ken_wayne1

<p>Also, can you briefly explain why more focus points wont matter as much in sports photography? I mainly shoot products so never use my gear for sports really. Can you explain the difference between focus points vs. center-point AF and AF-C? I thought the more focus points the body has the better chance she has of getting her photos in focus. Up to this point that's been her main objection with her older camera. She says she can't get good focused shots. But her digital camera is from 2005.</p>

<p>Thanks for sharing your thoughts Eric. I needed to add that she only wants a new kit. She's not much on buying used though that's the route I would personally go. Thanks again.</p>

<p>Hello,<br /><br />I looked around the site first to try and find a question relative to the one I'm asking and didn't find anything recent.<br /><br />I have a friend on a budget of $500 to $800. She has children who play a lot of baseball and soccer outdoors and basketball inside in the winter months. Yet she obviously wants to be able to take family shots as well. I assume every camera on the market today is able to take nice still photos but she needs one that would be more suited for sports photography. I told her the more focus points she can get the better but I'm not hip to the latest products so any help is greatly appreciated.<br /><br />I'm more apt to buy prosumer products but it looks like it's hard to find anything in her price range so I'm guessing she needs to buy the more plasticky consumer models. She said she doesn't want anything that's big and gawky. <br /><br />So can someone in the know suggest a nice kit for her?<br /><br />I'd be very grateful. And if this has already been discussed elsewhere then I respect that my post can be deleted if someone will tell me where to look.<br> <br />thanks in advance,<br />Ken</p>

<p>I will let the others help you with the comparison between the rolleiflex vs. Hasselblad.<br /><br />I sell Hasselblad cameras. If you go for the Hasselblad then skip the 501c and spend a little more money and get a 501cm kit which has the gliding mirror system without any vignetting issues when using the longer focal length lenses. Otherwise you might as well go for a less expensive 500cm kit with an 80mm CF lens. Try to buy a 501cm kit that was all sold together when it was purchased new. The box will show the original serial numbers. There are plenty of all original 501cm kits floating around for sale so I'd wait for a good all original kit with box in the $1100 to $1400 range.<br /><br />I would not buy any camera without seeing it first. Condition can vary greatly and most everybody calls everything "mint" today when it is not mint. On a Hasselblad find out what the rear of the body looks like without the magazine attached. See if a lot of the black paint is rubbed off on the lower right and left hand corners and it will give at least some indication as to how harshly and often the camera has been used. Make sure the film magazine insert # matches the number on the casing. All 501c kits are black paint trim on both the body and magazine so you will want to see if the paint is chipped off much. It should be supplied with an Acute Matte screen which will have faint white crosshairs. Many times people switch them out and put less expensive screens in them and they will sell the good focusing screens out of them to someone else. So check the focusing screen and if it has solid black crosshairs then that is the old original screen and worth very little.<br /><br />Also, you can look at the lens shade bayonet mount on the end of the lens to see how much wear the lens has. See if those bayonet mount lugs have a lot of brassing ( paint loss ) on them. Price is relative to condition.<br /><br />All 501c kits came with an 80mm f2.8 Black Planar lens that only has a "C" printed on the barrel. If it has a silver lens or a lens that says "synchro-compur" on it then that is the older C lens and not the lens that came with the kit.<br /><br />But, again, my encouragement is to forego the 501c kits and go for the 500cm with 80mm CF or the 501cm kits with the 80mm CB lens or CFE lens.<br /><br /></p>

<p>I have sold a lot of 120mm CF's over the years. And never once have I had any photographers describe what you've described here. I've not known the 120mm lenses to be anything less than outstanding. This may be some specific issue to your lens.</p>

<p>Ola it is called by several names. It is most often called the "Hasselblad Waist Level Finder Neutral Diopter."<br /><br />It is catalog #42331.<br /><br />But you may want to search the internet by entering these searches:<br /><br />Hasselblad 42331<br />Hasselblad Focusing Hood Neutral Diopter<br />Hasselblad 0 Waist Level Finder Diopter<br />Hasselblad Zero Diopter<br />Hasselblad 0 Waist Level Finder Diopter<br /><br />Or any variation of any of those words.</p> <p>Here is a link which shows it as B&H photo sold it in the past:<br> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/21200-REG/Hasselblad_42331_0_Zero_Diopter_for.html<br /><br />If you need anything else just let me know.<br /><br />blessings,<br />Ken</p>

<p>Hello Ola,</p> <p>I would venture to say that it has the wrong diopter in it to meet the needs of your eyes. As you mentioned they are removable. The puzzling part is that "usually" the Hasselblad waist level finder replacement diopters will have a +1 or -2 or whatever they are ( if they are not neutral ) in one of the corners of the diopter. But perhaps yours is still a different strength than neutral and simply isn't marked.<br /><br />The only place to find a neutral strength replacement will most likely be on the used market at eBay or KEH or another camera store. I just looked at all those places for you and unfortunately not one of them had a neutral waist level finder diopter.<br /><br />But you can obviously keep checking. Ebay is most likely going to be your best bet.</p>

<p>You can see on some of the original boxes where this star is shown that the "quality control" was done in Japan. Because dealers in Japan wanted to distinguish their wares from grey market peddlers I have read that Hasselblad items which were sent to Japan were marked with either a white star on a green background on the little speed ring button on the lenses or with the star like the one you're seeing on the 501c body at eBay.<br /><br />Some people claim that the quality controls for Japan were tighter than in other markets and they will try and sell the idea that a Japan Star model is better than others but I don't believe that for a second. Perhaps I'm wrong about the quality issue but I'm sure someone else here can confirm. <br /><br />So to summarize - they are Hasselblad products that were first sold through dealers in Japan and I certainly would not pay the prices they are wanting for the 501c kits. You will do much better to buy a 501cm kit which are sometimes cheaper than the 501c kits you'll see. But check which screens are in the kits. If you don't see a screen in the kit which has the two notches cut out in the metal frame around the glass then don't pay as much for it as one which does have such a screen. Those are the Acute Matte D screens which have more value than the older screens or the Acute Matte non D screens. The other screens are fine - just not as valuable on the used market as the D screens.<br /><br /><br /></p>

<p>Mark that should have said a bay 60 to 67mm adapter ring. I'm sure you knew that but did want to clarify for anyone else who might read this thread later on.<br /><br />There are always several of them on eBay at any point. Just type in "bay 60 67mm" or something similar and you should see plenty. </p>

<p>Hello Mark,</p> <p>You can buy a Hasselblad version of the Ø60 filter size which will fit directly onto your lens. Or what some people do is buy a bay 60 to 67mm Filter and then buy a B&W 67mm yellow filter which is similar in size.<br /><br />Pretty easy solutions. I just sold a brand new yellow filter for $189 but typically they sell on the used market for around $75 to $100. I have a bay 60 yellow that has some scratches on it I'd sell pretty cheaply if you're interested in it. Just write me privately.<br /><br />If not - no big deal and I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.</p>

<p>Yeh I think the screen you had was the problem. Not the camera body.</p>

I've never known the "feet" to matter Charles. If you lay one with the feet and the one without the feet side by side on a flat table are they the same height?

<p>Charles, <br /><br />As Michael said - you definitely have a 500cm body which was labeled 500c. Seems I've read that some people suggested the reason to be that they kept labeling them 500c was just to use up the remaining labels. But if yours has the clips and removable screen it is definitely a 500cm body and there should not have been any shims or anything else in there. But it's worth looking as Michael suggested.</p> <p>Those other screens you bought should fit unless you bought some kind of odd knockoff that I've never heard about.<br /><br />Something definitely weird going on there. Any screen that is a Hasselblad brand should work.<br /><br />Let us know what you find out.</p>

<p>Hello Ray,<br> The A12 film backs are exactly what you need for the 500cm. The C12 backs are the oldest and have a peep hole in the rear for you to line up the film. The A12 was the next model and were called such until they quit manufacturing them. The backs that you're talking about with the electronic connections are the E series backs such as E12, E16, E32, etc.<br /><br />Those electronic contacts are utterly useless with the 500cm and since those E12 backs typically sell for more money there is no reason for you to spend the extra money.<br /><br />The newest A12 backs will have the factory dark slide holder on the rear of the magazine. Any A12 magazine will work for you. It will boil down to age and condition which will dictate the price.<br /><br />You can look at the date code on the magazine. You should see a number such as RP 3241073. The date coding for Hasselblad products is VHPICTURES = 1234567890 whereas V=1, H=2, and so on. So look at the letters only in the serial numbers and you can date the item. In my example the magazine would have been manufactured in R=8 and P=3 so 1983. Also, you should check to see if the serial number code on the insert matches the casing number. In my example the insert number would be 073 because they only put the last three serial number digits on most of the magazines. The older magazines will have complete serial numbers on both the casing as well as the insert.<br /><br />A great website which can load you up with information about such things can be found here: <a href="http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/">http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/</a><br /><br />So in summary - no need for the E series magazines. My suggestion is to get an 80's or 90's model A12 and let it fly. Just ask the seller if the insert # matches the casing number, if there are no spacing problems, and if the light traps are good with no light leaks. If so - price will be relative to cosmetics.<br /><br />There are many threads here using the search function relative to the C lenses vs. the CF but a quick note on that is that the C lenses are fabulous. Well worth what you pay for them these days. But the CF's get the nod more because they no longer make parts for the C lenses. The only parts left are the ones the repair guys have hoarded or being sold on the used market. Some repair guys still have quite a stockpile of parts so it's not the end of the world for C lenses as of yet but you get the idea. Both models are superb and you will do well with either.</p>

<p>Thank you so very much Mark Zell for this post. I've never read many threads in the conversations section but this one is riveting and important. The photograph is amazing to me. An incredible moment of humanity frozen in time. The video is also amazing. Thank you so much for the links. I had never seen the video.<br /><br />I would also like to thank you, JDM von Weinberg, for posting the link to the Saigon girl. Your post propelled me to go and read the story of the rest of her life and it's an amazing story of tragedy and triumph. As an unwavering believer that Jesus is the Christ and that He is the answer to the world's problems I was beyond elated to read that Phan Thị Kim Phúc had become a Christian and now lives in Canada with her husband and two boys. She has always just wanted to live a normal life and it now seems she is happy and blessed in her family.<br /><br />And I'd like to thank each person who has responded. Very thought provoking responses to a very important discussion.</p>