A Hasselblad, more than 40 years after first looking.

KM-25 said:
The X2D is outstanding, a great addition to my immense Hasselblad film based system. But those new V lenses, the 38V and 55V, I had to return them both. They are fine for documentary and portrait type work but simply do not work at all for landscapes where corner sharpness matters. I had them both for 10 days, shot almost 100GB of photos comparing them to my 45P and 65mm 2.8 and they did not even come close to equaling the exceptional optical output of the latter two.

If I can ever find a super cheap used 55V, I would happily use it as a walk around, but soft / smeared corners on a 102MP sensor is a total non-starter for me for landscape work.
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No doubt you have gone to some effort to appraise the edge and corner sharpness of the XCD 55V. And in landscapes you must have sharpness from side to side and top to bottom, so I get entirely what you are advocating. And if you want people to pay you money for what you do you had best be prepared for every possible quibble or complaint. Better you than me. ;o)

For my casual use the lens is pretty sharp, even in the corners. I post this link to a Flickr photo of a pine tree at a distance and the needles resolve nicely. Now comes the problem of the corners. The lens was at f/2.5, an effective f/2.0 for 35mm, which is shallow depth of field. Had I been thinking I would have shot at a smaller lens opening.



The tree resolution is sharp but the edges are not as sharp. Is it the different distance in a shallow depth of field? I'll try some shots of similar at smaller lens openings just so that I can see the softness and understand what you are talking about. My parole officer likes me busy. LOL Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
 
Went by the river this morning deciding to shoot more of the Ektar roll I’d only just started, two shots taken. Looked to see what nonsense the frame counter was making of things after my first shot this morning, having wound on, and there was a nice centered 3 in the frame counter. And one more shot, 4. Still, like Dirty Harry, in all the excitement had I lost count? I was sure I’d taken 2 shots in the garden the other evening. One more this morning should have seen me already at 4 after winding on. Well, I’m not a punk, but yeah, I do feel lucky.
 
The controls on the new 50 Distagon f4 C T*, including Self Timer.

Just used the self timer on the new C series 50. The self time is one great advantage of those older lenses. Another Hasselblad myth, already soundly beaten by Vince in this thread, is that these are too old to consider getting and are costly to repair and the parts are no longer available etc. This lens is from 1980 when lubricants were already a lot better and it is in such good condition that the main worry was that it might be some locked up shelf-queen. The speeds all sound right and the 1s runs smoothly. The self timer again is reputed to be dicey, a bit like in Rolleiflex internet lore. They work still if you use them.

A little lever is pushed forwards near the V X M metal lever, starting position on X, so as to push it V. (Worked that out all by myself, having not re-read the manual...) That did feel a little stiff. Not sure it travelled home entirely at V, but it was good enough. The shutter collar lever is pushed to T and the shutter button depressed manually. I had not forgotten from reading the manual five years ago that a cable release doesn't work for this and is not necessary. The rear shutter ('barn door') opens immediately on depressing the shutter button, and the very quiet smooth running of the self-timer lasts about 10 seconds at which the shutter fires, aperture opening for the set time and then closes. The flash setting returns to X. The barn doors remain open till the shutter collar lever is returned to O.

All very satisfying. Not quite as beautiful as Vince's chrome 50 but still with the wondefuful knurled focus ring, rather to close to the body for ergonomic perfection and a knurled aperture ring.

I tink I prefer the CF iteration of locking the aperture to shutter speed by depressing a button, rather than the default link of the C lenses. I was a little alarmed to find the only option to unlink them was to press a large metal flange/lever which pulls the aperture setting ring towards the camera presumably stretching it a little but I later looked this up and it is clear that this will last the lifetime of the lens, and longer. I am still learning how to move faster than a crawl with incremental shifts of aperture and then a linked combination to slowly get from 1/250s f8 to 1/8s f4. I am beginning to feel that moving the shutter speed ring is quicker than first moving the aperture ring while it is depressed towards the camera body.
 
boojum said:
No doubt you have gone to some effort to appraise the edge and corner sharpness of the XCD 55V. And in landscapes you must have sharpness from side to side and top to bottom, so I get entirely what you are advocating. And if you want people to pay you money for what you do you had best be prepared for every possible quibble or complaint. Better you than me. ;o)

For my casual use the lens is pretty sharp, even in the corners. I post this link to a Flickr photo of a pine tree at a distance and the needles resolve nicely. Now comes the problem of the corners. The lens was at f/2.5, an effective f/2.0 for 35mm, which is shallow depth of field. Had I been thinking I would have shot at a smaller lens opening.



The tree resolution is sharp but the edges are not as sharp. Is it the different distance in a shallow depth of field? I'll try some shots of similar at smaller lens openings just so that I can see the softness and understand what you are talking about. My parole officer likes me busy. LOL Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
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I have a magazine assignment coming up in March in that for a ski race that I am doing a super artistic portrayal of and want to also generate some fine art pieces out of it. So I am going to use my X2D and I just rented the 55V for it to see if I can manage a better result. Here are the samples from the same race in 2017 I did for a coffee table book that I got the assignment with.

Maybe I got a bad couple of copies of it and this one will be cleaner in the corners.
 
KM-25 said:
I have a magazine assignment coming up in March in that for a ski race that I am doing a super artistic portrayal of and want to also generate some fine art pieces out of it. So I am going to use my X2D and I just rented the 55V for it to see if I can manage a better result. Here are the samples from the same race in 2017 I did for a coffee table book that I got the assignment with.

Maybe I got a bad couple of copies of it and this one will be cleaner in the corners.
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Thank you for your quick and kind response. While I would hope that you got a bad copy of the XCD 55V I would also be unhappy at bad QC on HB's part. And mine must be tested at a much smaller aperture of some really detailed images, maybe the same pine tree again. It is in a state campground so I am pretty sure it is still there.

I followed your link to the 2017 book. Edible color and magnificent composition. Your use of color is wonderful and a reminder at what end of the road I am at. LOL What did you shoot it with, HB? The color is just so good. A great series, so many winners. #12 just gets me in its quiet, poetic elegance. But it is a Sophie's Choice, they are all wonderful. Thanks for the link. And you do portraits right. Wow.

I'll get out with the XCD 55V at f/11 or so. On a personal level, I started with a box Baby Brownie (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/70/36/ea703609908ac57332c96d985d8b9d10.png) a long, long time ago. I got my icon here, the Vito II, in '53 or '54. HB has always interested me. With the X2D, and the calendar, I could no longer resist. It is the camera I have dreamed of since 1948 and that Brownie. Sometimes the really good things take time. Patience helps. ;o)

Thank you again. And good luck with the XCD 55V.
 
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Snafu #19 (?) Locked the camera up. Info only for occasional readers or those new to Hasselblad, or thinking of getting one. (Loved a post online recently: "So, I just got my first Hasselblad..." Goodness, this may be my only Hasselblad and I am more than happy enough with just this one. Reminds me of guys who refer, in her presence, to their wife as their first wife.

I was in a hurry and distracted. I swear no alcohol. And I think I have only done this once before, with the very first roll of film. Nothing much happened at pre-release on tripod. Oh dear. A small click only. Nothing at all from depressing the cable release. Pushed further to see if the lens was on properly. It was not. That tripped the leaf shutter but not the rest of the camera. I am usually so careful with making decisive lens mounting moves and feeling that definite clunk and hearing/feeling the vibration of the whole camera.

So I ended up with uncocked lens, a still closed rear shutter and a still cocked film back.

While the online information shows the lens off the body can be cocked with a coin, or a medium size flat-bladed screw driver, or a special slotted tool that sits over the lens cocking shaft to avoid slippage, it is a different tool required for cocking the lens when it's attached to the body, where it cannot now be used, and from which it cannot be removed without the following.

In the very neat depths of the mirror box, accessed by pushing open only the lower rear shutter 'barn door', there is a flat slotted silvery steel shaft that links to the lens cocking shaft. But forget manipulating a coin down there. And put aside the screw driver you sized for a practice cocking of a different lens.

I used a much smaller, 0.4 x 2.5mm Wiha precision screw driver. It was perfect for the job. Firm pressure downwards and rotation most of a whole turn cocked the shutter, evident from a palpable click and confirmed by now being able to look through the lens. This feared disaster is no disaster and not much of a problem really. Unless you're in the field without that screw driver. Which I might have been, as the one I kept in my bag from that first day one error, cannot be found.
 
Richard G said:
Snafu #19 (?) Locked the camera up. Info only for occasional readers or those new to Hasselblad, or thinking of getting one. (Loved a post online recently: "So, I just got my first Hasselblad..." Goodness, this may be my only Hasselblad and I am more than happy enough with just this one. Reminds me of guys who refer, in her presence, to their wife as their first wife.

I was in a hurry and distracted. I swear no alcohol. And I think I have only done this once before, with the very first roll of film. Nothing much happened at pre-release on tripod. Oh dear. A small click only. Nothing at all from depressing the cable release. Pushed further to see if the lens was on properly. It was not. That tripped the leaf shutter but not the rest of the camera. I am usually so careful with making decisive lens mounting moves and feeling that definite clunk and hearing/feeling the vibration of the whole camera.

So I ended up with uncocked lens, a still closed rear shutter and a still cocked film back.

While the online information shows the lens off the body can be cocked with a coin, or a medium size flat-bladed screw driver, or a special slotted tool that sits over the lens cocking shaft to avoid slippage, it is a different tool required for cocking the lens when it's attached to the body, where it cannot now be used, and from which it cannot be removed without the following.

In the very neat depths of the mirror box, accessed by pushing open only the lower rear shutter 'barn door', there is a flat slotted silvery steel shaft that links to the lens cocking shaft. But forget manipulating a coin down there. And put aside the screw driver you sized for a practice cocking of a different lens.

I used a much smaller, 0.4 x 2.5mm Wiha precision screw driver. It was perfect for the job. Firm pressure downwards and rotation most of a whole turn cocked the shutter, evident from a palpable click and confirmed by now being able to look through the lens. This feared disaster is no disaster and not much of a problem really. Unless you're in the field without that screw driver. Which I might have been, as the one I kept in my bag from that first day one error, cannot be found.
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I am guessing that with further use you will drop the things which cause problems and become more proficient. RTFM gets bandied about a lot but if you are at all like me RTFM happens only when we are deep in a problem. It's a guy thing. LOL

The downside is that mistakes cost film and film costs. I like the digital as it is less fussy. You'll get that rig humming in short order.
 
Thanks boojum. (Recovering from your use of drop…things. Almost not guilty there. Another story in a different system.) One golden rule for me is no alcohol around camera use. Wasted a frame yesterday changing backs. Took a beautiful shot carefully exposed for Ektar, but with one of my light meters set up for Tri-X in the other Hasselblad back…..one back and one light meter too many.

I have saved a fortune in film with the other, digital, system. The medium format film use is a slow trickle.
 
Pick up the Hasselblad lens cocking tool... it's not expensive ...and keep it in your bag. Much safer than using a screwdriver. 🙂
I've needed it once or twice over the years. Not a big deal once you understand the situation.

I find I need it most often when I'm using extension tubes as it seems easy to trip the lens shutter then by accident.

G
 
Richard G said:
Snafu #19 (?) Locked the camera up. Info only for occasional readers or those new to Hasselblad, or thinking of getting one. (Loved a post online recently: "So, I just got my first Hasselblad..." Goodness, this may be my only Hasselblad and I am more than happy enough with just this one. Reminds me of guys who refer, in her presence, to their wife as their first wife.

I was in a hurry and distracted. I swear no alcohol. And I think I have only done this once before, with the very first roll of film. Nothing much happened at pre-release on tripod. Oh dear. A small click only. Nothing at all from depressing the cable release. Pushed further to see if the lens was on properly. It was not. That tripped the leaf shutter but not the rest of the camera. I am usually so careful with making decisive lens mounting moves and feeling that definite clunk and hearing/feeling the vibration of the whole camera.

So I ended up with uncocked lens, a still closed rear shutter and a still cocked film back.

While the online information shows the lens off the body can be cocked with a coin, or a medium size flat-bladed screw driver, or a special slotted tool that sits over the lens cocking shaft to avoid slippage, it is a different tool required for cocking the lens when it's attached to the body, where it cannot now be used, and from which it cannot be removed without the following.

In the very neat depths of the mirror box, accessed by pushing open only the lower rear shutter 'barn door', there is a flat slotted silvery steel shaft that links to the lens cocking shaft. But forget manipulating a coin down there. And put aside the screw driver you sized for a practice cocking of a different lens.

I used a much smaller, 0.4 x 2.5mm Wiha precision screw driver. It was perfect for the job. Firm pressure downwards and rotation most of a whole turn cocked the shutter, evident from a palpable click and confirmed by now being able to look through the lens. This feared disaster is no disaster and not much of a problem really. Unless you're in the field without that screw driver. Which I might have been, as the one I kept in my bag from that first day one error, cannot be found.
Click to expand...
I had the same thing happen shortly after getting my "first Hasselblad", accompanied by that "Oh, sh*t!" feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was sure I had destroyed my new toy. But the very kind and helpful folks at my regular repair shop showed me how to fix the problem, gratis, and assured me that most new Hassy owners go through this experience at least once. And now I always carry that screwdriver with me! On my last vacation, my first order of business upon arrival was to visit a hardware store to pick up a replacement screwdriver and a can of compressed air, as TSA would not allow either on the plane. I was never a Boy Scout, but I do like to be prepared. Owning a Hassy means being willing to deal with their hissy fits!
 
Testing Studio Lighting 350mm f.56 Tele Tessar ELM by Nokton48, on Flickr

Hasselblad EL/M with 350mm F5.6 black Non-T* Tele-Tessar. Ilford 120 FP4+. Broncolor Balloon Head (gorgeous light as smooth and soft as you can get!) camera left, silver reflector just off camera right. Laser aligned Omega DII 180mm black Rodagon 8x10 Arista Matte #2 Multigrade. 18mm Hasselblad Extension Tube brought the 350mm lens into focus at this close distance. Seamless Paper "Sky Blue" Savage.
 
@Nokton48, I see an older post, you have or had a lot of 70mm film stuff, I m looking for a developing reel and tank, to do 4.5 meters of earofilm, I made a bulk shooter out of my Hassy SWC, now all I have to do is develop it 😉 any input is welcome. greetz Eddy .. dont know how to sent direct messages through this forum.
 
wesphoto said:
@Nokton48, I see an older post, you have or had a lot of 70mm film stuff, I m looking for a developing reel and tank, to do 4.5 meters of earofilm, I made a bulk shooter out of my Hassy SWC, now all I have to do is develop it 😉 any input is welcome. greetz Eddy .. dont know how to sent direct messages through this forum.
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Direct Messages: Click on the avatar of a post, and then click on "start conversation" ...

G
 
The V-system CF Sonnar 180mm f/4 that I ordered arrived today and it can only be described as "perfect" ... Not a mark on it, functions perfectly at all settings. I have no idea what they cost when new, but this one cost me <$500. A true bargain. 😀

Meanwhile, I was snapping around the house with the 907x/CFVII 50c and XCD 21mm lens. Very happy I have this lens...

 
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