Hasselblad SWC street shooting technique

ymc226

ymc226

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For those who use this camera shooting "street" style, that is, of people that may be moving shortly, how does one frame and focus?

I am thinking of getting one and plan on using the hyper-focal technique at the smallest aperture possible for the given situation to maximize depth of field. (I have a Leica M and a 21mm Zeiss Biogon 2.8 and use it with success using it this way but want the larger negative of the SWC)

Are there any other effective techniques in focusing that could be used on a potentially moving target?
 
The SWC is a fantastic little camera. I really enjoy the one I have. Hyper-focal is about it unless you use a ground glass back which doesn't work well for moving subjects. Stopped down the DOF is so great you won't have to worry and the DOF indicator is a very good guide to set focus for any given aperture. I would suggest learning to shoot from the hip as I often do. It covers 90 degrees so framing isn't as critical and with that size negative you can do some cropping without loss. The best thing is to practice till you are comfortable shooting that way.
 
A friend of mine has done a lot of street shooting with a Canon 5D and a Zeiss manual focus 50mm lens wide open and all shot from the hip Hong Kong Street. This is a longer lens than your SWC and and via the technique he employs it should suggest that street shooting with the Hassy should not be too difficult - its all about practice
 
agree with x-ray and Craig

The Hyper focal is a good and fast way for scale focus type cameras to get picture in focus. You can use DOF indicator on the lens like x-ray already said this but no need to use the smallest aperture if the subject you take are in the range. Some time you may found that a very small aperture may give you a picture that not as sharp as the picture taken at a little bit wider aperture. That's an optical effect call light diffraction.
 
I think Ray has nailed it. You have to go out and try to frame some situations, then check the distance with another camera, and see what type of distance you want to use. For SWC, I would say, you should not be more distant than a couple of meters from the subject, maybe less. Once you train yourself to judge the distance and the frame reach, it becomes quite natural. I suggest you load up on TX400, set it at ISO 800 and develop in Diafine - you will gain a couple of stops tolerance in each direction. This way you could shoot at f11-f22 most of the time.
 
Thanks, you all have convinced me that it will be easy to learn. I think the weight savings of not having to lug around my 205FCC/50mm Distagon will be great. Now I have to locate a SWC.

Are there any issues when buying a SWC I should ask?
 
I have a 905swc and it is my favorite camera. I would suggest buying an SWC/M or 903 unless you want to dish out for a 905. You should buy from a good source like KEH.

38mm Biogon = total happiness!
 
I see there are at 4 903's at KEH from bgn to exc+. Any difference between the SWC, SWC/m and 903? I don't need to use a Polaroid back but are the len's performance different?
 
Remember a good rule of thumb...the frame size is 1.5x greater that the focus distance. IE a subject at 10' will be in an image sized at 15'x15'. Good to know when your down to 2 or 3 feet and you image size is 3'x3' or 4.5'x4.5' respectively.
It's the best all around camera I have. You can crop a 1.5 to 1 and have the equivalent of a 24 on 35 or crop a 24x36 and have the equivalent of a 38 on 35. Very versital as a one camera one lens setup. (of course you need a second one as a backup:)
Lynn
 
One difference that may matter to you is the finder. Some of the late SWC/M and the 903s have a plastic finder with a bubble level built into it. The older SWC and SWC/M have a bubble level in the body and a mirror on the finder. Ideally, try before you buy.

I picked up a Voigtlander 6x6 right angle finder and love it. The view and framing are much more accurate than the plastic viewfinder after comparing with the ground-glass back. It might not matter to you, and like x-ray said, there's plenty of negative to crop. Bad news is the Voigtlander finder is hard to find.

Some worry that parts for the older Hasselblad lenses (SWC and older SWC/M) might get scarce someday, but they are not exactly fragile little teacups. This is nitpicky, since they are all great cameras, but the late SWC/M with the bubble level still on the body and newer shutter design are the Goldilocks to me. The 903s have the bubble just in the finder, so if you use a different finder you'll need to attach a bubble level if you care about parallel verticals.

Either way, you'll love the images it produces. At f11 the depth of field is something like 6 ft long at 6 ft (3ft to 9 ft is in acceptable focus). Whether you guess the frame or use a finder, focusing is easy unless you have no clue how far 3 ft or 9 ft is.
 
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D-o-F is so enormous that it's really not a problem. I scale-focus, even at full aperture. All right, my 38/4.5 is on an Alpa, not a Hasselblad, and I use 66x44mm not 56x56mm, but it has to be about equally easy.

Cheers,

R.
 
As said before, try to get the SWC/M with the CF lens and new VF, or go directly to the later models, 903 or 905. Although I have not used it, but I imagine a Hasselblad pistol grip could be a nice addition for the street type work you want to do.
 
mfogiel:

The SWC has a multitude of ways to handhold the camera, because the shutter button is placed on the top. When looking through the viewfinder, I use my left hand to hold the camera from underneath and right hand placed on the right side of the camera, using my index finger to shoot. This makes for easy winding too. When shooting from the hip, I hold the camera evenly from both sidse, and use my thumb on the shutter. With the bubble level on top of the viewfinder, getting level images is easy from the hip.

MikeL:

I have a Voigtlander 6x6 finder as well. The image is really good, albeit a little small. But for some reason the finder won't sit tightly in the shoe like the regular finder and keeps coming off. Have you had the same problem?
 
I'm so excited. I just been in contact with a very nice RFF member who had one of those unobtainable Voigtlander 6x6 right angle finders to sell and bought it. Now I need a camera!
 
macmx said:
MikeL:

I have a Voigtlander 6x6 finder as well. The image is really good, albeit a little small. But for some reason the finder won't sit tightly in the shoe like the regular finder and keeps coming off. Have you had the same problem?
Click to expand...

Hi macmx, same problem on mine. I just put a single piece of scotch tape on the bottom of the finder, and then slid it on. That worked for me.
 
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MikeL said:
Hi macmx, same problem on mine. I just put a single piece of scotch tape on the bottom of the finder, and then slid it on. That worked for me.
Click to expand...

I had similar issues on my Zeiss finder on my M2 when I was using the 21mm Biogon. I cut out a template from a thin piece of index paper and used that as a "shim" to keep the finder in place.
 
IT'S here!!! My 903 SWC arrived from KEH today. EX+ condition but it looks new to me. Only the VF looks a little worn but I don't care as a right angle Voigtlander VF is coming from a fellow RFF.

I brought some Neopan 400 and my Twinmate L-208 so I can take some test shots in the office today, much to my collegues' chagrin.

Sorry about the poor quality. I took the picture from my Blackberry.

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