school me in digital backs

emraphoto

emraphoto

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so, putting together a new scheme.

in a nutshell, is there a digital back for the 500 series hasselblads that is useable in the field, full frame (6x6 full frame) and under $10,000?

by useable in the field, i mean one that can be powered by 1-3 sets of batteries for a day of shooting and doesn't need to be tethered. i suppose it would need to hold 30 or so raw frames.

it would also need to be reasonably durable.

does this exist? any considerations i am missing?

thanx in advance
 
There are several Phase One backs for the Hasselblad V system that shoot to CF card and are priced under $10k. Durability wise I can't tell much, but they did make a good impression on me when I played around with a P30+ a while back. They are not full frame though, sadly.
 
emraphoto said:
so, putting together a new scheme.

in a nutshell, is there a digital back for the 500 series hasselblads that is useable in the field, full frame (6x6 full frame) and under $10,000?

by useable in the field, i mean one that can be powered by 1-3 sets of batteries for a day of shooting and doesn't need to be tethered. i suppose it would need to hold 30 or so raw frames.

it would also need to be reasonably durable.

does this exist? any considerations i am missing?

thanx in advance
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A used Phase One P25. You'll need to power it in the field. No LCD display.. tethered with Capture One it's not fast, but the quality is good. You should be able to get a used one for well under $10 by now. Contact Bear photo in Palo Alto,CA.. Talk to Jim about a used model.. The phase is 6x4.5.. Leaf is a Kodak Sensor.. more $$
 
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There is nothing practical to use on the 500-series Blads that retains the admirable qualities of using a 500-series Blad. Instead you get an expensive compromise that a quality DSLR will likely surpass.

For not much difference why not wait and get the new Pentax? Or a good scanner?
 
I was suspect that yours was the answer Frank. The 'back-up' option is of course an imacon on the desk at home.

I have assembled a PowerBook/epson combo that fits quite well into a lowepro roller for now. Toss in a couple of tanks and changing back... Voilà!
 
emraphoto said:
I was suspect that yours was the answer Frank. The 'back-up' option is of course an imacon on the desk at home.

I have assembled a PowerBook/epson combo that fits quite well into a lowepro roller for now. Toss in a couple of tanks and changing back... Voilà!
Click to expand...

For b+w, I would almost always take the film option.
 
No, there is currently no 6x6 FF digital back. The only square sensor back is the CFV16 mentioned above which is rather outdated and is lacking both in the frame coverage aswell as in the Megapixel department.

The largest backs out there are around 53,9x40,4mm which is almost FF 6x4.5 (a few mm missing on the short side). The 60mp Phase One P65+, Hasselblad H4D-60 and the upcoming 80mp Leaf Aptus II 12 are such backs. The latter is announced at about $30k but it's also the most expensive of the bunch. I don't know what the 60mp backs are going for these days but I'd imagine they're still above $20k.

If you want to get into mf digital I'd suggest looking at something like a Phase One P45+ back. It might still cost around $15k but the quality is stunning and still well ahead of current top DSLR offerings. The crop factor compared to 6x4.5 is only 1.1 which is still quite a lot of frame coverage.
Usability in the field with a set of 2-3 batteries and moderate use is very much doable unless it's very cold. Also, with CF cards nowadays going up to 64gb memory shouldn't be a problem.

If you're really set on using a Hasselblad I'd suggest looking at some of Leaf's offerings with the ''R'' designation. They have an internally rotating back so you can switch between vertical and horizontal orientation without taking the back off.
 
Double Negative said:
In the case of the CFV16, yes - it's a square format but not "full frame." It's 4080x4080 pixels (16MP) and has a crop factor of 1.5x. A complete kit comes with a focusing screen that has a 36x36mm mask. The later CFV backs are all 645 format sensors.

"Outdated" is relative. Perhaps by current MFDB standards of resolution, yes - but 16MP isn't bad. Out of the box, it's good for nearly 14x14" prints without touching the files. And the quality of the files is VERY good.
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I'm sure the files from the CFV16 are nice but it was released back in 2006 which, by digital photography standards, in my opinion warrants the term ''outdated''. Also, 16mp at 36x36mm is not much of a size advantage compared to FF 35mm so personally I'd rather get a 21mp 5DII for half the price, especially considering the ISO limitations of older digital backs.
That being said, I've never used one so maybe I'm wrong. However, image quality aside, I can't imagine I'd enjoy having to look through a 36x36mm mask on a 54x54mm groundglass.
 
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