I'm getting me a Hasselblad SWC with 38 mm Biogon lens (and I'm happy about it)

Dan Fromm · Apr 11, 2014

Congratulations on getting a fine camera with a wonderful and seducing lens. You'll get over the first rush of passion.

Years ago the late Steve Grimes put an ex-aerial camera 38/4.5 Biogon in a Copal #0 for me. As soon as I received it I put it on a board and shot a roll of film with it on my humble Century Graphic. I used a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 (you'd say 6x9) roll holder. When the film came back from the lab I fell madly passionately in love with the lens and couldn't bring myself to use any other lens for several months. Here http://1drv.ms/1qFtq0Y is a shot from the first roll.

An attempt to shoot a broad vista (the Mono Lake basin, from the overlook on US 395 north of it) on a hazy day broke the spell but the lens is still wonderful. You'll love your SWC even though its 38 Biogon, like mine, it isn't the best lens for every possible shot.

Richard S. (rich815) · Apr 11, 2014

Congrats again. Your excitement is palatable and I'm jealous just imagining you opening your package. Enjoy!

TheToadMen · Apr 11, 2014

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
Congrats again. Your excitement is palatable and I'm jealous just imagining you opening your package. Enjoy!

Hi Richard,
You're welcome to come over and shoot some rolls with it
Bert from Holland

Richard S. (rich815) · Apr 11, 2014

TheToadMen said:
Hi Richard,
You're welcome to come over and shoot some rolls with it
Bert from Holland

Noted!

TheToadMen · Apr 19, 2014

I'll be in Paris next week for one day with the family to see all the sites. They will allow me to take with me one camera and one bag only :confused:

So I'll take the SWC with some B&W films, probably FP4+ and Fomapan to test my new camera.
I shot two rolls unto now but didn't have the time to develop it yet. The camera handles real fine
and is very light to carry. The real test will be Paris.

(But maybe I'll sneak in a pinhole camera as well ...)

Richard S. (rich815) · Apr 19, 2014

Awesome trip Bert. My jealousy of you Europeans being so close to so many cultures and diverse locations. On the other hand still plenty to shoot around the San Francisco Bay Area! Please share some images when you return!

TheToadMen · Apr 19, 2014

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
Awesome trip Bert. My jealousy of you Europeans being so close to so many cultures and diverse locations. On the other hand still plenty to shoot around the San Francisco Bay Area! Please share some images when you return!

Hi Richard,
Looking at all the images from your great national parks in the USA, I'm jealous too.
I'll post the images from Paris in due time, for sure!
Bert

infundibulum · Apr 20, 2014

That's great choice of camera! I'VE BEEN USING ONE OF THOSE THE PAST TWO YEARS AND IT WORKS JUST FINE WITH COLOR FILM. My SWC looks just like the one you have in the photo, from 1963, you do not need to spend more as much to get the T* versions. It is super sharp and quite a fine camera, a joy to own and use.

TheToadMen · May 3, 2014

I've been to Paris for one day (with family) and was able to squeeze 3 rolls through between shopping, etc. I also shot 2 rolls around my house, testing the camera on several subjects (surroundings, buildings, plants, animals, ...). I shot 1x Fomapan 100, 1x Kodak Portra 160 and 2x Fuji NPC160 (expired 2005). I hope I can have these films developed next week. Can't wait to see what the results are. The lens is uncoated so lens flare might be an issue when shooting on sunny days. So I made some test shots (almost) direct into the sun to see what the effect will be.

The camera seems to be in good working order. It handles very well and is very light to carry. A fine piece of 49 years old machinery.
But the film back may need a CLA. It has a little slag when attached to the body. I got me an A24 back as well and that fits tight to the body. I haven't used this last film back yet, but I have several 220 roll films left (out of date 2005):
- 20 x Fuji NPC 160 (= negative color film)
- 30 x Fuji Provia 100F (= RDPIII slide film)

K-G was so kind to check this for me and it is also possible to use an A24 back with 120 roll film as well:

I dug out my old The Hasselblad Manual by Ernst Wildi , and there he writes (quote) 120 roll film can be used in an A24 magazine. The spacing , however , becomes somewhat wide towards the end of the roll but all 12 images still go on the film. The first image is very close to the paper leader. To place it a litle further away, move the black line with arrows about 5 mm past the red index. (end qoute).
Karl-Gustaf

I'll post some results when I get the films back and can scan some negatives.

frank · May 3, 2014

I'm very much looking forward to your results.

Richard S. (rich815) · May 3, 2014

Is it really uncoated? I thought maybe single-coated....

Dan Fromm · May 3, 2014

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
Is it really uncoated? I thought maybe single-coated....

Richard, I can't speak for the OP's camera and its wonderful lens, but years ago I bought 20 38/4.5 Biogons from a surplus dealer. Most were attached to aerial cameras. All made in the late '60s, all coated. The coating's hard to discern but its there. The one Steve Grimes remounted in a #0 for me is very flare resistant, even with the sun in the frame.

Cheers,

Dan

JW PHOTO · May 3, 2014

Dan Fromm said:
Richard, I can't speak for the OP's camera and its wonderful lens, but years ago I bought 20 38/4.5 Biogons from a surplus dealer. Most were attached to aerial cameras. All made in the late '60s, all coated. The coating's hard to discern but its there. The one Steve Grimes remounted in a #0 for me is very flare resistant, even with the sun in the frame.

Cheers,

Dan

Dan,
Those must be special lenses or a special coating 'cause my non "T" is pretty darn flare prone when the sun is in the scene. My lens has no marks, internal fog or any defects that would induce flare either. It's not terrible, but it's not great either. Maybe they/yours were different since they were intended for aerial photography. JW

Dan Fromm · May 3, 2014

I dunno, JW, as far as I know the 38/4.5 Biogons that Zeiss sold to AGI for mounting in AGI's F.135 cameras were the same as all the others. The only difference between them and the ones delivered to Hasselblad in SyncroCompurs is that ones for AGI were mounted in barrels to fit AGI's own shutter.

Maris · May 3, 2014

The Hasselblad SWC is superb for deep focus landscapes BUT the the viewfinder image is cut off at the bottom by the lens barrel. To get around this limitation and compose things in the extreme foreground the camera can be used upside down. Now the bit you can't see is sky or cloud where good framing is perhaps less critical.

TheToadMen · May 4, 2014

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
Is it really uncoated? I thought maybe single-coated....

Hi Richard,
I could only find this info:
"In 1973, the SWC Biogon was among the first lenses to receive the T* multicoating. Zeiss began with the wide angle lenses that benefited from the multicoating process than the longer focal length lenses." (source: http://www.gilghitelman.com/news_0005.html)

I have the old model with a pre-T* lens. When I look at the front glass I see no coating. But when there is a bright light (like from a window) reflecting in the lens, I see a lightly purple shade in the reflection. So I'm guessing you're right in that this lens probably has a single coating of some kind.

TheToadMen · May 4, 2014

Maris said:
The Hasselblad SWC is superb for deep focus landscapes BUT the the viewfinder image is cut off at the bottom by the lens barrel. To get around this limitation and compose things in the extreme foreground the camera can be used upside down. Now the bit you can't see is sky or cloud where good framing is perhaps less critical.

Hi Maris,
Focussing is something to get used to with this camera. I was given quite some info about parallax problems with the view finder, so I hope I didn't over-comensate. We'll see when the first films are developed.
But your tip is new to me: brilliant and simple. I'll keep it in mind.

Richard S. (rich815) · May 4, 2014

TheToadMen said:
Hi Richard,
I could only find this info:
"In 1973, the SWC Biogon was among the first lenses to receive the T* multicoating. Zeiss began with the wide angle lenses that benefited from the multicoating process than the longer focal length lenses." (source: http://www.gilghitelman.com/news_0005.html)

I have the old model with a pre-T* lens. When I look at the front glass I see no coating. But when there is a bright light (like from a window) reflecting in the lens, I see a lightly purple shade in the reflection. So I'm guessing you're right in that this lens probably has a single coating of some kind.

Yeah, it's probably SC. I have some older chrome Hasselblad glass I'm pretty sure is single-coated and some Rolleiflex TLRs and SL66 lenses that are too. Plus a number of my LF glass (Fuji) is SC too. i think we'd have to go WAY back to find uncoated lenses (my 35/3.5 Elmar for LTM is!).

Frankly I like SC glass better oftentimes as I like a more moderate contrast in my B&W which is 99% of my film work nowadays. And with a hood flare is rarely an issue (harder with the ultra-wide glass I guess). Looking forward to seeing your results. Ever since your first post I've been itching to get back out with my 40/4 FLE CF Distagon on my 500CM but have not had the chance....

TheToadMen · May 13, 2014

Small update:
I collected the developed film today from the lab:
- 2x Fuji NPC160 (expired 2002)
- 1x Ilford FP4+ (fresh film)
- 1 x Fomapan 100 (fresh film)
- 1x Kodak Portra 160 NC (fresh film)

The B&W films were developed with Ilford DDX.

The lab guy agreed that the films were well exposed. So the shutter is working as expected.
Looking at the negatives I see no light leaks. In two images there is something, but I guess it is from flare.
I have to scan these images to get a better look, but I know I made a few shots direct into the sun to see what the effect would be with this single coated lens.

So far so good. I hope I can find some time next week to scan some negatives to get a closer look. This week is filled with work assignments and deadly deadlines....

When I do, I'll post some scans here for your assessments.

frank · May 13, 2014

Those are the worst deadlines! Good luck.

Looking forward to results!

frank · Aug 12, 2016

Hey Bert! How are things going with your SWC?

I'm getting me a Hasselblad SWC with 38 mm Biogon lens (and I'm happy about it)

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency