My first Hasselblad pic ... and a thankyou!

[Phantomas]

You know one of those questions about "if you were to keep just one camera" that most can't answer? Well, I can, if I were to keep just one it would be the Hasselblad.
Of course I hope that would never happen, but I guess if jesus came down and held me at a gunpoint and destroyed all the other cameras I'd ask him to spare the Hassie. And him being a jesus he probably would.

 

[mfogiel]

Remember Keith, do not be afraid to use the tripod... Hassy is a tripod animal mainly... always use the MLU and make sure you have enough dof to cover the subject. e.g. this lady would have benefitted from a higher f stop... BTW, you might want to look for the 150/4 Sonnar for portraits...
Enjoy !

 

[FrozenInTime]

Don't be intimidated by advice like this :

Hassy is a tripod animal mainly... always use the MLU

Don't be afraid to use it handheld - it works great. Likewise for the vast majority of images mirror lock up is not required.

ISO 400 film at 6x6 looks as good or better than ISO 100 on 24x36.

 

[Silva Lining]

I always think of it as CLAP! WHOOOSH!

Also, I only hand hold my hasselblad 500cm. I can get good results down to 1/60 without using mirror lock up.

Hmmm, mine goes 'kaa-flumpflump' perhaps Hasselblads have regional accents?😀

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Congrats on a great shot and a great rig.

Todd

 

[ChrisN]

Well done Keith - I have waiting for your first Hassy shots to appear. How do you think you will like the square composition?

 

[Keith]

Remember Keith, do not be afraid to use the tripod... Hassy is a tripod animal mainly... always use the MLU and make sure you have enough dof to cover the subject. e.g. this lady would have benefitted from a higher f stop... BTW, you might want to look for the 150/4 Sonnar for portraits...
Enjoy !

I was pushing my luck a little with these shots as the light was pretty dim, so it was f2.8 hand held at 1/30 sec with HP5+ ... they (when I got the focus right) actually turned out sharper than I expected because the thing seems to kick a like a mule in your hand when you fire the shutter! 😛

I'll definitely be looking for a longer lens though because one thing became very obvious when looking at my results ... there ain't much depth of field wide open at minimum focussing distance! 😱

 

[rover]

So, who is in the dust storm?

 

[Keith]

So, who is in the dust storm?

That seems to be all over today ... from my deck I can see clear out to the bay which is some fifty kilometers away.

I gather it's pretty well all over in Sydney too! 🙂

 

[ChrisN]

I was pushing my luck a little ... because the thing seems to kick a like a mule in your hand when you fire the shutter!

For anyone who hasn't already seen it: the Hasselblad Penny Trick - the shutter vibration test on Youtube.

 

[Keith]

For anyone who hasn't already seen it: the Hasselblad Penny Trick - the shutter vibration test on Youtube.

I saw that and it amazed me ... especially after actually holding my Hassy for the first time and pressing the shutter. 😱

I actually have an idea for an SLR configuation that will cancel out all vibration and reaction from mirror movement ... they've been using it in automotive engineering design for years! 😀

 

[arseniii]

I personally had a terrible experience with Hassys. First of all, I still do not understand how to load a film in this thing. I had an original manual on me which surpisingly didn't have any SINGLE picture in it!!! And to read 50 pages while you are out shooting is really not what I like about medium format photography. Second thing is it's an SLR, and it doesn't come with all these things we like about RF.

 

[Nokton48]

KA-DA-BOOM!!!!!!!!

More like "SNIP-FLUP".

 

[cnphoto]

More like "SNIP-FLUP".

yep, snip-flup. i love that vaccummous woosh of air as the massive mirror comes crashing back down after releasing the shutter 🙂

 

[jan normandale]

• The penny trick on youtube is by an RFF member Luke Healy
• I like the ‘snip flup’ description, I hear the sound as “ke-chunk”
• Lots of ‘blad shots and info/help here : http://www.flickr.com/groups/hasselblad/

 

[Keith]

After staring at the Hasselblad for a while I go and look at my son's '88 Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon ... you know there really is not that much difference

Square ... functional and HEAVY!

He definitely loves his 740 as much as I love this 500cm! 😛

I think I'll try clamping it to the Manfrotto this weekend and hook up a cable release ... may even use the mirror lock up! 😀

 

[dacookieman]

Keith, the mirror lock up/ pre-release is a lifesaver! I used it many a time for photographing landscapes. In fact, I used it a few hours ago during sunset, however remember to bring your cable release! I forgot to bring mine, and kicked myself for that:bang:.

Glad you're enjoying your 'blad, i just got mine a month back, and i must say i'm LOVING it!😀

 

[Keith]

I personally had a terrible experience with Hassys. First of all, I still do not understand how to load a film in this thing. I had an original manual on me which surpisingly didn't have any SINGLE picture in it!!! And to read 50 pages while you are out shooting is really not what I like about medium format photography. Second thing is it's an SLR, and it doesn't come with all these things we like about RF.

I don't see the film backs as being that complicated ... but then I am fairly mechanically minded.

This youtube video is very useful ... the guy explains it simply and carefully.

I'm very impressed with the acuracy of the film spacing on the Hasselblad... the Bessa 667 Folder I had for two weeks was all over the place ... and as for my Iskra! ... 🙄

 

[Keith]

One thing I meant to ask is what's the most usable prism finder to get ... when I go to KEH's site there seems to a lot of different types?

 

[dacookieman]

Congrats on getting one now🙂 As the saying goes, "Better late than never!" 🙂