Weekend spent with Hasselblad 501cm 40mm and 120 mm lenses

SteveT · Aug 15, 2016

Just returned from a wonderful weekend trying out the two aforementioned lenses. I shot 3 rolls of Provia 100 and took about 6 frames with the 120 and all the rest with the 40mm. I am waiting nervously for the results.

Mike Roe · Aug 17, 2016

I just developed a couple rolls last night from a lasts minute trip to a beach with my Pentax 67. They are ok and nice in a minimalist way but the water and sky were both mid tones with not a lot of brights, so somewhat bland in BW. I missed the best light. Still a good time though. I have to try provia some time. I was shooting Fuji Neopan for the first time this weekend.

SteveT · Aug 17, 2016

My prints arrived this morning and like you a lot of them are a little washed out. Photoshop CS6 required I think. Of the 35 I took I am pleased with 6 of them which is a pretty high failure rate. I should have saved myself some money and not hired the 120mm as the results were particularly disappointing. I might revisit the 50mm lens I hired last time and see how I get on. I also need a decent light meter too.

Trask · Aug 17, 2016

I'm curious -- I thought the 120mm lenses were particularly suited to more macro photography, but still did well at infinity. Are you saying the images made with the 120 (f/4 or f/5.6?) were un sharp, or??? What didn't you like about the results?

cramej · Aug 17, 2016

So you've only shot 35 exposures split between two lenses and you've already come to the conclusion that they're disappointing? I rarely have a new lens that I love the results from the first time I shoot with it. Some focal lengths require different compositional thinking to bring out their best qualities. Give them another try (with a meter) in a different setting or with different subjects. It took me a little while to get used to my Mamiya RB 50mm and figure out that foreground is important and when there is too much sky included in the frame.

Oh, and 17.1% keepers for the first time out with the lenses? That's pretty good. Think of how a 35mm shooter would feel about that since you shot the same number of frames.

TooManyShots · Aug 17, 2016

You left out the details. Did you digitally or optically print your negatives or slides in this case?? Did you check the focus accuracy between the lens and the body....before you commit yourself in shooting 3 rolls or Provia?

darkroommike · Aug 17, 2016

My own take on film photography? If I have one photograph on any given roll that asks for additional exploration in either the darkroom or on the computer, then I'm doing good. I call it the 80 sq.in. rule, one contact in 36 if I'm shooting 35mm, one good contact in 12 if shooting with a Hasselblad, one in 4 if shooting 4x5 and make every shot count if shooting 8x10.

Keep shooting, you need further work with both lenses. Next time take only one camera, one lens, and one roll of film. It will make you work harder. And make your work better.

Ansel Adams:
“Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.”

TooManyShots · Aug 17, 2016

I also find shooting in color is more challenging because you can not manipulate the color intensity (not that I know how) during the development process. If the color is washed out is because the scene is not sufficiently lit. I doubt that any labs today are doing optical prints. Most likely, the OP's slides were printed digitally from a scanned image of the slides...maybe without any enhancements before they get printed.

Mike Roe · Aug 17, 2016

on my P67 I have found Ektar to be outstanding with the 55mm F4. That same lens with this Acros on a bluish evening comes out flat, but I sort of expected it given the lighting. A more dramatic sky would have helped along with tripod weight. Even with the mirror up the P67 has a blasting shutter. However, I try to remember that this is film and BW. It has a minimialist quality while still retaining mixed, albeit, mid tones. My flatness appeared due to the lighting at the time so I'm not knocking the film, I just think it is one of the added nuances of film. Your results depend on tangible, physical realities of light, tangible film, processing liquids and of course the dust I get on my negatives no matter how hard I try. So one roll of intense sharp color and one of mixed BW from the same lens. I say just keep shooting and if you are able process at home. Color is just as easy as BW. In fact I find it faster to raise temp for color than lower for BW.

SteveT · Aug 17, 2016

Perhaps I am guilty of being over optimistic in what I hoped to achieve. Having only just purchased the 501 I was curious about which lens I would find more useful when taking predominately landscape images. The film was processed and scanned and prints made but I do not know whether they were made from the scans or directly from the transparencies. I will ask. My first outing with Provia 100 and 503cw with a 50mm lens I had developed by Company A. I then sent the transparencies off to Company B and had retrospective prints made and the transparencies scanned and put onto a disc. This time round I got Company A to develop the transparencies, print the film and scan and save the scans to disc. The weather conditions were bright (EV 14) for the most part but I did not have a hood for the 40mm FLE lens which might have made a difference.

I appreciate I have got a long way to go but I will not be put off by this set of prints. I appreciate all of your comments and advice. Thank You.

TooManyShots · Aug 17, 2016

SteveT said:
Perhaps I am guilty of being over optimistic in what I hoped to achieve. Having only just purchased the 501 I was curious about which lens I would find more useful when taking predominately landscape images. The film was processed and scanned and prints made but I do not know whether they were made from the scans or directly from the transparencies. I will ask. My first outing with Provia 100 and 503cw with a 50mm lens I had developed by Company A. I then sent the transparencies off to Company B and had retrospective prints made and the transparencies scanned and put onto a disc. This time round I got Company A to develop the transparencies, print the film and scan and save the scans to disc. The weather conditions were bright (EV 14) for the most part but I did not have a hood for the 40mm FLE lens which might have made a difference.

I appreciate I have got a long way to go but I will not be put off by this set of prints. I appreciate all of your comments and advice. Thank You.

I am pretty sure your transparencies were printed digitally. If that's the case, you can upload the files to many of the online printing labs and to have them print them. But first, you must have the hi res version of the scanned transparencies first. Again, is a workflow you must sort it out first. For color, I only shoot color negatives because is easier for me to develop them at home. I also develop my own BW negatives. I scan/copy them with a macro lens. If I need to have them printed, I would just upload the files to an online lab.

Weekend spent with Hasselblad 501cm 40mm and 120 mm lenses

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