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.

By the way, there are Bronica 6x6 SLRs ....

MattKing said:

By the way, there are Bronica 6x6 SLRs ....

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Are service/parts still available for these?

chuckroast said:

Are service/parts still available for these?

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Some - but no new parts of course.
Which applies, of course, to Hasselblads.
Bronicas were much more common in certain markets than in others.

MattKing said:

Some - but no new parts of course.
Which applies, of course, to Hasselblads.
Bronicas were much more common in certain markets than in others.

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Well no new Hasselblad parts are being manufactured, of course. But the repair folks seem to have buckets of parts, both new and from donor cameras, readily available, probably because so many Hassies were made over the years.

I've no idea if a comparable situation exists for the Bronica machines.

I used a Bronica back in the 80's when I worked at a camera store (the owner also did weddings). I looked at them when I decided to get a medium format camera (6x6 ultimately, but I considered 6x7 as well). They are great cameras IMO and I enjoyed shooting them back in the day.

They are much less expensive on the used market so they are attractive. I believe some of the lenses in the Bronica system are at least as good as the respective Zeiss lenses, but the wider angle lenses are inferior (but it is unlikely to be truly relevant). The largest strike against the Bronica is that the last systems (SQ) uses electronic shutter. This is great, as they are likely consistent and time-accurate, but the electronic shutter is unrepairable so a problem will yield purchasing a new lens.

The Hasselblad is fully mechanical in operation, so things are repairable, but of course, parts are going to get more difficult over time. But my thinking is that at least there is a good chance and donor lenses should make the repair option viable for a long time.

Plus, at some point someone may decide to micro-manufacture parts that are the most common failure points on the lenses/bodies and I don't see that happening on any other camera system other than the Hasselblad.

chuckroast said:

Well no new Hasselblad parts are being manufactured, of course. But the repair folks seem to have buckets of parts, both new and from donor cameras, readily available, probably because so many Hassies were made over the years.

I've no idea if a comparable situation exists for the Bronica machines.

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As a Kodak Retina repair technician, I can attest to the fact that I have buckets of (most) commonly needed parts at my disposal. Some are NOS and some are scavenged from donor cameras. I rarely have to struggle to find a replacement part when needed.

As for Hasselblad repairs, I very much doubt that repair technicians (like Jim at Barn Owl Camera) will run out of needed parts in our lifetime. We are talking about a future problem that is probably 50 years or more out.

I too am in the category of folks that do not like Hasselblads hand-held. ( The same can be said for Mamiya, Bronica, etc). With a waist level finder, one would think it would be pretty close to using a TLR. I do not find this to be true. the only way for me to be happy with a system camera like this is after a grip or winder and viewfinder have been added which turns it into a larger, heavier beast.
For me, 6x6 is Mamiya 6 or nothing. If mine dies, I'll likely sing a different tune but that's where I'm at.
And it's why I have a 2000fc/m sitting around that's only had a test roll run though it and nothing else.

chuckroast said:

That probably has more to do with currency inflation than it does increasing demand, though.

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The dollar is dead, long live the hundred dollar.

MTGseattle said:

I too am in the category of folks that do not like Hasselblads hand-held. ( The same can be said for Mamiya, Bronica, etc). With a waist level finder, one would think it would be pretty close to using a TLR. I do not find this to be true. the only way for me to be happy with a system camera like this is after a grip or winder and viewfinder have been added which turns it into a larger, heavier beast.
For me, 6x6 is Mamiya 6 or nothing. If mine dies, I'll likely sing a different tune but that's where I'm at.
And it's why I have a 2000fc/m sitting around that's only had a test roll run though it and nothing else.

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I agree. The Bronica SQ-A does have a very handy grip with winder built in that works very nicely for hand holding. Shame there isn’t something similar for the Hasselblad.

I also prefer my Mamiya 6 as I like to shoot on the go most times. I do however love my Hasselblad (on tripod of course) for longer shots (250mm) and also macro stuff and exact framing, where the Hasselblad can excel.

cliveh said:

A Hasselblad is a system camera, with great versatility and supurb engineering and optics. I had a 500C, which was quite cheap because of its age, but still a first class camera. Get one. You wont regret it. It is the dogs bollocks of 6 X 6 format.

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ditto

I had one for a year and sold it. I could never come to terms with the awkward ergonomics, it just didn't work in my hands.

I suppose the biggest question you need to answer is what need would a Hasselblad fill that your existing gear can't? Considering all aspects, such as cost, usability, availability of parts and service in Canada etc.

Make a list of what can a Hasselblad (and only a Hasselblad) do that something else can't? It will be difficult, but be objective about that list, don't make it a list of features on a blad. Make it a list of things on a camera you routinely use, or actively miss on all your current cameras. I couldn't find anything unique in my list, so sold the camera.

For my needs if I want an MF SLR it's a Pentax 67ii, and for a rangefinder it's a Fuji. You already have a RB67, just crop the negs if you want 6x6.

I love my hasselblad!



Never felt the need for a Hassy.

6x6 is kind of a silly format to me, and in any case Rolleiflexes and Mamiya TLRs do it really well. If you want a SLR, there's the Bronica SQ line which will do it perfectly. If you want a Hasselblad because you think it's the highest quality 6x6 SLR out there, well, you're a bit wrong, that award goes to the Rolleiflex SL66.

6x4.5 makes all the sense in the world, as well as 6x7 and even 6x9

As you are primarily a large format protagonist, (and if you do buy into the Hasselblad system), then don't forget the Flexbody.

It allows you to use Hasselblad lenses on a bellowed body that gives the ability to tilt and rise the film back as well as some bellows extension.....just like a miniature LF camera.

You don't have to use a reflex viewer, but it makes the process of composing much easier.

Mike