First Hassy Photos

[jaffa_777]

I bought a hassy in the classifieds of Mike L and said I would post some shots when I got some film developed.

I was attempting portraiture on my Mamiy 6, while liking the results, I wanted to be able to shoot with larger apetures and frame more precisely. The hassy is great, the lenses create a beautifull seperation of subject and background and the bokeh is to die for. It draws more delicately than the mamiya RF lenses which is great for portraits, but I found my HP5+ negs lacked the contrast I usually get and had to play with the levels in Photoshop. Mayby I will try Trix as well and see how that goes.

This is one excellent portrait camera in which I forsee I will be using extensively in the future. I have the standard 80mm lens and the 120mm makro as well. I can't see myself needing anything else for what I want to use it for.

Most of these are wide open shot on Hp5+ at box speed, developed at the lab.

 

[Keith]

Stunning photos ... you must be very pleased with the results. And you're right the bokeh is to die for! 🙂

 

[jaffa_777]

Thanks Keith, your on the east coast aren't you? If am ever over that way we should hook up for a social coffee and camera/photography chin wag.

 

[maddoc]

These are great !!

 

[mfogiel]

Nice shots, remember, if you are handholding, to try this trick: grab the camera tightly with both hands, and first pre-release the mirror, and then after half a second release the shutter with the other hand. If you hold the camera pulled down on a strap against your chest this works very well, and you get much sharper photos.And also - this is a tip I've learned from Mr Fleisher, who was the Zeiss lens tester one day, if you shoot portraits with shallow dof, try to use a split image acute matte screen, turned 90°, so that the split becomes vertical, this way you can set it on an eye pretty fast.

 

[ChrisN]

Wow! A great description of why you chose that camera, and also a great illustration, with your excellent photos.

Now I want one. :bang:

 

[cmogi10]

stunning!!

 

[mbisc]

...the lenses create a beautifull seperation of subject and background and the bokeh is to die for. It draws more delicately than the mamiya RF lenses which is great for portraits...

Welcome to the world of Zeiss lenses 😀

Oh, and get ready for some major G.A.S. attacks, once you realize it's all in the glass :angel:

Nice pictures, by the way...

 

[kalokeri]

Looks like you found the right camera. Congrats.

I do like the pictures you posted here, but looking at your flickr I liked the double-portrait (no. 6) much more. That one is really great.

Thomas

 

[Nokton48]

Hassys are cheap, too 🙂

Just bought a second ELM body with two good Varta batteries, A-12 back, flip-up hood, and charger, for $199 on ebay. And even more recently, the original Cds Hasselblad Meter Prism, for $60. Takes a Wein-Cell, and is dead accurate, against my other meters. How can you go wrong at these prices?

Great shots, the 80mm is one of my favorites, too. Try the 120mm for tight close-ups, you may need to add a short extension tube. It is -frighteningly- sharp. A real delight.

 

[Ken Ford]

Nice pics!

I occasionally dig out my 500c/m and think about selling it, but then I also dig out chromes I shot with it and decide I can't let it go. The 80 is really a great lens!

 

[Thardy]

Nice shots, remember, if you are handholding, to try this trick: grab the camera tightly with both hands, and first pre-release the mirror, and then after half a second release the shutter with the other hand. If you hold the camera pulled down on a strap against your chest this works very well, and you get much sharper photos.And also - this is a tip I've learned from Mr Fleisher, who was the Zeiss lens tester one day, if you shoot portraits with shallow dof, try to use a split image acute matte screen, turned 90°, so that the split becomes vertical, this way you can set it on an eye pretty fast.

I've found that I need to use MLU with the Hassy more than heavier MF SLRs to avoid camera vibration. But the results are great when you do.

 

[rich815]

Beautiful shots! I got a hassy kit just about a year ago after wanting one for something like 20 years, and as much as I love my RFs and my Rollei TLRs the Hassy is what I reach for when I need "perfection".

 

[like2fiddle]

Really excellent shots. I very much like HP5 and Tri-X. I find the Tri-X a little more versatile with more grain, the HP5 more "soft" appearing. Just my opinion. I think portraits in Tri-X with that Hassey kit will also be superb if these shots are any indication.

 

[MikeL]

Nice work Jaffa, glad to see it's in good hands!

 

[jaffa_777]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Thanks mfogiel for the advice about how to best use the MLU function. I can't imagine handholding this camera for anything slower than 125th. There is quite a bit going on inside this baby when you press that button. I plan to use it on a steady tripod for most of the time anyway.

I hope gas doesn't hit with all that beautifull zeiss glass out there. I think I have exactley what I need for portraits anyway. I chose the 120mm over the 150 because people said it was a great portrait lens as well as being able to close focus with the macro capablities. I actually picked it up on Apug too.

This camera will become my main portrait camera and hopefully my bread and butter camera too. I want to buid a bussiness at home doing portraits while I am not off traveling.

I regulary shoot a d200. My commercial clients want fast turnovers and don't want to pay for the extra cost of film, processing and scanning. But every time I shoot film especially in medium format, it just blows me away and I think that my clients don't know what they are missing out on. I am interested to see how the new D3 will compare and will probably buy it for its pros on high iso shooting in the field, but I think I will be a film shooter for a long time yet.

 

[jaffa_777]

Hey Mike, thanks for dropping by, couldn't be more happier with the camera mate, cheers. I haven't tried out the other back yet.

 

[mfogiel]

If you want to do portraits, the XP2 or BW400CN are great for women - be careful with the Makro Planar, maybe the softar nr2 could help... Also the Portra 400NC is great, while for men, probably HP5+ or Tri-X produce a more "masculine" look.

 

[rpsawin]

Just lovely...maybe you could do a portrait shot (same shot) both film and digital to show your commercial clients the difference. I have a feeling that you will start picking up a few film assignments.

Keep up the great work.

Bob

 

[kalokeri]

Good luck with your portrait work, Jaffa.

Maybe you can try to convince your clients to do certain jobs on film. Not long ago a pro in Hamburg told me, that he uses film beside digital sometimes and shows both. Some clients are that much impressed by the results that they begin to require film especially with b&w-work. Real baryt-prints have a fascination people begin to discover (again). In Hamburg two labs created a technique that allows to print digital pictures on real baryt paper which is developed wet just like in the old days - astonishing and fascinating.

Thomas