

chuckroast said:

I know the answer to this question because it is the exact same goal we all have: To scratch an itch.

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Then is perfectly fine go for it in my opinion!

If you want a canary yellow new old stock, knock me up.

cowanw said:

If you want a canary yellow new old stock, knock me up.

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Woah!

Mike Lopez said:

Woah!

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Its an old British saying meaning wake me up !
The phrase caused my wife much embarrassment when we moved to Canada.

Andrew O'Neill said:

99.9% of the time, I use a tripod. No worries there.
The Mamiya 6 is a rangefinder camera, which I have plenty of. I'm after a 6x6 SLR. Thanks!

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On a tripod, they're great. Would not hesitate to recommend one. Just get the cleanest, newest one you can. Those ancient clunkers with the chrome lenses are not fun to use.