Fun with the Hasselblad 907x

Vince Lupo said:
I'm not sure which I prefer - the first one is only slightly adjusted from the RAW file that came out of the camera, the second one has had its saturation reduced. I'm almost tending towards the less saturated one - almost reminds me a little bit of some early colourized images.

Preferences?
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Yep. Less saturated one, for me anyway. Pops.
 
Vince Lupo said:
I'm not sure which I prefer - the first one is only slightly adjusted from the RAW file that came out of the camera, the second one has had its saturation reduced. I'm almost tending towards the less saturated one - almost reminds me a little bit of some early colourized images.

https://flic.kr/p/2kgRC42 :: Howard County6
https://flic.kr/p/2kgVpox :: Howard County6a

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On my screen, these two images are so close as to be difficult to tell apart.

G
 
Godfrey said:
On my screen, these two images are so close as to be difficult to tell apart.

G
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Well they're definitely different, to be sure - the bottom one has had its saturation taken down by almost 70%, so you should see a difference. Even checking on both my iPhone and iPad I see the difference, so not sure what might be going on.

One thing I will say is the de-saturated one looks a bit red to me. I may tweak it a bit.
 
Vince Lupo said:
Thanks Larry - I just tried taking it down even more. Something for me to consider looking at for future colour shots from this camera?
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That’s too much, at least for me. The goldilocks version, the first desaturated one, but not the more desaturated one, is the one that strikes me. It’s odd how small differences can affect the impact, though maybe it’s just me.
Am guessing the utility of desaturation might be specific to this specific shot, with this combination of the colors in the background and the colors in the coat, or ones like it, as opposed to something that would work generally. Again, probably just me.
 
I went back to the first pair, nipped copies of them on my local disk, added the third one, and brought them into LR. Differences are clearer ... I was on another machine earlier and, call it a trick of the light, they looked so close it was hard to say anything. In LR, the differences are plain to see. I agree that the first desaturation is good, the second a bit too much.

Whether it's doing what you had in mind I do not know. The scene looks like a chilly day, and the desaturated version says "more chill" to me. In a sense, it also brings to mind the difference between photos with Agfachrome and, say, Kodachrome from years past ... Kodachrome had brighter, more vivid color, Agfachrome's colors were more muted and quiet.

I have done a lot of desaturated color in my photos. In a sense, it's one way I seek to reduce the documentarian, "declarative" nature of photos and move them into more abstractive, "archetypical" notions. Going with a monochromatic rendering has a similar effect, but sometimes a scene benefits from some color more than from no color.

Fun stuff. :)

G
 
Larry Cloetta said:
That’s too much, at least for me. The goldilocks version, the first desaturated one, but not the more desaturated one, is the one that strikes me. It’s odd how small differences can affect the impact, though maybe it’s just me.
Am guessing the utility of desaturation might be specific to this specific shot, with this combination of the colors in the background and the colors in the coat, or ones like it, as opposed to something that would work generally. Again, probably just me.
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Yeah now that I look at, I think the first one was better. I think as you say it's something that I should approach on a photo by photo basis. Ah well, something to experiment with!
 
Vince Lupo said:
Black and white version!


Gotta say, in spite of the fact that this camera can deliver some beautiful colours, the black and white tones that can be gotten are pretty nice too.
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Like the color version better. Just love the color out of that sensor. Something special.
 
james.liam said:
Like the color version better. Just love the color out of that sensor. Something special.
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Thanks for your input. It’s interesting that in the black and white version you’d never know that was a sunny day. I can go either way colour vs b+w with this shot, but yeah the colours out of this camera are nice.
 
I have been waiting for a reasonably priced digital back for my V system Hasselblads. I have my first purchased 500 CM from Fox Talberts in London, a 503CW and SWC/M with a bunch of lenses. This new offering of the back and tiny body has me interested, I would rather just buy the back as I have all wide enough glass for my needs. So the question is what is this system like with the 80/50/150 lenses attached. I am a black and white film person primarily but I am prepared to use it for color if need be. So what about it ?
 
jmpgino said:
I have been waiting for a reasonably priced digital back for my V system Hasselblads. I have my first purchased 500 CM from Fox Talberts in London, a 503CW and SWC/M with a bunch of lenses. This new offering of the back and tiny body has me interested, I would rather just buy the back as I have all wide enough glass for my needs. So the question is what is this system like with the 80/50/150 lenses attached. I am a black and white film person primarily but I am prepared to use it for color if need be. So what about it ?
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I don’t know when the back itself will be available for purchase on its own (not sure if that’s something they’re even planning on doing anytime soon), but it works very well on V-system bodies. Just attach it like a regular film back, make sure you have the correct camera body chosen in the back’s menu, and that’s it. Use the cameras as you normally would.

As far as those lenses go, I have the 50-60-80-150 lenses and they all work well. The 50 and 60 work out to be closest to being a ‘normal’ lens with the crop factor, but for me the crop factor doesn’t make any difference in practice, and I’m personally not all up in arms about the fact that it’s not the full 6x6 (I’m sure if it was ‘full frame’ it would be three times the current price). So overall I think all those lenses work very well with the back - we have a few examples in this thread that were shot with V bodies and lenses.

Another thing I will say is that unless you have a 90 degree prism finder, verticals will be a bit of a challenge hand-held. With the 907x body attached, I find verticals to be pretty straightforward (and this is without using the accessory grip), but taking verticals with the waist-level finder on a V body will be, well, not so straightforward! So let’s just say that I hope you’re more of a horizontal shooter if you intend on using the full size of the horizontally-aligned sensor.

I will say one thing from a personal standpoint: Despite the fact that I have three V bodies and those lenses, I find myself reaching for the 907x and its lenses more. Not sure if it’s the size of the back/body combo, the amazing resolving power of the XCD lenses wide open, the quietness of the 907x and the lenses, or a combination of all those things. Hmmm may be something I need to further investigate!

As far as black and white vs colour goes, I’m like you in that I’m more of a black and white shooter for personal work and have been for 40 years. Plus I came from both the first and second Leica Monochrom cameras, so I was a bit concerned about how the files from the Hasselblad would compare. The files are fantastic and have a ton of flexibility to them, so there’s lots of room for ‘interpretation’ in post if you so choose, and the resulting prints look really good (I actually just sold my first black and white print from the 907x yesterday, so hopefully that’s an encouraging sign of things to come!) Having said that, I do almost feel a little guilty about dispensing with the beautiful colours that this sensor produces in favour of a black and white image, so hopefully you can surmount that little hurdle. Guess if it’s any consolation, these files give you the flexibility to choose between black and white, colour or something in between (as evidenced above!) and back again. Definitely different than printing a colour negative on Panalure.

All in all, I think this back/body combination is very versatile and has opened up a whole range of possibilities. Don’t blame me, however, if you find yourself amassing a lineup of XCD lenses as well :)
 
Vince I love the black and white, and also the first desaturated version.

Years ago Yanidel on this forum used to post a lot of Paris street pictures slightly desaturated. I think he might have used some split tone as well. I really liked them. Here's his RFF Gallery. These days they're full color.
 
lynnb said:
Vince I love the black and white, and also the first desaturated version.

Years ago Yanidel on this forum used to post a lot of Paris street pictures desaturated. I really liked them. Here's his RFF Gallery. These days they're full color.
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Thanks Lynn for your thoughts -- yes I think it's something worth investigating. I'm sure it's not necessarily applicable for every situation, but I can see its aesthetic uses. As an aside, I've gotten into shooting glass plate stereos at Civil War battlefields this year (they're in this thread here: https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19983 ), and have been doing 'colourized' versions of the them as well as the regular black and white. Have to say that sometimes I prefer the colourized versions, as oftentimes they reveal a 'depth' and separation of the elements that isn't always evident in the black and white versions.
 
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