Lose the Hasselblad? Keep the RFs?

[35mmdelux]

Ive got a pretty nice Hasselblad. Its a great camera; I use it almost exclusively for portraits of my son.

I shoot MF mostly with my Makina 67 & I recently I got a Mamiya 6 (mint) and 75mm lens. I enjoy shooting with rangefinders as they focus fast, load fast and compact enough to take anywhere easily.

I also have a few Leica M cameras... Starting to sound like too much gear for me.

What do you guys think? Should I lose the Hasselblad?

 

[historicist]

Out of interest, how do you find your mf cameras? I hated my Makina 67, the Mamiya 6 calls me like a siren (though I've never even held one in my hands), Hasselblad I liked but preferred my Rollei SL66... I'd be interested to hear your experiences.

To answer your question, it sounds like a case of too many cameras for sure! But if I was in your shoes I would decide between the Makina and the Mamiya 6, on the grounds that the Hasselblad offers SLR viewing that none of your other cameras do.

 

[35mmdelux]

I love my MF cameras especially when I enlarge to 16x20 and the detail remains solid.

Hasselbald: Easy to handhold, 120/220 capability, love the WLF. The 100mm CF fabulous portrait lens. Bad: not the best option for world travel.

Makina 67: Not the fastest shooting RF, but easy to focus and compact for world travel. Heavier than Mamiya 6. Fully mechanical, probably last forever.

Mamiya 6: More compact & lighter than Makina. Sharp lenses. 120/220 capability. AE capable. Bad: some say weak winder mechanism. Since I only shoot a few rolls month not a big deal.

 

[mfogiel]

Well, and what if you would like to use the MF for shots like this one:

When it comes to careful composition, or close up, or tele or portrait, the Hassy is the tool... I also have too many cameras, but i do not have many OVERLAPPING cameras...

 

[35mmdelux]

I'm headed into an election battle where I will need to have cash more than too many cameras. My Leica and its back up stays. I would like to keep two MF cameras if possible.

 

[historicist]

I used to occasionally travel with my Hasselblad (usually I travel with my Rollei TLR) and didn't find it too bad. It's quite a small, square kind of shape and I found that fairly easy to pack into my normal bag for the day. Even weight wise, I didn't find it to be at all heavy, even though it weighs a fair bit more than the Makina.

When I had the Makina, I found that although it is small folded, it is still too thick to easily squeeze into the kind of space you might have spare in a bag. Plus, there is rather a lot of vibration when the shutter is released (not sure if that was just mine of a general thing) so the advantage RFs have in hand-holdable slow shutter speeds was partially lost. It was also rather slow to use which I found to be a disadvantage as much of my travel is work/study related so I need to be squeeze photos in when I see something on the way to a conference/train station etc. The last reasons why I preferred the Hasselblad is because I like to take close up photos a lot, and just needed to slap a proxar on, no chance with the Makina, plus I prefer 6x6.

That's why I'd keep the Mamiya and the Hasselblad, one very light camera and one for close ups and careful framing. Though really, I think a lot just depends on personal style/preferences, and bear in mind I really didn't like the Makina at all.

Just to put my objective hat on for a moment, there is an argument for selling the Hasselblad. If you in the end decide you miss it and want to buy another, they are ten a penny and will almost certainly be cheaper than when you sold it. Makinas and Mamiya 6s seem to be much thinner on the ground.

 

[aizan]

depends on the kind of portraits you like more, head shots vs. 3/4. you could conceivably sell two cameras, since the mamiya and plaubel makina are fairly similar in function.

 

[35mmdelux]

Hello, historicist,

Thanks very much for your perspective. Im actually thinking along the lines you suggest, which is keeping my Leicas, Mamiya, and the Hasselblad. For travel the Mamiya 6 is light and about as compact as one will find.

Again, tks for posting.

Paul

 

[35mmdelux]

depends on the kind of portraits you like more, head shots vs. 3/4. you could conceivably sell two cameras, since the mamiya and plaubel makina are fairly similar in function.

A great compact kit would be my two Leicas and the Mamiya. I rarely do head shots as its not my forte.

TKS -- Paul

 

[aizan]

in that case, i would sell the hasselblad and one of the mf rangefinders. of course, you could also sell all of your current mf cameras and buy a fuji gf670!