Talk me out of buying an SWC

[Sirius Glass]

The field of view is so wide that it is no hardship to frame a little loose and crop when you print. The lens is sharp enough that a bit of cropping doesn't really affect the final print quality.

I spent several decades shooting slides and if I had to I would remount a slide to do some cropping. I learned that it is much better to get the composition correct before taking the photograph and then not have to crop later.

 

[Pieter12]

I don't find the finder a "design flaw," rather a compromise. The manual states that the field of view in the finder is 3" wider and 6" taller all around, regardless of the subject distance. It doesn't really come into play until you are shooting at very close distance. I think I can manage with that.

 

[k.hendrik]

No, I'm not going to talk you out of it!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/77846450@N00/32309518778/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77846450@N00/30795472312/in/dateposted-public/
go for this gem and be happy for the rest of your shooting days
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77846450@N00/24150966815/in/dateposted-public/

 

[film_man]

The SWC is rectilinear and that is very different than the run of the mill shorter than 20mm lenses [for 35mm cameras] of which most valuable feature is to distort everything for the Holy Grail of distortion. The SWC is a real camera, not a Lens Baby. If you want a real camera buy and use the SWC, otherwise save your money and buy a Lens Baby.

I will agree to that and is why I don't really buy anything wider than 28mm in 135. However the one exception so far has been the Zeiss 21/4.5 ZM which I think is related to the Biogon in the SWC. It is amazingly well corrected, zero distortion and you really don't feel like you are shooting such a wide lens.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Foto ohne Wörter...

Hasselblad SWC

 

[Sirius Glass]

I will agree to that and is why I don't really buy anything wider than 28mm in 135. However the one exception so far has been the Zeiss 21/4.5 ZM which I think is related to the Biogon in the SWC. It is amazingly well corrected, zero distortion and you really don't feel like you are shooting such a wide lens.

I loved the 21mm Minolta lens even thought it is of limited use. I still have a 20mm - 35mm AF zoom lens. I would not go wider for a 35mm lens.

 

[Luis-F-S]

Best MF camera I’ve ever owned. Made more money with it than any of my other’Blads!!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Best MF camera I’ve ever owned. Made more money with it than any of my other’Blads!!

I have more fun with the SWC than any other camera.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

Best MF camera I’ve ever owned. Made more money with it than any of my other’Blads!!

I have more fun with the SWC than any other camera.

Guys stop! it was supposed to be delivered today. I saw a FedEx truck from my window and went down to sign for the package but the driver never came to my house. No note on my door. A few minutes later the tracking showed "Delivery attempted, signature required" I guess we will see if FedEx wants to come out of their truck tomorrow...

 

[cjbecker]

Guys stop! it was supposed to be delivered today. I saw a FedEx truck from my window and went down to sign for the package but the driver never came to my house. No note on my door. A few minutes later the tracking showed "Delivery attempted, signature required" I guess we will see if FedEx wants to come out of their truck tomorrow...

Fedex ground is terrible, that won’t even try at my house sometimes and say no one was home, when we were home all day.

 

[Huss]

SWC? Meh.

Get a Brooks Plaubel Veriwide 100.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Best MF camera I’ve ever owned. Made more money with it than any of my other’Blads!!

While working for the industry for many years, this camera never let me down and served me endlessly and without ever 'contradicting', it is built like a bulldozer, although it doesn't look like one!

 

[Arthurwg]

There is a serious design flaw with the Hasselblad SWC. You can focus but you cannot compose a picture accurately. Why?

Because the lens cuts off the view of the foreground as seen through the viewfinder. And because the lens is so wide there is a lot of foreground and because the lens is so sharp there is a lot of detail in that foreground. When I used a SWC for deep-focus front to back landscape pictures I used it upside down. The un-see-able part of the view is then up in the sky where there is less chance of a critical framing error.

Yes, there is a ground-glass back for the SWC that solves any focussing, framing, and composition errors but it is a cumbersome answer to a problem a SLR doesn't have.

Accurate composition is not the point of the SWC. If that's necessary you can always use a tripod with GG and prism finder. But the real charm of the SWC is that you can shoot from the hip if you want and have a pretty good idea of what you'll get. If you use the viewfinder if comes close enough for government work And you can always cut-to-fit. For me, the most important part of using the camera is the bubble level.

 

[Sirius Glass]

SWC? Meh.

Get a Brooks Plaubel Veriwide 100.

That does not compare at all, but then you would know that if you have been reading the posts on this and other threads. Of course that has never slowed you down for post what you do not know on threads.

 

[MattKing]

That does not compare at all, but then you would know that if you have been reading the posts on this and other threads. Of course that has never slowed you down for post what you do not know on threads.

Sirius, your blinkers are showing.
Huss prefers the differences that the Veriwide 100 provide.
You prefer the differences that the SWC provides.
Your preferences are fine, just not more important than Huss'.

 

[SrMi]

SWC? Meh.

Get a Brooks Plaubel Veriwide 100.

Interesting camera, but seems a bit finicky according to this positive review: https://www.dantestella.com/technical/veriwide.html

P.S.: My 905SWC just arrived, what a beauty!

 

[film_man]

That does not compare at all, but then you would know that if you have been reading the posts on this and other threads. Of course that has never slowed you down for post what you do not know on threads.

I think Huss' point (which everyone can see is tongue-in-cheek) is just as valid as your various interjections of "buy a Hasselblad" in threads that are about 35mm or TLRs or basically anything but Hasselblad. Kettle, pot and all that.

 

[ruilourosa]

Dante Stella review is very limited and erroneous...

Although i find 47mm super angulon a very good lens, biogon is another thing as os the camera itself

Different things...

 

[grat]

Sirius, your blinkers are showing.
Huss prefers the differences that the Veriwide 100 provide.
You prefer the differences that the SWC provides.
Your preferences are fine, just not more important than Huss'.

Besides-- the subject is "Talk me out of...".

Which apparently, we failed miserably at doing.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

It arrived! I should apologize to the FedEx driver - today I sat on my porch to make sure I wouldn't miss it. It turns out she parks around the corner and walks to the houses on the block, so when I saw the truck yesterday she probably actually did visit my building and got no response. The camera is in about the shape I was expecting. KEH "ugly" encompasses a very wide range of conditions. This one comes in perfect condition in every way except for a small, deep scratch (chip?) on the front element. I am sure it will have as much effect on the image quality as an equivalent piece of dust on the front element would -- i.e. not very much. The only question I have for the peanut gallery here is how badly do you think it will impact resale value. I paid $1200 for this camera and its finder. If I decide in 6 months I really want a Mamiya 6 [unlikely], or I need the cash, could I recoup the investment?

The second question for SWC users is an oddity. I have two backs sitting on my desk right now, an early C12 with the window in the back and a late A24. For whatever reason, this SWC only works with the A24. It couples fine with the C12, but won't fire, as if the darkslide is still in or the film hasn't been advanced. Both work fine on my 500 C/M. Any ideas why?

 

[Sirius Glass]

I think Huss' point (which everyone can see is tongue-in-cheek) is just as valid as your various interjections of "buy a Hasselblad" in threads that are about 35mm or TLRs or basically anything but Hasselblad. Kettle, pot and all that.

Pot is legal here but I do not have any. Will you send me some?

 

[Sirius Glass]

It arrived! I should apologize to the FedEx driver - today I sat on my porch to make sure I wouldn't miss it. It turns out she parks around the corner and walks to the houses on the block, so when I saw the truck yesterday she probably actually did visit my building and got no response. The camera is in about the shape I was expecting. KEH "ugly" encompasses a very wide range of conditions. This one comes in perfect condition in every way except for a small, deep scratch (chip?) on the front element. I am sure it will have as much effect on the image quality as an equivalent piece of dust on the front element would -- i.e. not very much. The only question I have for the peanut gallery here is how badly do you think it will impact resale value. I paid $1200 for this camera and its finder. If I decide in 6 months I really want a Mamiya 6 [unlikely], or I need the cash, could I recoup the investment?

No, it should not affect the resale value.

The second question for SWC users is an oddity. I have two backs sitting on my desk right now, an early C12 with the window in the back and a late A24. For whatever reason, this SWC only works with the A24. It couples fine with the C12, but won't fire, as if the darkslide is still in or the film hasn't been advanced. Both work fine on my 500 C/M. Any ideas why?

I do not know why. Shoot a frame on the C12, advance the film and check. If not, call KEH and ask them for help/advice.

 

[Huss]

Besides-- the subject is "Talk me out of...".

Which apparently, we failed miserably at doing.

I know! I was the only one that paid attention and Sirius got all mad at me!

SWC is fantastic. Brooks Plaubel Veriwide is a funky alternative, as it is, as the name says, Veriwide.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I know! I was the only one that paid attention and Sirius got all mad at me!

SWC is fantastic. Brooks Plaubel Veriwide is a funky alternative, as it is, as the name says, Veriwide.

The WideLux takes wide photographs but it is not the same or similar to the SWC. Just a different animal.

 

[grat]

Pfft. Put a 75mm lens on a Shen Hao PTB617 and you can take a picture so wide you'll be in the shot while standing behind the camera.