Who owns more >1 Hasselblad body and why, and when is enough "enough"?

[RezaLoghme]

Who owns more >1 Hasselblad body and why, and when is enough "enough"?

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

I own 0 and thats enough for me.

Marcelo

 

[khh]

I also own 0, however I find that to be too few. I just haven't the funds to change it at the moment. I do own two Rollei SL66 cameras though. I bought one as a parts camera, but my repair man fixed both of them to good working order.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

I also own 0, however I find that to be too few. I just haven't the funds to change it at the moment. I do own two Rollei SL66 cameras though. I bought one as a parts camera, but my repair man fixed both of them to good working order.

SL66 are splendid cameras. Only reason for parting with that camera was that a technician scammed me. so decided to part with the system on the whole.

 

[MattKing]

I did like the yellow ones!
But I never liked the camera's handling - for left-handed me!
Though they did suit some of the customers I sold them to.

 

[Michael Mutmansky]

I have 2... actually three if you count the SWC-M, and then I guess it's four if you count the Flexbody... WTF how did I get that many? Hahahaha...

I have a 501C and just recently got a 503CW with a pretty late serial number, so it's about as young as they come. I figured I needed two in case one boops on me in the field so I won't be stuck on a trip, but otherwise, I'd just have the 501C. The 503CW has the latest mirror mechanism, which is nicer than the previous design if you shoot longer focal lengths. I think it is also less prone to misscalibration as the foam cushioning ages. The 501C will now be my backup.

Unless something unexpected occurs, I won't be buying more. I have all I want in that system and plan to be shooting that until I am done with film in another 30 years or so. I'm still almost 10 years from retirement, but I wanted to secure all this before the gear became super old and hard to find in great condition and for some reason, I started getting the sense that if I waited any longer, that might be the problem I'd face. The Hasselblad was chosen because of the mechnecal design for this reason as well, even though it means a more expensive system.

 

[AnselMortensen]

500C/M for general photography.
553ELX has faster film advance for portraiture.

 

[brian steinberger]

I own one. It’s all I need. It’s been serviced recently. I have a few other camera systems so if something happened to it I would just shoot with other cameras until it was repaired. If it were my main or only camera system I would certainly have two bodies.

 

[bdial]

I have more than one, but one is plenty for most purposes, if making a living with them is not a factor.

 

[Hassasin]

Poll is for Hasselblad owner's only. Otherwise it would have included the number ZERO. On sports forums they have dedicated fan based sections, so fans of a particular sports figure or team can talk themselves to death without annoying general forum users. Hasselblad sub forum???

Does it matter if one owns a Hasselblad? It makes no difference which camera I shoot, what does is what and how I shoot with it. Hasselblad is an expensive box with some annoying features that allows lens to project image on a film. That is all it does. Like so many others.

Ah, forgot to mention, I own a load of Hasselblad. Luckily, not only. Alone it would have likely zapped all the fun of taking pictures out of me.

 

[John Wiegerink]

My original 500C, 500EL, two 500ELM's, 553ELX and SWC. One can never have to many Hasselblads. Or can they?

 

[diawjddnr1]

i have one and it is enough but never enough...

 

[mpirie]

Three V's for me......one 500 and two 503's, but......also an SWC903 and a Flexbody.

Mike

 

[Photomultiplier]

1x 500C, 2x 500C/M, 1x Flexbody

Mostly for redundancy and because they are not manufactured anymore. But i use them all.

 

[Chet Baker]

I have three: a SWC, a 500C/M and a 500ELX. I would also like to have a 500C......

 

[guangong]

One CM. Bought when prices were low. Serves as backup replacement for 2000FCM. Easy to switch film backs makes a second Hassy redundant.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Who owns more >1 Hasselblad body and why, and when is enough "enough"?

three manual 500c1s.2nd as a back-up. third inherited. Great in the studio if you need to switch quickly between 50,80 and 250mm lenses nd because they are just plain fun to have, look at and work with.

 

[Dmosher]

1 501CM, 1 ELM, 2 non functional ELMs for parts..

 

[retina_restoration]

What is the point of a question like this?? I don't see that it has any purpose.

 

[Arthurwg]

In order of purchase:

1, SWC903
2, 503CX
3, 503CW
4, 555ELX
5, 501CM NIB

I guess I got carried away. Mostly use the 503CW with the 503CX as back-up. I've not used the 555ELX but am planning to use it on my next trip, which will all be mirror-up on a tripod. The 501CM has all the paperwork from new and has never had a lens on it. Always use a metered prism finder and acute-matt D screens.

 

[Arthurwg]

What is the point of a question like this?? I don't see that it has any purpose.

We like to talk about our cameras.

 

[MattKing]

What is the point of a question like this?? I don't see that it has any purpose.

We like to talk about our cameras.

In particular when we may have recently got a new addition to our collection.

 

[Luckless]

What is the point of a question like this?? I don't see that it has any purpose.

To share and discuss ideas or view points. Like any other thread on a photo forum? It would be a very quiet and inactive place if we limited posts to only highly useful and unique content...


So far I've found the number of Hasselblad cameras to fit my budget and photography needs to be all of zero. But if one were to ever find its way into the tool box then I'm sure it would sit near the top. I've just never been able to justify the the asking prices I've been offered compared to the higher flexibility offered from spending my budget elsewhere on more boring and usually less shiny options.


But if I ever dive in and start adding them to my toolset, then I can imagine a similar pattern would follow from how I built out my RB67 set.

- Randomly find a film back for one at a yard sale for $5-10, and decide to pick it up "Because it is a start..." with the plan to expand things to fill a gap my other gear didn't do well. My goal at the time was to fill the gap on longer lenses for medium format gear.
- Find one of the specific lenses that I plan to use, and pay slightly more than I was hoping, but be happy to have it in the gear set anyway.
- Eventually find a complete camera with a lens that I wasn't really planning to use, but it had body, view finder, and an extra back, and what's the point of a camera system with removeable backs if you don't have at least two of them to make use of?
- Randomly add some unrelated camera from the local shop, simply because it had another film back of the same type and a medium format field camera 'might be interesting'.
- Add a second camera to the set because one wandered into the local shop with a lens that might be useful, and again had a spare film back included.
- Eventually add a third camera to the mix when one wandered into the shop with a grip, eye level finder, and yet another film back that would be useful... The lens wasn't what I had been planning to use this camera system for, but it is basically free this way since I don't need to deal with paying for shipping and stuff to get all the other parts I wanted anyway...

And I think somewhere in there I paid market rate for an RB67 film back.

And that is how $5 of spending turns into far more than $5 of spending for a camera system that going to be for highly specific and specialized use cases to instead grow into the most frequently used and rather generalist setup...

[Don't buy RB67s as a generalist camera setup...]


But for events I'm very much a fan of having multiple camera bodies on hand for quick 'lens swaps' - If I'm photographing something like roller derby I can't exactly ask the players to wait a moment while I swap my camera to a different lens, so being able to have a pair of cameras with the different lenses already mounted and ready gives me more time to be framing and considering actual photos.

 

[retina_restoration]

To share and discuss ideas or view points. Like any other thread on a photo forum? It would be a very quiet and inactive place if we limited posts to only highly useful and unique content...

Gawd forbid this forum become encumbered by an onslaught of useful, practical information.

 

[paddycook]

I have a 501 and a 503CW (which I never use)