A Hasselblad, more than 40 years after first looking.

Thanks guys for your encouragement. I am certainly enjoying it. After reading KM-25 I will feel much better about getting the 50 and a 150 and one more body, slowly, over time......Loved your account of all that. (Can I come and be a student?)

And today I did put a roll of 35mm Ektar in my IIIf for the day. It was 41 degrees C (108 degrees F) and I was not lugging a big kit about.
 
When you put the dark slide in you can not fire the shutter. Ingenious design that takes a bit of getting used to. Also you can buy a black plastic holder with adhesive that attaches to the back side of your camera back. So you can neatly stow the dark slide. I have one of these on every one of my Blad roll backs. Worth getting. The darkslides are easily bent. Ask me how I know.
 
I used to slip the dark slide into the leather half-case under my Lunasix light meter, but now it seems like it isn't as tight a fit as it was and it falls out when the light meter dangles. This is a bit like Richard's Mr Bean-like story of having one thing after another aggravate him on the Blad. So now I just pop the dark slide in my top pocket at the same time as fumbling for my glasses.
 
I've ordered a 150/4 from KEH, and a spare dark slide.

Turns out I did make an error loading my first roll of Velvia. I wasn't concentrating and started the roll a little beyond the start line. My reading on starting 645 early suggests that what I will have achieved is less than 12 exposures and slightly increased spacing.

I didn't buy a new CF tripod for my recent holiday by the sea, nor the Leofoto ball head I should have got. My old aluminium Manfrotto 190 did very well except it was a little heavier than I'd have liked, especially after breaking the transverse process of my first lumbar vertebra surfing. It was certainly solid and stable.

My little Sirui ballhead didn't cut it. Rather than forking out for something very expensive, for around AUD$185 I subsequently bought the Leofoto CB40 ball head rated at 15kg load. Made in China and very nice. I've used this since yesterday and it is brilliant. There is a friction adjustment which varies the grip on the ball when it's loosened off. The Hasselblad with the 80 or even the 60 is very nice on a tripod anyway as the mass is centred over the ball. I like to carry the camera and tripod over my shoulder when moving about and the the friction adjustment holds well, and the whole thing is quickly tight with the main adjustment knob, even when I have the camera over my shoulder at a 30 degree angle. The plate supplied has a ring as well a groove for a key or coin.

Using a tripod so much has been strangely liberating. I am looking forward to getting all the holiday shots back from the lab.
 
My Rapid Omega 100 and 200 have slots in the film backs to hold the dark slide. One of the nicest features on that massive rangefinder. Now if I could just remember exactly how to load them, without having to pull out the manual every time (obviously, they don't get used enough).

PF
 
A few more mistakes that I have been able to learn from.

I started a roll in the wrong place, a little later, after winding on too far with the start arrow. This still gave me 12 shots, but there was more whirring of the gears for the last two, and the space between shots on the negative roll was slightly greater. I had some reassurance that would be the case as with a 645 set up you are meant to start the roll early to get your 16 shots, not wasting space between.

I've set up some shots with great care but spend too much time in the seductive viewfinder and look at the subject itself less critically than I should. I photographed this tree several times before realising that one branch in the small tree next to it was foreign and had fallen from a high eucalypt behind me and I removed it eventually.

I've mainly used the camera on a tripod and made a bit of use of the mirror pre-release. Mostly I didn't bother. I was using a solid Manfrotto 190 Aluminium tripod from the early 90s. I recently got a terrific Leofoto CB40 ballhead and the set up is very stable.



The Doug Stirling Track, Lorne, Victoria by Richard, on Flickr
 
Thought to possibly help your Rolleiflex camera...

Check the mirror used with the focusing lens. Maybe it needs to be re-coated. It should be coated on the front of the glass.

I googled “silver or aluminum coat a camera mirror” and came up with this. There are many others.

https://www.jenoptik.us/products/op...-technologies/optical-coatings/mirror-coating

When I was a youngster I made several reflector telescopes and found a source that coated the mirror with aluminum. Silver would eventually tarnish and wouldn’t work well. I imagine if the mirror on your camera is coated with silver it isn’t doing a good job reflecting the image from the focusing lens.

The Rolleiflex is a wonderful camera.
 
Richard G said:
I photographed this tree several times before realising that one branch in the small tree next to it was foreign and had fallen from a high eucalypt behind me and I removed it eventually.
Click to expand...

i still like it a lot.
how did you scan? [edit: i see, fujifilm SP-3000]

(thanks for the inspiration, i'll take out my 500CM soon ...)
 
The Hasselblad has not only slowed me down using it, but I have in some ways slowed down with other photography too. I have my X100 in the bag I take to work and caught something I was very glad I didn't have to rely on the iPhone for.

But when I went for my Saturday walk morning walk in the bush yesterday my back was sore from a recent injury so I took my Leica digital in a bag with two extra lenses, overkill already, and my little Slik carbon fibre tripod, CF614. Overikill too I guess but I've got the bug for using a tripod. I ended up taking a few shots, but only one subject I spent any time on and that was worth keeping. There's quite a few cameras here now without film in them and a spare roll of 35mm Ektar waiting for one.

It is only on returning to using a tripod with a 35mm camera I see the true genius of the square format and how much less hassle having such a camera on a tripod is by comparison. With the Leica I had to use the all the knobs to get the key in the right place for tilting and if I had the tripod at an angle there was only one way I could go to have enough room to get the camera upright in portrait orientation, which then meant the viewfinder was a whole camera width lower and less accessible etc etc. No wonder 35mm RF shooter decry tripods.

Here's a couple more from the beach holiday. (Kodak Ektar 100)



U28906I1518947296.SEQ.0.jpg




U28906I1518947296.SEQ.1.jpg
 
The V series Hasselblad: the attachment and such easy removal of the neck strap in seconds without breaking a fingernail or raising your blood pressure is another brilliant design feature.
 
Richard G said:
The V series Hasselblad: the attachment and such easy removal of the neck strap in seconds without breaking a fingernail or raising your blood pressure is another brilliant design feature.
Click to expand...

Richard,

Every time I see this thread, it puts a smile on my face because you are having FUN with your Hassy! What a refreshing thread.

With each image you make and with each discovery of your Hassy, you are enjoying the experience. I have only had my 503 for a year, and for me, it has also been worth waiting all those years for it. So, yes, I feel your joy and it is
a good thing!

Keep on truckin'!🙂
 
Thanks Dave.

And one more thing: when you want to fire off the M2 or IIIf but it’s got film in it you just have to wait. Not with the Hasselblad.
 
I have to agree with Dave, every time I see this thread it makes me smile.
Richard, your enthusiasm and enjoyment is infectious. So infectious that I have a 500cm with a 50 CF FLE and a 180 CF pair on the way (it looks like I might need a spare dark slide too..). Taking note of your tripod musings I took the opportunity to upgrade my tripod to cope (mainly with the 180), a used Gitzo 3541LS with RRS BH55 ball head is on the way too. I’m really looking forward to slowing down and enjoying taking pictures for myself again. Thank you Richard.
 
michaelwj said:
I have to agree with Dave, every time I see this thread it makes me smile.
Richard, your enthusiasm and enjoyment is infectious. So infectious that I have a 500cm with a 50 CF FLE and a 180 CF pair on the way (it looks like I might need a spare dark slide too..). Taking note of your tripod musings I took the opportunity to upgrade my tripod to cope (mainly with the 180), a used Gitzo 3541LS with RRS BH55 ball head is on the way too. I’m really looking forward to slowing down and enjoying taking pictures for myself again. Thank you Richard.
Click to expand...

Hey!

That is exactly the tripod and head set up I use!
It works great for in-studio and field shoots!

I have an old Manfrotto aluminum tripod to use when I am in mucky, unpleasant or tight quarters. Especially when doing macro because it is s smaller tripod.
I am waiting to do a ceiling art shoot at the hospital and have only to buy a crossbar, tether table, and a dolly to have a completely mobile setup for the Studio's digital MF camera/lens.

Great tripod!
 
michaelwj said:
I have to agree with Dave, every time I see this thread it makes me smile.
Richard, your enthusiasm and enjoyment is infectious. So infectious that I have a 500cm with a 50 CF FLE and a 180 CF pair on the way (it looks like I might need a spare dark slide too..). Taking note of your tripod musings I took the opportunity to upgrade my tripod to cope (mainly with the 180), a used Gitzo 3541LS with RRS BH55 ball head is on the way too. I’m really looking forward to slowing down and enjoying taking pictures for myself again. Thank you Richard.
Click to expand...

Great news. Enjoy it. I wish had the final push to get such a tripod. I’m currently thinking 2545T for the weight.
 
More proof of my description of Hasselblad being "The Erector Set of Photography".
The Single Exposure Back.

So I can shoot one exposure or 500. LOL

001 by Nokton48, on Flickr
 
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