Why is Hasselblad so overrated?

[MattKing]

Besides dentists, the store I worked at for a few years also sold Hasselblads to university professors.
I think that the critical thing to remember about Hasselblads is that they were marketed to professionals, not (mainly) advanced amateurs or enthusiasts. So when a non-professional bought one, it was usually an outlier. As a sort of rocket scientist, Sirius could very well be in that group, along with a bunch of dentists.
I chuckle at the descriptions of Hasselblads being an extension of oneself. They are extremely awkward for me to use - if you don't have much right hand dexterity, they aren't suited to you at all.

 

[markjwyatt]

Yes, you are correct. I knew that, but I was thinking medium format. OTOH Hasselblad was in business much longer than Exakta.

This is true, they started in the mid-19th century, but not selling the Hasselblad cameras we are talking about. Exakta was never in business, but Ihagee started in the early 20th century, and much like Hasselblad was not started by a German (in Ihagee's case a Dutchman: non-flying version). And also similar to Hasselblad, Ihagee never seriously got into making lenses, but allowed other competent companies to supply them (I think Ihagee was much more open than Hassleblad which primarily worked with Carl Zeiss).

 

[Paul Howell]

Swiss Alpa followed the same logic, they rebuilt some of the best lens on the market, German, French, Dutch, American, even Japanese lens with made for Alpa which Alpa tested and rebuilt as needed to obtain the best performance.

 

[removed account4]

Yes and the ones that claim that sex is overrated were celebates. Feel free to expand the logic to Hasselblads.

naa. plenty of people who aren't celebates who don't like it ...
and for the logic, not sure its the same but people always gravitate to things they always wished they could afford
because it is "the best" , what they wanted as a child, saw someone on the moon using, coveted &c, maybe it is the best
maybe it will make them the next avedon, or maybe it just fun to say that you own a Hasselblad ..
regarding being "the best". Frank Rizzo claimed he worked on race cars for years and he could work circles around any other mechanic ...
but he probably couldn't figure out how to change his oil.

 

[warden]

I chuckle at the descriptions of Hasselblads being an extension of oneself. They are extremely awkward for me to use

ditto!

 

[mshchem]

I have Hasselblad cameras. I'm right handed. I have always used a left hand grip starting with my first brand new, bought new, RZ67II. With my bear paws it would be a bit difficult for me to handle any medium format camera without a grip. My brain is still trained from using my RZs to reach down for the focusing knob (on the RZ) when focusing the Hasselblad. I had Bronicas I love these cameras too. But these cameras have a difficult future in terms of service. The Hasselblad cameras just fit me. I still use the RZ stuff but I've never been a big fan of 6x7 format (blasphemy I know) when I want wider, I shoot Fuji 6x9 rangefinders, love these cameras!! If I could only have 1 camera it would be a Fuji GW690III. No doubt.
My latest discovery of love, is the Mamiya 6 MF. What a great camera, I have the 35mm wide 24x54 adapter. There's only 3 lenses, and you only really need 2 the 50 and the 75. The lens collapses into the body like the old Mamiya 6 folders. It's lovely to carry.
Back to blads I'm with Sirius on just how perfect the Hasselblad is, waistlevel finder and all.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Yes and the ones that claim that sex is overrated were celebates. Feel free to expand the logic to Hasselblads.

naa. plenty of people who aren't celebates who don't like it ...
and for the logic, not sure its the same but people always gravitate to things they always wished they could afford
because it is "the best" , what they wanted as a child, saw someone on the moon using, coveted &c, maybe it is the best
maybe it will make them the next avedon, or maybe it just fun to say that you own a Hasselblad ..
regarding being "the best". Frank Rizzo claimed he worked on race cars for years and he could work circles around any other mechanic ...
but he probably couldn't figure out how to change his oil.

By celebates I meant people that had never tried one. Just like the ones who say that the Leica is terrible but never touched on.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have Hasselblad cameras. I'm right handed. I have always used a left hand grip starting with my first brand new, bought new, RZ67II. With my bear paws it would be a bit difficult for me to handle any medium format camera without a grip. My brain is still trained from using my RZs to reach down for the focusing knob (on the RZ) when focusing the Hasselblad. I had Bronicas I love these cameras too. But these cameras have a difficult future in terms of service. The Hasselblad cameras just fit me. I still use the RZ stuff but I've never been a big fan of 6x7 format (blasphemy I know) when I want wider, I shoot Fuji 6x9 rangefinders, love these cameras!! If I could only have 1 camera it would be a Fuji GW690III. No doubt.
My latest discovery of love, is the Mamiya 6 MF. What a great camera, I have the 35mm wide 24x54 adapter. There's only 3 lenses, and you only really need 2 the 50 and the 75. The lens collapses into the body like the old Mamiya 6 folders. It's lovely to carry.
Back to blads I'm with Sirius on just how perfect the Hasselblad is, waistlevel finder and all.

I am left handed with small hands and the Hasselblad fits nicely in my hands. I found some of the MF SLRs to be bulky or heavy in my hands and my hands are the only ones that count for me, not yours.

 

[removed account4]

By celebates I meant people that had never tried one. Just like the ones who say that the Leica is terrible but never touched on.

ahh. maybe, people don't know what they are missing. I can agree with that. ..
like ragu pasta sauce. "try it, ya like it"....
but afterwards it might end up like the alka seltzer ad "I can't believe I ate the whole thing"

 

[mshchem]

Actually, I have always been a fan of Mamiya C330 cameras. I have had 3 of them over the years. I always used a neck strap and WLF so I didn't need a grip. I even had a the Paramender.

 

[AnselMortensen]

It's just a camera.
I've owned & used Hasselblad 500C, 500CM, 500ELX, Mamiya RB67, RZ67, C33, Kowa 6, Yashica D, Yashica 124G, Bronica ETRS, ETRSi, Fuji G645S (with the rollbar).... and the 500CM works best for my needs...and I'm not a dentist.

 

[macfred]

Here's something to smile for you, gentlemen . No, it's not Sirius acting in this video ...

 

[Down Under]

Not sure about "overrated" - overpriced, yes, certainly.

I lusted for a 'blad for twenty years before sufficient money came my way that I was able to buy one. In 2003 I acquired a snazzy 501CM from a private seller who needed some quick cash for a reasonable if not exactly cheap price and then proceeded to part with a fortune on lenses and other bits. After a few shoots I realised the ergonomics of the system didn't really suit me. I am a Rollei TLR man through and through, and I found that shoving a small brick into my ample abdomen cramped my style, photographically and physically.

The other 'negative' I quickly discovered about Hasselblads is, especially when one has invested in older lenses and film backs, everything in your kit needs to be serviced. Every time I took the darn thing out for a shoot, something or other went wrong. Here in Australia, repairing anything with the revered 'H' name is billed for in $100 increments and it all too quickly added up. So I would put my Rollei 3.5 E2 in the car and often as notI finished my architectural shoots with the TLR after some bit on the 'blad had malfunctioned. Especially the film backs regularly went wonky, until in the end I sold off the six A12 and A16 backs I had acquired and made do with a 220 back which I loaded with 120 film and it somehow worked, at least for the first eight or nine negatives until the spacing tightened up and I found my last few images were overlapping.

Being a slow learner or maybe a masochist, I then made the mistake of buying other Hasselblad bodies, a 500CM and several ELs, but that's a story I'll skip for now.

In the end I accepted it was all a lost cause for me and I sold out of Hasselblad. I still use my 1962 Rolleiflex and it goes on giving me the images I want, without fuss or bother. It also never breaks down.

Many others here will say the opposite and dearly love their Hasselblads. I envy you all...

 

[Slixtiesix]

I don´t think they are overrated. I did so for many years until I bought one myself. Then I realized they are just simple, straightforward, easy to use cameras.

 

[AgX]

Yes, you are correct. I knew that, but I was thinking medium format. OTOH Hasselblad was in business much longer than Exakta.

No, not at all. It was based on a camera from a crashed German aircraft. www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/Index/HSIndex.aspx

Aside of looking into literature and stories, one should look at actually existing cameras !

Primarflex (Germany , 1935)
https://zeissikonveb.de/____impro/1/onewebmedia/Marco/Kameras/IMG_2394a.jpg?etag="2ea172-5cd4af47"&sourceContentType=image/jpeg&ignoreAspectRatio&resize=593+516&quality=85

Primarflex II (Germany , 1950)
https://zeissikonveb.de/____impro/1/onewebmedia/Marco/Startseite/DSC_1775a.jpg?etag="b6709-5ac55731"&sourceContentType=image/jpeg&ignoreAspectRatio&resize=1165+562&quality=85

 

[campy51]

I bought one after many many years of wanting but not needing one. Everybody says it a precision tool and the repair had to be done with precision tools, but after I was glancing through the service manual I came upon an adjustment that would be needed to correct a problem and the solution was to bend the lever. Now I am just old copier repairman and we always taught, "form to fix, bend to break".

 

[Sirius Glass]

Aside of looking into literature and stories, one should look at actually existing cameras !

Primarflex (Germany , 1935)
https://zeissikonveb.de/____impro/1/onewebmedia/Marco/Kameras/IMG_2394a.jpg?etag="2ea172-5cd4af47"&sourceContentType=image/jpeg&ignoreAspectRatio&resize=593+516&quality=85

Primarflex II (Germany , 1950)
https://zeissikonveb.de/____impro/1/onewebmedia/Marco/Startseite/DSC_1775a.jpg?etag="b6709-5ac55731"&sourceContentType=image/jpeg&ignoreAspectRatio&resize=1165+562&quality=85

I did not know about those. Thank you.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Here's something to smile for you, gentlemen . No, it's not Sirius acting in this video ...

Correct it is not me.

1. He cranked the camera before taking the photograph. I always leave the camera and lenses cocked.
2. He is using digital. enough said.

 

[AgX]

I did not know about those. Thank you.

Yes, for unknown reason the Primarflex is hardly known today.

What I wanted to say is that hardly a camera come out of nothing. Maybe the Minox. But even for the shell design of the SX-70 there is a 19th century model.
I expect the Hasselblad 1600F to have made the people behind the Primarflex to give it a cosmetic upgrade.
Assumptions of course...

 

[Alan Gales]

They are extremely awkward for me to use - if you don't have much right hand dexterity, they aren't suited to you at all.

I can see your point if you are left handed.

I held mine in my left hand and triggered the shutter release with my left index finger. I used my right hand for focussing and winding the film. It worked very well for me but I'm right handed.

I've always wondered about driving in England. To me it would seem awkward to shift gears on a manual transmission with my left hand.

 

[BradS]

....
I've always wondered about driving in England. To me it would seem awkward to shift gears on a manual transmission with my left hand.

Sitting on the wrong side of the car and shifting with the left hand is easy (the H pattern is the same). Driving on the wrong side of the road takes some getting used to and can be very dangerous.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I can see your point if you are left handed.

I held mine in my left hand and triggered the shutter release with my left index finger. I used my right hand for focussing and winding the film. It worked very well for me but I'm right handed.

I've always wondered about driving in England. To me it would seem awkward to shift gears on a manual transmission with my left hand.

I hold the camera the same way.

I never had a problem driving in the UK, Ireland, or Australia, but when I got home I had to keep checking myself so I would not be on the wrong side.

 

[MattKing]

Which hand do you use to adjust shutter speed and aperture?

 

[Arthurwg]

No, not at all. It was based on a camera from a crashed German aircraft. www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/Index/HSIndex.aspx

True. But VH was already familiar with SLRs from using a Graflex to shoot wildlife.

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

You're basically deciding the answer in advance if you're wondering why X is over/under-rated.

I tried a Hasselblad a couple of times, and they are truly wonderful tools, well thought out in many respects. I invested into a C330 kit, because I could not afford the Blad system. But with perspective, I don't regret it. The handling of a TLR, even the beefy C330, is quite comfortable compared to that of a medium-format SLR. Being able to buy lenses allowed me to try out options I would have agonized over before plunking down a couple of k$ on Zeiss lenses.

And in the end, I would even go as far as to claim that the signature of Hasselblad's Zeiss lenses is so pervasive that it makes photos scream "Hasselblad," whereas the Mamiya lens don't have the same kind of visible fame. I suppose musicians must also tire of the Steinway, Stradivarius, or Fender sound at some point.