Suggestions for a Hasselblad portrait lens

[Ara Ghajanian]

I have a Hasselblad 500C/M and I was wondering which one of their lenses would be a good portrait lens. I've been shooting portraits with the 80mm and I'm not too happy with the look of it, seems a bit too wide angle. I don't really want to spend more than $1000. Thanks in advance for all your suggestions, I can always count on you guys.

Ara

 

[Silverpixels5]

I use the 150 for tight head and shoulder shots. Works great, and I didn't pay anywhere near 1000.

 

[eric]

The 150mm CF goes for about 7-800 bucks these days.

 

[Ara Ghajanian]

I saw some 150mm C Sonnar chrome lenses on eBay for around $400. I thought it was kind of too low a price, but they said the glass was excellent and it worked fine. I thought I'd have to pay much more, but I guess not.

 

[Silverpixels5]

I think the chrome lenses are only single coated, but i'm not sure. The black lenses have the T* multi-coating, which is supposed to help with contrast and glare. My 80 lens is chrome, and I've never had a problem with it.

 

[rbarker]

I use either the 120 Makro-Planar or the 180mm Sonnar. For tight head shots, either a Proxar or an extension ring is needed with the 180, but I prefer the more natural perspective that the extra camera-to-subject distance provided by the 180. The 150 Sonnar sits in the middle, and many like it. Note that all of these lenses are almost abusively sharp. Many subject will appreciate a little softening of their images - either with a Zeiss Softar or some other form of diffusion.

I believe that the all-chrome lenses were for the earlier 1000/2000 models. I'm not sure about full compatibility of those lenses with your 500C/M.

 

[Silverpixels5]

My 180 works fine with my 500C/M. Although I believe a very slight portion of the top of the image gets cut off in the viewfinder. That part is in the negative though. I could be wrong though....it may be that that part gets obstructed from the viewfinder when I have the extension tube on with the 180.

I believe that the all-chrome lenses were for the earlier 1000/2000 models. I'm not sure about full compatibility of those lenses with your 500C/M.

 

[Canuck]

FWIW, I used a borrowed blad system for awhile to play with many years ago and they were all the chromies (50,80,100) with a 500C. The lenses were before the T* era and colour rendition was super under lower light (ie low contrast) conditions. Bright contrasty daylight, the color slides I got werent as nice as the ones with the nice even lighting of the canopy of a forest.

Only thing I would watch for are the conditions of the compur shutters. They were/are nice and robust, but they still are mechanical, so after 30+ years of wear and tear, they maybe ready for a rebuild. Bottom line ... chromies are still very nice in color use so if you can find one for cheap ... go for it. According to local BLad fiend, the 100 Planar was the best lens ever.

 

[Claire Senft]

Mutar anyone

You could also use a 1.4 or 2x Mutar. The near focus distance would stay the same as it is with the original lens. This would give either the equivalent of 112mm or 160mm. If stopped down one stop the quality should be quite good which would be the equivalent of f8 to 11. As far as the 150mm C lens I would not be so much worried about the quality of the single coated glass as I would be about the Compur shutter. The Compur was a very nice shutter. It is also subseptible to hanging up, if not much used and particularly if used in cold weather and could easily cost a $100.00 to service. I guess if I wanted a lens for portraiture my vote would be for the 180mm due to its performance being better wide open than the 150mm..which is no slouch. My only concern with the 120 S planar would be if I had to work so close to the subject as to forshorten the features. The 160mm CB lens is also nice. Frankly, none of these would be other than a fine choice.

 

[André E.C.]

My 180 works fine with my 500C/M. Although I believe a very slight portion of the top of the image gets cut off in the viewfinder. That part is in the negative though. I could be wrong though....it may be that that part gets obstructed from the viewfinder when I have the extension tube on with the 180.

It`s a well known flaw of the 500`s C-C/M, vignetting with lenses longer than 150mm, that`s why they built a bigger mirror for the 501 C/M.


Cheers

André

 

[gr82bart]

I'd recommend the 120mm. You can get up close and personal - great for beauty shots.

Art.

 

[blansky]

My choice is the 150.

Pretty much the only lens I've used for 30 years.

Michael

 

[André E.C.]

My choice is the 150.

Michael

Also mine, my CF is one of my favorites!

Cheers

André

 

[Terence]

150mm CF. The C lenses have the aperture and shutter speed locked together unless you depress a lever. A real PITA. Keep an eye on KEH.com for a CF. I got a "bargain" rated lens from them for $565 and to this day cannot figure out why it was rated as such. There was some MINOR brassing around the lenshood bayonet lugs, but the appearance, shutter and glass are otherwise flawless. And it comes with a 10 day return period with no questions asked. They also have some sort of warranty, I believe, but I've never needed it.

 

[Frank Petronio]

Of course, the nicest HBlad portrait lens is the 110/2 that can only be used on the focal plane shutter (F) series. The 150 is the most popular lens used by portrait studios. The 120 and 180 will be slightly sharper than the 150, but sharpness is not always what you want for portraits anyway. The chrome lenses are fine, especially for portraits, if you can live with the linked shutter speed/aperture and sharp knurled metal rings. Also, HBlad doesn't stock parts for the chrome lenses anymore (but there are thousands of dead ones to scrounge from). The later C lenses were made with the T* coating - they were also made concurrently in black chrome - and are marked with a red "T*" on the barrel. Considering how cheap HB lenses are these days, aim for the CF series... INMO the mid 1980s were the peak, and they the quality went downhill in the mid-1990s.

 

[Bob Carnie]

The 120 mm by far, one of the nicest lenses made.

 

[david b]

Yeah...another vote for the 150.

I picked up a 150 CFI for $925 in mint condition.

 

[skahde]

Also, HBlad doesn't stock parts for the chrome lenses anymore.

Asked Hasselblad about this issue last summer: all parts for C-lenses were still available except aperture (sic!) blades, pc-sockets and contacts and some front-lenses. Doesn't sound too bad 25 years after they stopped making them. I would always take that small risk instead of not being able to shoot because I could not afford a CF.

On topic: The 150mm works well for a range of subjects including portraits, is compact and available for moderate prices. You'll like it!