Which MF system to keep?

Graham_Martin · May 5, 2010

I'm on the horns of a huge dilemma. I need to sell one of my MF systems in order to fund a new purchase, plus I don't use either one enough to really justify keeping both. Having said that, I will be retiring in a few months and intend to devote more time to my photography both film and digital.

I have a Hasselblad 500 C/M plus 50mm, 80mm, and 150mm lenses, several backs and other accessories. My other system is a Mamiya 645AFD with 45mm, 55-100, 150mm AF lenses, a 500mm manual focus, 4 backs and some accessories. Sale of either system should generate enough funds to pay for my new purchase.

Here are the pros and cons of the 500 C/M from my point of view:

'blad

I get into another mental "zone" when using the Hasselblad
I love having to take the time to do everything manually
Fantastic lenses
Never having to worry about batteries running down

Manual focus lenses make it hard for me to get good "grab" shots especially at social events
Lenses are very expensive thus reducing the number of lenses I can afford
Older body and lenses may require more frequent and expensive repairs
Doesn't work for me a "spontaneous" use camera

Mamiya advantages

AF lenses increase the number of keepers especially when no time to manually focus
Lenses are less expensive while still delivering quality that is good enough for me
Built in exposure meter saves time when shooting "on the fly"
Similar look and feel to 35mm SLR (some may feel this is a disadvantage)

Disadvantages

Doesn't give me the same personal satisfaction as using the 'blad (hard to quantify but I think you know what I mean). I had almost the same feeling when I owned an RB67.
With only one AF point and slower auto-focus is not as versatile as today's DSLRs (I use Nikons)
Shortage of available lenses from places like KEH
Have not been overly happy with the built in meter but this could be as much my fault as opposed to the camera's meter

I use the Hasselblad almost exclusively for landscapes and architecture. In other words when I have plenty of time to set up everything to my liking.

I use the Mamiya for social events (want to use at a wedding this summer), or other situations where the subject may be moving or I need to set up quickly.

My new purchase will be a Nikon D3 which will become my main body.

I realize the ultimate decision is mine, but I value the input of members who may have been in a similar quandary.

Thanks!

MFstooges · May 5, 2010

You didn't mention blad's disadvantage so I think you just answered your own question.

Let the Mamiya go. Use the blad for your zen moment and D3 for snapshots

Sirius Glass · May 5, 2010

Graham,

From what you said, you like the "zone" the Hasselblad puts you in. However, the focus is slow for social events and the lenses are costly. I have gotten very good lenses in EX condition at KEH for $800 ± $150.
For social events:

Indoors: use a strobe and prefocus for the distance range you want. The strobe control will take care of the exposure. Use any shutter speed, 1/125, 1/250, or 1/500 s they are all in sync.
Outdoors: use ISO 400 speed film and you will be shooting at 1/500s at f/8 to f/16 with a great depth of field to use the hyper focal distance.

As a fallback use the Nikon D3 for social events.

Steve

Graham_Martin · May 5, 2010

Thanks Steve. It's funny you mention the strobe. I have a Metz 54-MZ4 for the Mamiya, but I just ordered the SCA adapter and sync cord from B&H for use on the 'blad. If I just set the Metz to Auto would I be good to go so far as most exposures are concerned? The 400 speed film has "saved" me on several occasions when I wanted to hand hold at a faster shutter speed.

Sirius Glass · May 5, 2010

Graham_Martin said:
Thanks Steve. It's funny you mention the strobe. I have a Metz 54-MZ4 for the Mamiya, but I just ordered the SCA adapter and sync cord from B&H for use on the 'blad. If I just set the Metz to Auto would I be good to go so far as most exposures are concerned? The 400 speed film has "saved" me on several occasions when I wanted to hand hold at a faster shutter speed.

Yes, you can use the Metz in Auto. Just set the f/stop at the value for the the ISO on the strobe dial. As I posted before, the shutter speed does not matter when a leaf shutter is used; focal plane shutters have maximum synch speeds based on the manufacturer and model.

Steve

clayne · May 5, 2010

You shouldn't require auto-focus for capturing a spontaneous moment. You need to reexamine how you approach a scene or subject and the kind of shots you get from that. It helps to have a high sense of awareness and pre-focus accordingly. You don't have to rely on technology, e.g. auto-focus.

Sirius Glass · May 5, 2010

clayne said:
You shouldn't require auto-focus for capturing a spontaneous moment. You need to reexamine how you approach a scene or subject and the kind of shots you get from that. It helps to have a high sense of awareness and pre-focus accordingly. You don't have to rely on technology, e.g. auto-focus.

The Hasselblad 500 C/M does not have auto focus. We are talking about the auto feature of the Metz strobe cutting the light burst off when the proper amount of light has bounced off the subject and back into the sensor.

MikeSeb · May 5, 2010

Graham, since you will be devoting yourself to photography in your retirement, personal satisfaction seems to me to be the most important factor to consider.

Anything the 'blad can't handle due to its perceived disadvantages will be child's play for the D3.

You can find an extra 500 body for not much and keep it as a spare; but I don't think repairs are likely to become a problem for as long as you'll be using the camera (one advantage of being a codger, as I'm finding out.)

So my vote is keep the blad, lose the mamiya.

waynecrider · May 5, 2010

Personally I would sell both. I'm not going to say why, but the facts will speak for themselves once you start shooting the D3. You can pickup a MF camera later if you really desire the continue in the format.

photomat- · May 5, 2010

Have to agree with others here, ditch the Mamiya. I especially like Sirius's post, I do this with 400 speed film in daylight shooting hyper focal. I am biased though, I shoot with a Hasselblad

Graham_Martin · May 5, 2010

MFstooges said:
You didn't mention blad's disadvantage so I think you just answered your own question.

Let the Mamiya go. Use the blad for your zen moment and D3 for snapshots

I did mention some disadvantages of the the Hasselblad, but I neglected to put a caption as I did with the Mamiya.

Based on the advice so far the Hasselblad is the one to keep, and it is difficult for me to disagree.

Sirius Glass · May 5, 2010

And finally in the words of a wise man:

MikeSeb said:
So my vote is keep the blad, lose the mamiya.

I ditched a C330 with three lenses, Paraminder and prism for a Hasselblad and it was one of the best things I ever did for myself.

Steve

Kevin Caulfield · May 5, 2010

You obviously appreciate the quality of the 'blad, so I'm sure you would be disappointed to lose that.

photomat- · May 5, 2010

The question is, when you look at shots with both cameras, which one makes you feel warm and fuzzy? Hasselblad and Mr. Zeiss does that for me.

nickandre · May 5, 2010

I think a D3 more accurately replaces your mamiya. keep the blad.

Graham_Martin · May 5, 2010

Herr Zeiss does it for me too!

Graham_Martin · May 5, 2010

It looks like I will be putting the Mamiya up for sale then. I can't say that I am surprised or disappointed. I expect I will run a classified here and on maybe one other forum and see what happens.

clayne · May 5, 2010

Sirius Glass said:
Yes, you can use the Metz in Auto. Just set the f/stop at the value for the the ISO on the strobe dial. As I posted before, the shutter speed does not matter when a leaf shutter is used; focal plane shutters have maximum synch speeds based on the manufacturer and model.

Steve

I was referring to the Mamiya since lack of AF was being implicitly listed as a con of the 500C/M setup.

I ditched a C330 with three lenses, Paraminder and prism for a Hasselblad and it was one of the best things I ever did for myself.

Steve

You also did this for your own reasons which had nothing to do with the C330 being a usable camera or not. I remember we debated with you about it in another thread. The C330 is great, however you did not like it for some reason.

Sirius Glass · May 6, 2010

clayne said:
You also did this for your own reasons which had nothing to do with the C330 being a usable camera or not. I remember we debated with you about it in another thread. The C330 is great, however you did not like it for some reason.

Yes, I did not like the way it handled. Someone else has it and I hope they enjoy it.

lxdude · May 6, 2010

Looks to me like the D3 will do what the Mamiya does for you, but can't replace the Hasselblad.

Q.G. · May 6, 2010

So why not get a Hasselblad H?
A nice H3D, with a brace of film backs?

Sirius Glass · May 6, 2010

Q.G. said:
So why not get a Hasselblad H?
A nice H3D, with a brace of film backs?

The answer in the OP:

Graham_Martin said:
I'm on the horns of a huge dilemma. I need to sell one of my MF systems in order to fund a new purchase, plus I don't use either one enough to really justify keeping both.

Q.G. · May 6, 2010

You know that the way out of a dilemma is to reject the two impossible choices, and go with another, fresh one?

Graham_Martin · May 6, 2010

lxdude said:
Looks to me like the D3 will do what the Mamiya does for you, but can't replace the Hasselblad.

I agree with you. I will be getting the Mamiya listed for sale within the next couple of weeks.

2F/2F · May 6, 2010

Seems to me that what you want from the Mamiya is better arrived at by using a small format camera, and it sounds like you don't really enjoy using the Mamiya anyhow. I am no Hassy evangelist, but the choice seems clear to me.

Which MF system to keep?

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