Just got a hassy, what lenses?

Jake Mongey

Jake Mongey

Well-known
Local time
9:04 AM
Joined
May 11, 2016
Messages
558
I am now the proud owner of a Hassy 500 EL from 1969 with a prism and a12 back which i managed to snag for about £225 out of my now depleted LF fund. Problem is lenses are expensive and theres 3 different versions of each lens. Probably looking to get the 80mm planar and 150mm sonnar but is it worth getting the newer versions as opposed to the original C version.

Also on ffordes they have some cheap lenses for about £100 which have scratches etc but work. Would it be worth getting one of these as long as it doesnt impact IQ (I keep a lens hood on all cameras to minimize flare anyway)

Sorry for the somewhat dumb question I just dont know the hassy system very well at all!
 
Congrats. I also have the EL (the camera that went to the moon !), black 80 Planar and 150 Sonnar and a chrome 50 Distagon.

Even the older chrome lenses are stellar. Just make sure there is no haze and that shutter and aperture work. WRT scratches, as long as the rear element is clean, small defects on the front don't matter much.

What else ? I recommend one or two 9V battery adapters, 2 x 9V batteries hold forever (even though one is enough). I also modified a grip with an EL-specific shutter cable, I find that very useful, can hand-hold down to a 30th or so.

Roland.
 
The blad is a great tool. I love the 150mm. I also own the 60mm and 100mm f3.5 which are both respected for their very good quality (especially the 100mm).

Lars
 
ferider said:
Congrats. I also have the EL (the camera that went to the moon !), a black 80 Planar, 150 Sonnar and chrome 50 Distagon.

Even the older chrome lenses are stellar. Just make sure there is no haze and that shutter and aperture work. WRT scratches, as long as the rear element is clean, small defects on the front don't matter much.

What else ? I recommend one or two 9V batter adapters, 2 9V batteries hold forever (even though one is enough).

Roland.
Click to expand...

I have one 9v adapter which has a connector that goies in one socket and a wire attached to the 9V which goes in the other. Regarding scratches would this be too far:
http://www.ffordes.com/product/17032211114681
I mean its £100 so if it is fine then ill have saved a lot of cash
 
Take your time and get the newest 80mm you can afford. Parts are becoming scare for the older versions and you don't want to be left with a paperweight. The 80 is a good lens to start with and learn the camera. If the battery pack is still holding a reasonable charge, then you'll be ok. If you find your only making it through a roll before the charge dies then you might look around and see if there is anyone in the UK to do a 9 volt conversion. Good luck with it and have fun.
 
If you're on a budget don't worry about getting the T* multi coated versions. I've used Hasselblads since 1969 and there's no big difference in T* vs non T*. The coatings on the non are excellent too, I've owned both.

Chrome C lenses non T* will be the cheapest.

My personal favorites are the 40 and 120 S Planar if I could own just two lenses but the 50 and 120 are a great combo. I feel the 120 S Planar is a better all around lens than the 150 although the 150 is good. I never use my 80 so it's a waste of money but I do own one.

A lot of people go the 50, 80, 150. I used Hasselblads when I worked for corporations but personally owned Rollei SL66's until a few years ago. The Rollei has exactly the same optics as the Hasselblad lenses just without a shutter and in a different mount. I had a 30, 40, 50, 80, 120, 150 and 250. I rarely used the 150 in favor of the 120 which was a fantastic lens. My 40 was used a lot as well and then 3rd would be the 80.

Now I own Hasselblads and have the 40 FLE, 50 FLE, 60, 80, 100, 120 macro Planar f4,180 and 250. I had the 350 but sold it. All are CF lenses with the exception of my 80 and 250, my least used lenses. I also had a SWC/M but didn't care for it. I like the 40 FLE much better. The finder distortion for the SWC/m is terrible and hard to use for precise work and the add on focusing screen is terrible.

IMO the best of the best lenses are the 100 Planar and 180 Sonnar with the 40 FLE, 50 FLE and 60 running close.

If you can swing it the CF lenses are a better choice because all parts are available and they're much newer and a very good value.

Another really good combo would be the 60 and 120 S Planar in C lenses. For two lenses and pleasure shooting I might pick these two and my first choices.

One thing to look out for. I had an older C T* 150 and was on a commercial shoot when I fired the camera and a strange noise came from the lens and the camera blacked out. It turned out the shutter blade cracked and tore in half. I sent it in for repair an learned that stress fractures aren't uncommon in the older compur C lenses. It wasn't very expensive to fix but that was 15 years ago.

Enjoy!

EDIT- I had an EL I used with a digital back and the 9v adapters are great. I used the horrible Hasselblad NICAD batteries in the 70's and they're nowhere as good as the 9v adapters.

One wow of caution when using the EL in cold dry climates. I was a research aerial photographer in the early 70's and we used 4 EL's mounted in the belly of our aircraft with 4 different types of film in 70mm backs. In cold dry conditions the EL can create static marks on the film. More than once I had images ruined because of that.
 
x-ray said:
If you're on a budget don't worry about getting the T* multi coated versions. I've used Hasselblads since 1969 and there's no big difference in T* vs non T*. The coatings on the non are excellent too, I've owned both.

Chrome C lenses non T* will be the cheapest.

My personal favorites are the 40 and 120 S Planar if I could own just two lenses but the 50 and 120 are a great combo. I feel the 120 S Planar is a better all around lens than the 150 although the 150 is good. I never use my 80 so it's a waste of money but I do own one.

A lot of people go the 50, 80, 150. I used Hasselblads when I worked for corporations but personally owned Rollei SL66's until a few years ago. The Rollei has exactly the same optics as the Hasselblad lenses just without a shutter and in a different mount. I had a 30, 40, 50, 80, 120, 150 and 250. I rarely used the 150 in favor of the 120 which was a fantastic lens. My 40 was used a lot as well and then 3rd would be the 80.

Now I own Hasselblads and have the 40 FLE, 50 FLE, 60, 80, 100, 120 macro Planar f4,180 and 250. I had the 350 but sold it. All are CF lenses with the exception of my 80 and 250, my least used lenses. I also had a SWC/M but didn't care for it. I like the 40 FLE much better. The finder distortion for the SWC/m is terrible and hard to use for precise work and the add on focusing screen is terrible.

IMO the best of the best lenses are the 100 Planar and 180 Sonnar with the 40 FLE, 50 FLE and 60 running close.

If you can swing it the CF lenses are a better choice because all parts are available and they're much newer and a very good value.

Another really good combo would be the 60 and 120 S Planar in C lenses. For two lenses and pleasure shooting I might pick these two and my first choices.

One thing to look out for. I had an older C T* 150 and was on a commercial shoot when I fired the camera and a strange noise came from the lens and the camera blacked out. It turned out the shutter blade cracked and tore in half. I sent it in for repair an learned that stress fractures aren't uncommon in the older compur C lenses. It wasn't very expensive to fix but that was 15 years ago.

Enjoy!

EDIT- I had an EL I used with a digital back and the 9v adapters are great. I used the horrible Hasselblad NICAD batteries in the 70's and they're nowhere as good as the 9v adapters.

One wow of caution when using the EL in cold dry climates. I was a research aerial photographer in the early 70's and we used 4 EL's mounted in the belly of our aircraft with 4 different types of film in 70mm backs. In cold dry conditions the EL can create static marks on the film. More than once I had images ruined because of that.
Click to expand...

I think judging by the lenses I use most on my c33 the 80 150 and 250 are right by me. Is the FLE relating to an optical formula special to that lens or is it a different iteration of the lens like the C vs CF vs CFi?

Thanks for the input and luckily im in England and theres plenty of moisture - on the way back from walking about 2 miles to the post office and back to pick up the camera there was some sudden HEAVY rain and the camera seems to have been fine. I got quite a chill though.
 
Also what straps would you guys reccomend? Not a big fan of thin leather straps I want something functional and comfortable as opposed to good looking.
 
Youare on the right track! Congrats. Older lenses are AOK, they work great. I have just about all of them myself, except for the 500mm and 250mm Apochromat. The chrome lenses are good to go; I went for 70s vintage black T* myself.

David Odess is the Hasselblad repair guru (he does my work) and he says those 9v adapters do no harm to ELs and EL/Ms.

ENJOY!


Hasselblad made a wide strap that I use myself. They are around. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hasselblad-...077516?hash=item2efe6d640c:g:SikAAOSwSlBYte1a
 
Some on Ffordes at about £100 you mean one, you don't want a 250mm yet!!

Anyway you have a 'blad let's partially quote Margaret Thatcher 1982 "Just rejoice at that news"

The C lenses are, in good shooting conditions, indistinguishable from the latest CFi or CFE. I have a 50C and can't tell, unless shooting close up, between that and my 50 CF FLE version.
Have a look here:
https://www.camleyphotographic.com/product-category/hasselblad-v-system/v-lenses/
or here:
https://www.cameramuseum.uk/pre-owned-hasselblad-lenses
But the C repairs are becoming difficult and many have been thrashed professionally a nice one is still nice though and price wise no argument.

The classic set is 50/80/150, you are I see falling into that trap but-
You may find the 50 is much wider than you think and can get some getting used to, (think 28mm on a 35mm camera it's not an easy 35mm focal length equivalent you need to remember the frame is different look at the diagonal) the 80mm is fine but in performance the 100mm is much better optically (which doesn't mean it takes prettier pictures just technically better ones, the 80mm has a look and is a touch faster and some say the bokeh is better) and if you are going MF for quality then you need the 100mm, the 150 is classic portrait but the 180mm is again technically a better lens easily seen if shooting digital where the 150mm can't compete but on film it's fine. So a clever choice is the 60mm, wide enough and lighter than the 50mm an excellent lens, I know 60/80 sounds close but it isn't through the viewfinder, a 100mm designed for flat plane aerial mapping and virtually distortion free as standard and the 180mm as tele, less popular choices so often available for less money but the classic set were the sellers so there is more choice. The prices are pretty stable you can buy, try and sell for little loss, call it renting experience.
Overall the lenses improve with price C to CF to CFi/E but the increase in performance is very far from linear and if you took my 50 CFE away and left me the 50C i would have no problems, I shoot it on a H body with a 39MP back and the results are stunning, I am the limiting factor not the lens. Don't fret about front scratches/marks avoid rear scratches like the plague, Chinese hoods are very cheap and work fine. Don't fret about "matched" backs never found anyone saying they could tell a difference and Pros never bothered when loading, often less money or should be.
Last comment: never buy a pristine old lens always buy a well used one, the good ones get used the poor ones sit on the shelf or in the bag.

27727721674_0e665b0295_z.jpg
 
ChrisLivsey said:
Some on Ffordes at about £100 you mean one, you don't want a 250mm yet!!

Anyway you have a 'blad let's partially quote Margaret Thatcher 1982 "Just rejoice at that news"

The C lenses are, in good shooting conditions, indistinguishable from the latest CFi or CFE. I have a 50C and can't tell, unless shooting close up, between that and my 50 CF FLE version.
Have a look here:
https://www.camleyphotographic.com/product-category/hasselblad-v-system/v-lenses/
or here:
https://www.cameramuseum.uk/pre-owned-hasselblad-lenses
But the C repairs are becoming difficult and many have been thrashed professionally a nice one is still nice though and price wise no argument.

The classic set is 50/80/150, you are I see falling into that trap but-
You may find the 50 is much wider than you think and can get some getting used to, (think 28mm on a 35mm camera it's not an easy 35mm focal length equivalent you need to remember the frame is different look at the diagonal) the 80mm is fine but in performance the 100mm is much better optically (which doesn't mean it takes prettier pictures just technically better ones, the 80mm has a look and is a touch faster and some say the bokeh is better) and if you are going MF for quality then you need the 100mm, the 150 is classic portrait but the 180mm is again technically a better lens easily seen if shooting digital where the 150mm can't compete but on film it's fine. So a clever choice is the 60mm, wide enough and lighter than the 50mm an excellent lens, I know 60/80 sounds close but it isn't through the viewfinder, a 100mm designed for flat plane aerial mapping and virtually distortion free as standard and the 180mm as tele, less popular choices so often available for less money but the classic set were the sellers so there is more choice. The prices are pretty stable you can buy, try and sell for little loss, call it renting experience.
Overall the lenses improve with price C to CF to CFi/E but the increase in performance is very far from linear and if you took my 50 CFE away and left me the 50C i would have no problems, I shoot it on a H body with a 39MP back and the results are stunning, I am the limiting factor not the lens. Don't fret about front scratches/marks avoid rear scratches like the plague, Chinese hoods are very cheap and work fine. Don't fret about "matched" backs never found anyone saying they could tell a difference and Pros never bothered when loading, often less money or should be.
Last comment: never buy a pristine old lens always buy a well used one, the good ones get used the poor ones sit on the shelf or in the bag.
Click to expand...

I think when it comes to lenses I am mostly influenced on price and while you say that the 180mm is better those prices simply are out of my reach. I definitely dont plan on using these for digital and mostly shoot BW and print up to 16x20, would you say that the 80, 150 and 250 would handle that?

I have a good idea of how focal lengths perform on 6x6 as I was lucky enough to inherit my grandfathers mamiya C33 with 55,80,135 and 250 lenses and the lenses I am looking at are based on my experience on those lenses (I favor teles.)

When it comes to ffordes I would probably get the 150mm sonnar on there for £99 which i linked to earlier and I think I will get this as its always worth a try and like you said I can always resell.
 
Jake Mongey said:
ooh those straps sell for about £40 at the cheapest, thats far more than im willing to spend on a strap. Is there any way of just getting the lugs and attaching my own strap to them like on the RB67?
Click to expand...

Yes, just search on ebay. I use a fairly wide and soft OPTECH strap, US 19 or so.

ChrisLivsey said:
The classic set is 50/80/150, you are I see falling into that trap but....
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a trap, but then 28 is my favorite FOV on 35mm. So I agree with Chris, if you like 35 on 35, 50/80/150 might not be for you. And - BTW - the 250 Sonnar is a great lens, even in chrome.

And one more note: the prisms are great for portraits, but outside, the WLF is very useful too, helps me composing.

Roland.
 
Roland,
Im not a wide angle guy so 80, 150 and 250 will be good for me (the mamiya 250mm sekor is my fav lens on the mamiya c33) so as long as I can get a good hassy lens for a good price I should be fine and not need a wide angle.

I do need a WLF though as this only came with a prism and im pretty sure it has a bright screen installed as the VF is incredibly bright
 
I always found the standard 80mm Zeiss Planar lens as the most useful lens on my 'Blad.
 
The FLE lenses are floating element lenses. It improves close focus but the lenses are refprmulated and improvements over the non FLE. The non FLE are still excellent though. fLE all came in F, CFi and CFe. The CFi and e were the same as CF except for the electronic contacts for the electronic bodies. There's no gain on the 500 bodies.

Basel lad made a 2" strap. I have one but haven't used it in years.

There was also a CB series of lenses. The CB were a bit cheaper and lacked the setting for the focal plane F series although I think they'll work. I used a 2000 series where I worked in the 80's but don't remember much about it.

I'd suggest looking at the 120 S planar f5.6. It's not expensive and better than the 150.
 
When I had a Hasselblad I owned the 50, 80, 150. All CF lenses. I enjoyed using the 150 for tight head shots. I skipped the C lenses because the shutter spring eventually needs replacement.

I sold the whole kit eventually and moved on to a Pentax 67 :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom