Just got a hassy, what lenses?

[x-ray]

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 😀

I had 3 Pentax 6x7's and used them mainly for aerial work but they were excellent for commercial work. The big disadvantage was Polaroid. You had to dedicate a body to Polaroid. It was really inconvenient switching from Polaroid to film on a tripod and back and swapping lenses at the same time. Otherwise they were great to use and dependable. Lenses were superb too.

 

[ptpdprinter]

Is seems like Hasselblad could, at no great expense, contract with a specialty spring manufacturer, to fabricate a stash of replacement springs and make them available to select Hasselblad repair technicians.

 

[Rayt]

The C lenses are cheap as chips especially the classic 50, 80, 150, 250mm chrome lenses. I have read about the dreaded spring failure since joining photo.net 20 years ago and as a Blad user have never experience spring failure, nor do I know anyone with this experience and non of the repair people I have used said it was a problem. My oldest Hasselblad is the original Supreme Wide I think from 1954 and the shutter with original factory spring is still very much working and accurate. The Supreme Wide was a mint condition collectible when I bought it from KEH so I assume everything is original. After a good professional CLA it is as good as new and I have since put it to good regular use. I don't know how it was stored, whether with the shutter cocked or not. There is also internet banter about the dangers of storing a hasselblad with the shutter cocked or not cocked (not sure which way is better) else it will fail. The poor spring needs tension to be accurate or The poor spring while tensioned will stretch. Oh no!

 

[x-ray]

I've never known anyone to store their lenses uncocked and never known of a problem. I do however store mine at 1 second. The compute are different than a regular computer for a view camera lens and don't know if it applies to Hasselblad compurs. With view lenses at 1 second and uncocked there's less tension on the springs. I cocking the c lenses, I wouldn't bother.

 

[Rob-F]

My 150mm CF is very sharp, right out to the edges, even wide open. I think the 80mm is just fine for most purposes, without bothering with the 100. For shooting handheld, I probably don't realize any sharpness improvement with my 100. One advantage of the 100 over the 80 is that the 100 has no distortion, while the 80 has a little barrel distortion. For architecture, that counts; otherwise, the 80, being the normal focal length for the format, is often better to compose with. I would not be without my 60 CF; yet for some reason, I cannot bear to part with my 60 C T*. For the 50mm, I have owned the 50 CF, and now the 50 CF FLE. The improvement of the FLE over the former version makes it well worth getting the FLE.

I think it is good to select a system of lenses so that they are nicely spaced. 50-80-150. Or 40-60-100-150. With the latter, each lens is 1.5 times the length of the previous one, so the spacing is uniform throughout the set.

The older C lenses are nicely made, with the numbers and letters engraved in, not merely silkscreened on. And I do like the automatic depth of field indicators on the C lenses! The T* coating on the CF and subsequent is better for color. The lower contrast of the C lenses is good for black & white.

The springs for the C lenses are getting scarce. Zeiss no longer supplies them. A time will come when they won't be repairable (unless something happens).

 

[Rob-F]

I've never known anyone to store their lenses uncocked and never known of a problem. I do however store mine at 1 second. The compute are different than a regular computer for a view camera lens and don't know if it applies to Hasselblad compurs. With view lenses at 1 second and uncocked there's less tension on the springs. I cocking the c lenses, I wouldn't bother.

The springs don't fatigue by being kept under tension. Wear happens when the metal is being flexed, as when taking a picture, or winding the shutter.

 

[ChrisLivsey]

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?
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.

I mentioned digital because it is cruel to lenses and if they stand up to that you never need worry on film.
16x20 is no problem, for any of the lenses.
There is another 150mm here that is T* and a starter kit that is good value
http://www.collectablecameras.com/cameralist.htm

Probably the kit is gone, the break up value is higher than the asking price, I have bought from them with no problems. I would be happy with the Ffordes one they are reputable and stand behind the gear they sell.

 

[philipus]

Check out Kameratori in Finland.

https://kameratori.fi/products/hasselblad_en/lenses?sort=price-asc

It's a reliable seller with return privilege and good prices. I've bought Hasselblad stuff from them and been happy. They have quite a bit of Hasselblad equipment.

As for straps, I use the long thin Hasselblad strap with my 203FE. I like that it lets me carry the camera across my body and that it slides fairly easily so that I can quickly grab the camera when needed. Like a Hasselblad Black Rapid haha.

Edit: The 80 Planar is a great first lens I think. It is actually very versatile. Add a few extension rings and easily shoot near 1:1 macro or add a 2x converter and get a 160 f5.6.

br
Philip

 

[Chuck Albertson]

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.

The 80mm is a good start, you can shoot anything/everything with it. The 80CB lacks one of the lens elements found in the CF line, but it's still quite sharp and I haven't seen the need to upgrade mine. The 150 is great for portraits and other medium-telephoto subjects. I found a decent price for a used CFi and have no complaints about its performance. It is supposed to be a bit more robust mechanically and had some mods to the internal baffling that makes it more flare-resistant.

 

[Godfrey]

I have a '78 500CM and 50, 80, 120, 150 mm lenses for it. The 50 and 80 are black T* C lenses, the 150 is a chrome C lens, and the 120 is a black T* CF lens. All are delightful.

I've been using the 120 the most. It is simply a superb lens, in every way, and I like the extra close focusing capability.

Every time I think of how little I use this kit nowadays, I consider selling it. And then I take it out and am glad I have it. I'll likely have it forever at this point. 😀

G

 

[Nokton48]

Jake.

For your uses a chrome or black 80mm C T* or non-T* would be cheap and entirely adequate. You can get a 2X converter cheaply and there's your 160mm F5.6

 

[Bill Clark]

I made photographs of people. Used the 150 for portraits and 80 for the rest. But I do have a 50 f4 chrome version that I did use every so often.

Hardly ever use any of my Hasselblad stuff anymore!

Do you have someone who could be your coach and mentor? I was lucky and found a good person who really helped me launch my pro photography career and was always there during my journey with helpful advice.

 

[Jake Mongey]

In the end ive ended up getting a chrome 150 sonnar but spending a bit more to get one with good glass but still poor cosmetics. Ive also got with it some bay 50 filters and a spare film back. Im also on the side working towards running 70mm film through it to keep film costs down but ill need to work another few months to regain my funds to do so.

Do you have someone who could be your coach and mentor? I was lucky and found a good person who really helped me launch my pro photography career and was always there during my journey with helpful advice.

I wish I did but i live in the middle of nowhere and ive applied to work as an unpaid assistant multiple times to just about every photographer in the area with no luck. Ive just made another effort at the start of my summer vacation and ive got one place that looks hopeful