So I bought a beatup Hasselblad 500c, but the lens...?

aca · Mar 27, 2019

Appreciate your time and info, thank you.

The price I have now is $330.

I am reading up on the different service / CLA prices i can find and most are between $150-300. (ok, it all depends on the issues they might find).

But i was/am hoping to have some fun and nice photos for just the $330.

Theo Sulphate · Mar 27, 2019

Well, 50mm in 6x6 format is equivalent to a 31mm lens in 35mm format -- wide, but not extreme. Many people use 35mm and 28mm lenses as their normal lens in 35mm format and love it.

You can have fun with it for a while, assuming the lens shutter isn't totally inoperative and the body's mechanisms function.

However, to truly enjoy it, to enjoy the photos it can make, you'll need a CLA on the body and lens. After all, you are dealing with precision mechanisms that are maybe 45 or more years old. Even with the cost of a CLA, the results would be worth it.

Sirius Glass · Mar 27, 2019

I recommend buying the newest body that you can afford and CF or later lenses. That can help having fewer problems and less servicing or repairs with the caveat that one can get a newer body that a professional beat to death versus an older pristine older body. Examine carefully and make sure that anything you buy can be returned.

John Koehrer · Mar 27, 2019

aca said:
Appreciate your time and info, thank you.

The price I have now is $330.

I am reading up on the different service / CLA prices i can find and most are between $150-300. (ok, it all depends on the issues they might find).

But i was/am hoping to have some fun and nice photos for just the $330.

With lens, magazine & finder?

500c
Anyway completed auctions on the bay for body only seem to run from $200-$350. no magazine, no finder.
50mm lens from $120-200
complete camera w/mag, finder & 80 from $550 - $800+ though there was one 500c w/50 under 500.
finder alone $150-200+

500cm adds several hundred $$$

btaylor · Mar 27, 2019

So here is my take: like others have said, if you want the "Hasselblad experience" it's probably going to cost you a few dollars. I know Sirius likes his newer models, personally I like the older classic look and the chrome "C" lenses. But with any of these you just need to be prepared for service costs to make your camera enjoyable to use. I bought my nice 500CM from a guy on this forum, it was in very good shape by all appearances and seemed to operate fine until I got a look at the prints that weren't sharp. So off it went to David Odess for service and $500 later I have a really nice camera that will take care of me for years with hardly a care. Like others have said you just can't expect 50 year old precision mechanical machines to go decades without maintenance. I lucked out on the 50mm and 150mm C lenses I got on eBay, both had somewhat beat up exteriors but clean glass and shutter speeds that were in specification for $150 each. If you aren't prepared or can't spend what you need to keep a Hasselblad running in top shape there are plenty of other 6x6 cameras out there that will take great photos for a whole lot less money and headaches.

KN4SMF · Mar 27, 2019

Sorry if I've come off as an iron fist of authority on this. I didn't set out to become a Hasselblad expert at all. I just wanted a decent working used Hasselblad, like you. I don't know how many it took buying one after another till I found one. 20? Beeats me, never did. So one day I had no choice but to open one up to see if I could do something aout it. That devolved into a 2 year self-imposed exile studying Hasselblads. You can't work on just one. It's addictive. By the time I had sold them all just to get them out of my sanity, I had become an expert. I'll stack my class C and EL work up against Odess himself. There is no such thing as buying one for cheap and expecting a Hasselblad. It might look like one, but it's a corpse. You'e be just as well off with a brownie. Maybe even better as far as outright dependability is concerned. GL. 73

moto-uno · Mar 27, 2019

Bronica ? , Peter

KN4SMF · Mar 27, 2019

moto-uno said:
Bronica ? , Peter

That's a very good idea. Never would have thought of it. A very respectable and capable choice.

Theo Sulphate · Mar 27, 2019

As an alternative, one fully complete system that is modular, robust, and produces high quality images is the Mamiya RB67 series.

The Mamiya RB67 bodies, backs, finders, and lenses are also much less expensive. The RB67 will not look or feel as precise as a Hasselblad, but that is deceptive - it is a well made camera.

I would recommend the Pro S or Pro SD models. I have two Pro S bodies, multiple backs, and about seven lenses -- which I enjoy using more than my Hasselblads, but likely because I prefer the 6x7 format.

Hasselblads:

Mamiya RB67:

btaylor · Mar 28, 2019

Yea, Bronica and Mamiya. I’ve got the GS1 and RZ67. Fantastic systems. Much newer than my ‘blad. NO service costs, they’ve worked perfectly out of the box. Great bargains in today’s market. Great optics. The Hasselblad is smaller and prettier— but it doesn’t take better pictures.

KN4SMF · Mar 28, 2019

The OP wanted a Hasselblad or similar facsimile thereof, that can deliver the goods and check the boxes of compactness and capability, and do it in unmaintenanced condition, and without throwing your entire wallet into it. I'd say the Bronica. The RB is nice, but it's quite the beast compared to a Hasselblad. As for the shutter, I'd be more prone to trust an unmaintenanced focal plane shutter to an iris.

aca · Apr 6, 2019

hello

Little update: after I returned the Hasselblad, I made another gamble and i won an online auction for a Bronica S2A, I quickly shoot a 120 film and developed it last week. The focusing seems to be ok for now, but I am aware i like all other S2A owners need to replace the foams at some point. In the meantime I am trying to have fun shooting MF even with this Beast that indeed sounds like Thor's hamer
I really like the way 120 negatives looks/feels.

Anyway thanks again for all the information /help and one day i might own a Blad myself to play around with.

Happy shooting

Sirius Glass · Apr 6, 2019

Enjoy

papagene · Apr 8, 2019

I also have a S2a and it has become my go to camera lately. I really enjoy using it and am quite pleased with the prints I get from its negs, very sharp indeed.

moto-uno · Apr 8, 2019

A Bronica ..... makes me smile . I had an S2 for a few years and loved the pictures . Unlike a Mamiya 7 , you never have to check if the shutter fired . Peter

So I bought a beatup Hasselblad 500c, but the lens...?

Membership Council

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency