What's great about Hasselblads?

Sirius Glass · Nov 23, 2009

BrianShaw said:
What about a Canon?

It does not matter when shooting close in sports photography, no AF lens can focus fast enough.

By the way, I am a fan of AF lenses on 35mm cameras for things other than what the OP is doing.

Steve

Poisson Du Jour · Nov 23, 2009

It does not matter when shooting close in sports photography, no AF lens can focus fast enough.

That's news to me indeed.
I'd repeat an earlier post, "What about a Canon?"
(I'm sure Nikon could raise a flag in this area, too). There is: predictive AF, ServoAF (commonly referred to as "track and trap"), range-limited/indexed servo-AF (BIG Canon L-series telephotos, and they all have extremely snappy AF from near to far). Obviously a very strong point of 35mm with an optic matched to use. For me right now I'm having a ball with lensless landscapes in 6x6, 6x7.

djcphoto · Nov 23, 2009

Hasselblads are as much of a fetish item in boarding and biking circles as good boards and bikes are. There is a reason people like them, and it's down to the results. Besides, they're tubular, or rad, or some such...

Poisson Du Jour · Nov 23, 2009

On the subject of the venerated Super Troopers themselves (Hasselblad)...
Here's a super-spec'd Hassy kit to die for, at a fraction of new price, ex-Pro use, and take note all you fellas yonder: he ships worldwide:
eBay Australia.

Oh—.........

Colin Corneau · Nov 23, 2009

There's also the square format -- cool looking in itself (which is sorta the point in 'boarding shoots) but also croppable very easily too.

Pre-focusing is the way to go, and easily done with something like BMX'ing or 'boarding, especially with pros who have their moves planned out very well.

A side grip or winder, with a prism finder gives you almost 35mm ease of use...lots of advantages.

Sirius Glass · Nov 23, 2009

Poisson Du Jour said:
That's news to me indeed.
I'd repeat an earlier post, "What about a Canon?"
(I'm sure Nikon could raise a flag in this area, too). There is: predictive AF, ServoAF (commonly referred to as "track and trap"), range-limited/indexed servo-AF (BIG Canon L-series telephotos, and they all have extremely snappy AF from near to far). Obviously a very strong point of 35mm with an optic matched to use. For me right now I'm having a ball with lensless landscapes in 6x6, 6x7.

Read what was posted, not what your agenda says. You are referring to a telephoto lens and the OP is using a fisheye lens. I said that for this type of photography in which the photographer is very close to a fast moving person on a skate board, an AF lens is not fast enough. When the skate boarder appears in viewfinder of a 30mm Hasselblad [Zeiss] lens (this is approximately equivalent to a 17mm lens on a 35mm camera) at approximately 2 to 5 feet and is moving 2 to 8 feet per second, the laws of physics and control theory clear predict that the AF lens cannot focus that fast, regardless of the label on the front of the camera (Take your pick: Nikon, Canon, Sony, ...). Would you like the angular rate in radians/second or degrees/second?

Now if the skate boarder was 10-15 feet away and a normal lens [80mm on a 120 film camera with a 56cm x 56cm focal plane or 50mm for a 35mm camera], then yes the AF will be able to focus fast enough and in the sports mode focus in near real time.

Steve

John R. · Nov 23, 2009

Why not try an oversized 35 and go with the Pentax 6x7, works great in fashion when things are always moving and changing fast. I don't think the Blad is especially well suited for this type of shooting and I say that as an owner of 553ELX. A TLR can be good too because your viewing never blacks out but advancing the film fast enough could be an issue. I would never use a Blad just because it is a fad thing to do, I can't think of a more ridiculous reason to use one. Forget the others, do your own thing. Have fun.

Venchka · Nov 23, 2009

Q.G. said:
Just keep on using it.
And ask yourself that same question 50 years from now.

I don't have 50 years. I coulda shoulda woulda bought a Hasselblad very early instead of buying & selling other cameras.

John Koehrer · Nov 24, 2009

John R. said:
Why not try an oversized 35 and go with the Pentax 6x7, works great in fashion when things are always moving and changing fast. I don't think the Blad is especially well suited for this type of shooting and I say that as an owner of 553ELX. A TLR can be good too because your viewing never blacks out but advancing the film fast enough could be an issue. I would never use a Blad just because it is a fad thing to do, I can't think of a more ridiculous reason to use one. Forget the others, do your own thing. Have fun.

Pentax 6X7=1/30 flash sync unless you have one of the LS lenses, all of which are longer focal lengths.

eddym · Nov 24, 2009

You're concerned about what camera is popular with skateboarders? Would you want a skateboard because photographers recommend it?

BetterSense · Nov 24, 2009

A great point.

Q.G. · Nov 24, 2009

eddym said:
You're concerned about what camera is popular with skateboarders? Would you want a skateboard because photographers recommend it?

Strikes me as a perfect reason to ask photographers about what camera to get.
Which is what we're in the middle of.

bdial · Nov 24, 2009

You're concerned about what camera is popular with skateboarders? Would you want a skateboard because photographers recommend it?

The skateboarder I know uses a photo tray to change his car's oil...

Russianskater90 · Nov 24, 2009

Skateboard photography is highly evolved. For still images, Medium format is the absolute standard because it simply fits the needs. Most skate photogs use strobes with pocketwizards and a flash meter. This is almost always done manually. Now, having a 35mm camera at this point with fancy autofocus and the like doesnt do much for the photographer who scours the spot for an angles, sets up and measures his lights, and goes on to sit in one spot and grab the shot at peak action. The camera doesn't have to do anything but wait. Naturally, medium format quality is a plus. 4x5's are generally out because of the time needed to set up because you're always prone to get kicked out by security, although there are some memorable 4x5 skate photos. The 1/500 sync is a huuuge plus in working with strobes! Now, Bronica offers almost all the same things as hasselblad including a quality fisheye lens, but how many on here would choose hassy over bronny just the same? Same reasons for us skaters.

Philippe-Georges · Nov 25, 2009

Hasselblads large waste-level finder is ideal for very low-close-to-the-ground framing, what is done a lot in skateboard photography. The photographer is, most of the time, standing, kneeling or laying at the end of the skating curve where the skaters are flying when turning back. The shooting is done from ground-level upward.
And, yes, flashes are used a lot and, by this, the night-by-day results due to the high sync speed and very vivid colours. The rather large format allows the use of 400 ASA films, if not pushed to 800 ASA, necessarily for the small aperture needed for the extended depth of field.
The rugged Hasselblads are perfectly fitting in the rather rough world of skating...
Besides, whats wrong about using (and liking) a Hasselblad?

Philippe

What's great about Hasselblads?

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