Holy price drop - ever looked at Hasselblad lenses lately?

[SuperUJ]

Dear John,

Not sure. I suspect that Leicas are ALWAYS classified as collectibles, whether rationally or not. Also, Leica M7s are current production cameras, unlike Hasselblad V-series, and high-end MF cameras were in widespread use by professionals, who mostly dumped them to go digital, thereby flooding the market. Finally, if prices are the same as they were 10 years ago, than allowing for 2% inflation (generous), then prices are about 4/5 of what the were.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but equally, I was making a broad generalization which I suspect is mostly right.

Cheers,

R.

Hi Roger,

Thanks for the clarifications. I can see your points and your math is spot on. Generalized statements get me from time to time.

Regards,

John

 

[Vickko]

Really? Wow, I still have an Aurum and a Wide.
🙂

For some reason the Hasselblad V system hasn't got the kind of magic the Rolleiflexes are now surfing on. Get out with a Rollei and you'll see how cool young people will find you are. 😉

 

[RedLion]

I'll be hanging on to mine as well.

 

[philipus]

Thank you all for the replies re service needs. Makes me very interested to pursue the Vs.

 

[ath]

Wow. Almost not worth it to sell.
Better to just go out and shoot them.

Isn't that a bit harsh? At least give them a decent funeral then...

 

[Vickko]

Yeah, don't be worried.

Hasselblad V service concerns never bothered me.

I find them as reliable as, well, as reliable as can be.

Thank you all for the replies re service needs. Makes me very interested to pursue the Vs.

 

[Highway 61]

If you think Hasselblads are cheap look at the prices for RB-67 gear....

Hasselblads and Mamiya SLRs, etc. made sense for pre-digital pros who needed to switch films and shoot Polaroids, do close ups and other commercial applications but nowadays most people who shoot medium format are doing it for fun. If you want high image quality you might as well go to 4x5 for not much difference in weight, and a good DSLR will do all the telephoto or macro work you'd want... so most people are left shooting wide to normal lenses. And the medium format rangefinders are excellent with wides and normals, as are the TLRs.... Lugging a medium format SLR with a couple of lenses is actually heavier than many 4x5 kits.

This is all true.

I have been owning a mint 500CM + black 80/2.8 Planar C T* and lotsa nice accessories for three years, and at the end of the day I realized that I had shot about ten rolls with that outfit, because I was only shooting it on special occasions, merely because it was too large and too heavy to be a daily companion.

OTOH, during the same time my Rolleiflex shot hundreds of photos because it was almost always in my (not that large) photo bag - or even in what rather looks like a city messenger bag. This included trips to Canada, Italy, and somewhere else.

So, the Hassy left the house some months ago, and I am not regretting it. It's a beautiful piece of gear, but not something for someone not doing some studio work and not needing several lenses for their MF production.

 

[Lawrence A.]

Yep, I'm glad I sold my kit last year... buyers market now!

Which is good for me!!

As for Hasselblad being a studio camera: It never has been for me. Rather it is a smaller than a viewcamera field camera. Once it is on the tripod with a lens, a couple more lenses in a backpack is pretty light, and lugging the loaded tripod is easy. I have some cheap studio lights but very rarely use them. I like the photography gets me outdoors.

 

[VertovSvilova]

Holy price drop - ever looked at Hasselblad lenses lately?

I just peeked at V lens ebay "sold" prices, thinking of maybe selling a couple of mine.

Wow. Almost not worth it to sell.

Better to just go out and shoot them.

Just be sure to blindfold them first and then give them a proper burial.....

 

[hepcat]

It IS a great time to buy Hassy gear...

It IS a great time to buy Hassy gear...

not so good if you bought it new and you're trying to sell tho...

I've just acquired some really nice later-production 500 gear at some VERY attractive prices to start shooting weddings with again. There are some really good buys to be had if you're patient and you know where to look. I bought three bodies, seven lenses, a half-dozen backs and other odds n ends and still have less tied up than buying a new M240 body alone. Considering that I sold my old '70s vintage Hassy gear with "C" lenses almost 20 years ago for about twice what I bought late '90s gear and mint CF lenses (all within spec, btw,) I'm amazed.


P1020636 by chief1120, on Flickr


P1020635 by chief1120, on Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

Holy price drop - ever looked at Hasselblad lenses lately?

I just peeked at V lens ebay "sold" prices, thinking of maybe selling a couple of mine.

Wow. Almost not worth it to sell.

Better to just go out and shoot them.

I just reacquired my Hasselblad kit last year. SWC, 500CM + Planar 80, Sonnar 150. Three backs, all the other filters and accessories I'll ever need. Soon I'll send the SWC and Sonnar off for CLA.

Why sell it? I have no intention of doing so, ever. When there is no more film, I'll give it a cherished place in the display cabinet. Didn't cost me much a year ago..

G

 

[Laviolette]

Nice kit! What are the lenses?

 

[hepcat]

Nice kit! What are the lenses?

Thanks. I've got a 501cm, 503CXi, and 500cm bodies. I've got the 500cm re-listed for sale since I picked up the 501cm with the GMS. The lenses are a CF Distagon 50, CF Distagon 50 FLE, two CF Planar 80s, and a CF Sonnar 150, CF 180 and CF 250.

 

[kkdanamatt]

Thanks to the success of the Diana and Lomo 120 film cameras, we will have a steady supply of 120 film for years to come.

Today, the Hasselblad V System is a great bargain, affordable to those of us who could only dream of owning a Hassy when we were in college. For about $1K, a complete system can be assembled, consisting of a 500C/M, three lenses, two backs, and a prism. Compare that to buying a full-frame digicam body only, which will be worth about $500 in two years.

 

[David Murphy]

For an amateur photographer, even someone quite advanced and liking MF a lot, keeping Hasselblad V stuff at home over the years doesn't make sense any longer : second hand prices drop, shutters gumming-up themselves, backs light seals deteriorating, backs geartrains gumming-up themselves or getting dry, mirrorr damping material deteriorating...

At the end of the day you're left with some gear in need of some expensive repair/service, on which you cannot work yourself most of the time, and having lost most of its potential resale value.

The story is different for the Rolleiflexes and the Mamiya 6s/7s, fortunately.

Hasselblad cameras and lenses are among the least expensive and most routine to have serviced and maintained. They were a standard professional tool and any competent camera tech knows them backwards and forwards.

 

[VertovSvilova]

For about $1K, a complete system can be assembled, consisting of a 500C/M, three lenses, two backs, and a prism. Compare that to buying a full-frame digicam body only, which will be worth about $500 in two years.

I'm assuming you're just generalizing here for effect. 😉

The reality is that the Hasselblad has clearly depreciated even more so. That $1k system you describe was super expensive not too long ago (as you pointed out, it was not very affordable for many people.) It saw a huge depreciation. On the other hand, I sold my D700 body only after more than three years of heavy use and for close to what I paid when new.

Film cameras are cheap because of low demand from a shrinking base of film users. While I do understand your point of digital obsolescence, not all digital cameras lose value that rapidly. (e.g., those in the price category or quality of an original Hasselblad or Leica film camera, etc..) Especially now that digital has kind of hit a ceiling in terms of IQ; people are buying used digital and/or holding on to what they already have. And while a $1k 'lower end' digital may indeed only be worth $500 after two years, it doesn't imply it's not still useable. It simply lost resale value. But I do get your point.

However, it'll be interesting to see what that $1k used Hasselblad system will sell for in another two years. Maybe $500? There was a ton of Hassleblad equipment in circulation over the years (plus there will be a point where film is too expensive and/or not easy to acquire and/or process which will drive those prices down even farther.) And despite a current trend with a new digital camera model available every year, that sort of thing will slow down as people stop buying new digital cameras since they are happy with what they have, and know that the IQ can't really be improved upon enough to warrant spending more money. And that appears to becoming the case already with certain digital cameras, they are holding their resale value well despite new model offerings which are increasingly not offering any truly higher image or functional qualities or any new paradigm than what already exists (and people are realizing that now.)

 

[noisycheese]

When I bought my 501c starter kit with the 80mm f/2.8 and A12 back, it was right at $3000 USD. Nowadays you can buy that kit used in "9" condition for about $1000 USD. It's the same for Nikon film gear.

This is why I will not sell or trade my Nikon gear. I don't use it much as I mainly shoot with rangefinders these days - but it will be an icy Friday in hell before I give my Nikon gear away. no way in hell.

Why? I see the value in Nikkor glass and cameras like the F3hp and FM2n; they are two of the finest SLRs ever made. Letting them go for $100 or so each is just plain dumb IMHO.

 

[rkm]

I just reacquired my Hasselblad kit last year. SWC, 500CM + Planar 80, Sonnar 150. Three backs, all the other filters and accessories I'll ever need. Soon I'll send the SWC and Sonnar off for CLA. Why sell it? I have no intention of doing so, ever. When there is no more film, I'll give it a cherished place in the display cabinet. Didn't cost me much a year ago.. G

When there is no more film, how about a digital back?

 

[hepcat]

The reality is that the Hasselblad has clearly depreciated even more so. That $1k system you describe was super expensive not too long ago (as you pointed out, it was not very affordable for many people.) It saw a huge depreciation...

Film cameras are cheap because of low demand from a shrinking base of film users...

However, it'll be interesting to see what that $1k used Hasselblad system will sell for in another two years. Maybe $500? There was a ton of Hassleblad equipment in circulation over the years (plus there will be a point where film is too expensive and/or not easy to acquire and/or process which will drive those prices down even farther.)

To be fair, I think this needs a little clarification... I've been following the used Hasselblad market daily now for a couple of months and I've gotten some bargains on later '90s vintage gear, but...

the Hasselblads that are dirt cheap right now are 500c and early 500cm bodies, and the "C" lenses. Replacement parts for the "C" lenses are no longer available from Hasselblad; current stocks are all there is. Many of the "C" lenses are the older, single coated versions. The newest 500cm body is twenty years old with production ceasing in 1994. 500c and 500cm bodies are now twenty to fifty-seven years old with a total production run of thirty-seven years from 1957 to 1994. Other than Leica film cameras, I doubt any brand still has as many bodies still in service after that many years.

I recently bought a nearly unused 503CXi outfit with three late-production CF lenses for about 1/4 of their 1996 list price; which, frankly, is a pretty good return. I doubt you'd expect to get that much return of list price on any other consumer goods item from 1996 except perhaps a Leica M or a few luxury watch brands. There isn't a car from 1996 that comes to mind that would be worth buying today at any price, even if you could find one in new condition. And, for my purposes, I got a deal on some extraordinary film equipment I'd never have been able to afford new.

The later models' prices, (the 503CX and CXi, 501c & cm, 503CW and all of the later F bodies) are still holding value quite well and are selling briskly considering that they're now out-of-production film cameras. CFi and CFE lenses' prices are also holding quite well at the moment. The used pricing of CF lenses has dropped a little, but it's really only the C lenses and 500c and 500cm bodies that are going for bargain-basement prices.

Just as Leica lens prices have been driven up by demand from mirrorless digital body use, if someone comes up with an affordable digital MF body that can use the CF lenses, or an affordable digital back for the half-million "V" system bodies that are circulating, I think there'll be a renaissance in the "V" system pricing. Those Zeiss lenses are amazing.

 

[ChrisLivsey]

The later models' prices, (the 503CX and CXi, 501c & cm, 503CW and all of the later F bodies) are still holding value quite well and are selling briskly considering that they're now out-of-production film cameras.

But are entirely usable with current production digital backs, the film bit is a bonus.

To be fair, I think this needs a little clarification... I've been following the useif someone comes up with an affordable digital MF body that can use the CF lenses, or an affordable digital back for the half-million "V" system bodies that are circulating, I think there'll be a renaissance in the "V" system pricing. Those Zeiss lenses are amazing.

Early digital backs are affordable coming in at or below D800 body prices, define "affordable".

The digital back option for the lens is via adapters, at the top the H system :angel: Sony A7 series offers an option as well. Yes, crop frame but then there are no true 6x6 MFDB anyway, the definition of medium format in digital has been the subject of "economical with the truth".