Wide lenses for Hasselblad?

<p>Hi all, which are the best wide lens for Hasselblad 500CM, 501CM and 503CW excluding the last one which is quite expensive?<br /> <br /> Is 40mm F4 CF FLE suitable for one of them?</p>

<p>Chris,<br>

I picked up a mint 40mm C lens a few years back and it works very well and is priced quite a bit less than newer CF versons.</p>

<p>Best for what? We need a starting point to give you advice. It all depend if you are limited at a certain focal lenght or if you want to give pruiority to performance.<br>

If you need the wery wide angle of view of the 40mm you have the following option:<br>

old 40 C: reported not to be one very good over all in close-up range, in fact it has a stop in focusing ring that rember you to stop it down further. Big front element so quite prone to flare.<br>

CF 40 FLE better performance and better performance in close up range too due to the floating element (you need to select the focusing distance range manually).<br>

CFe 40 FLE same design as CF 40 FLE with bettere ergonomics, new shutter spring and (probably, at least they declare this) better flare suppression.<br>

CFE 40 IF new design with better resolution but more distortion, better suited for digital back with crop factor.<br>

in the 50mm range you can chose from<br>

C 50 not reported as one of the best lens in the line.<br>

CF 50 same design as the previous version with bettere rgonomics (and new shutter as all new CF lenses in respect to the previous C);<br>

Cf 50 FLE new design with floating elements (see 40 CF FLE)<br>

CFi 50 same design with bettere ergonomics, flare suppression, smoothere focus, etc.<br>

The 50 has better resolution and less distortion than the 40mm.<br>

60mm in CF - Cfi versions: still better performance (resolution wise). I don't know about the old C version (both f 1:4 and f 1:5,6).<br>

30mm extreme wide angle, the design is unchanged (I think) only the ergonomics has followed the change as the other lens (C - CF - CFi).<br>

If I was you I would choose the 50 CF FLE if I want the best resolution (and possibility to use same filters of other CF lenses) and the CF 40 FLE if I need a wider angle of view still mantaining good performance eithout the distrotion of the CF 40 IF.<br>

I consider the 60 too much near to the normal 80mm, so talking about wide angle lens I would limit the choice in the 40 - 50mm range.<br>

hope this help.</p>

<p>For almost the same cost as the old, heavy 40 C, and for less $ than the new 40 FLE, you can get the amazing Hassie SWC & have the incomparable 38mm 1:4.5 Biogon & an extra body!</p><div></div>

<p><em>Hi all, which are the best wide lens for Hasselblad 500CM, 501CM and 503CW excluding the last one which is quite expensive?</em></p>

<p>Any C or CFx lens will fit any of these bodies. If you think a 503CW is expensive, why are you considering a CF40, which costs three times that much? Medium format photography can be a money pit - get used to it.</p>

<p>What does "best wide lens" mean? A 40mm is wider than a 50, is wider than a 60, which is also the price in descending order. Hasselblad no longer supports "C" lenses, and parts are becoming hard to find. "CF" and newer lenses have a better shutter, often better optics and better ergonomics. The "FLE" feature consists of moving elements for better correction at close range. However, FLE lenses have better optics than non-FLE versions even if you don't use that feature.</p>

<p>Once upon a time, when wedding photographers used Hasselblads, the 60mm was considered the "normal" lens - wide enough for groups and candids without making egg-shaped heads in the corners. The 50 is perhaps better for landscapes and interiors. A 40 is kind of speciallized - considered "very wide" in medium format terms, and very expensive. The traditional Hasselblad kit consists of a 50mm, 80mm and 150mm lenses (or something on that order), which covers 85% of most people's situations.</p>

<p>Thanks folks, You are right I wasn’t quite clear with my question. I consider to buy a Hasselblad body with a wide lens to shoot landscape despite of some opinion that “Medium format film is a dying medium and any of the better prosumer digitals would work well”. <br /> My question is: does CF FLE lenses fit on 501CM or 503CW body? One told me that CF FLE lens doesn’t fit on 500CM. <br /> I need very clean, sharp and true colors pictures (for calendars - 12 inches x 16 inches (30x40 cm)). Do you think that my choise, to shoot with Hasselblad, is good for this purpose?</p>

<p>A sharp, 12x16 inch print is well within the scope of an Hasselblad. You could go at least three times that size. That said, you could do as well in a 12x18 inch print with a 12MP (or larger) DSLR. Medium format film is not dead, but processing facilities are getting hard to find.</p>

<p>More landscapes are shot with medium telephoto lenses than with wide angle lenses. It depends on what you want to do. Wide lenses are best used to exaggerate the foreground, not simply to "get it all in one shot". Mountains look a lot more interesting (i.e., imposing) with a longer lens.</p>

<p><em>does CF FLE lenses fit on 501CM or 503CW body?</em> </p>

<p>Was I unclear? CF lenses will fit on any 500-series body, regardless of model or age.</p>

<p><em>I need very clean, sharp and true colors pictures (for calendars - 12 inches x 16 inches (30x40 cm)). Do you think that my choise, to shoot with Hasselblad, is good for this purpose?</em></p>

<p>An Hasselblad would be fine for this purpose. You could also use a DSLR or a 4x5 camera for less money. Clean and sharp is easy enough (with a good tripod and technique). Good color can be a challenge, depending on your darkroom, scanning and software skills. As Horowitz once said, "A man who buys a piano, owns a piano."</p>

<p>Thanks to all for your answers and all the information. I have one more question – if I build a kit with CF lenses, could I used them with CFVII digital back and in that way to have one hybrid camera – analog and digital?</p>

<p>Yes! and you can use many (most of them if not all) others digital back too, from Hasselblad and other brands.</p>

<p>Unfortunately the question cannot stop!<br>

Is there any information in net about the compatibility of Hasselblad lenses with 500-series body, regardless of model or age and which body is beter to buy as a second hand 500CM, 501CM or 503CW?</p>

<p>All lenses that have a "C" in their type name fit any and all of the 500 series bodies.</p>

<p>The best body to buy is one that is newest. So i'd rather get a 503 CW then a 501 CM, and rather a 501 CM than a 500 C/M, etc.<br>

None of the models has 'issues', and would need to be avoided. They are all of the same top level Hasselblad quality.<br>

There are a few (most minor - but not all) differences in features, and you need to decide which you need or like, and which you can do without.</p>

 

<p>500C/M bodies are the cheapest, used, but for longer lenses they have a cut-off view in the viewfinder, due to the mirror not being long enough for fully illuminating the focus screen. The longer the lens, the more the top of the image is cut off. Image on film is fine. Some of the oldest of these even had a flash sync port on the body, but generally this port should not be used, as it syncs to the aux. shutter and not the leaf shutter in the lens.<br>

501C/M fixes the issue stated above with a better mirror design. Also, this model lost the "cocked" indicator window.<br>

503CW also has the improved mirror design and adds the ability to use a winder (to automatically advance the film) and has an TTL-OTF flash metering system for flash photographers. This is the most flexible of the 500 series bodies.<br>

None of these bodies have any exposure metering, but some prisms can provide this capability. There is no automatic setting of exposure. The shutter speed and aperture need to be set manually.<br>

All Hasselblad C, CF, CFE, CFi, CB and Carl Zeiss ZV lenses should have no problems being used with either of the three Hasselblad models mentioned, or any 500 series body ever made for that matter. (as stated by Q.G.)</p>

<p>Please also take in consideration that the CF30 mm is a fisheye lens, it gives very different results with respect to lineair lines when compared with CF40 FLE. Just a reminder .....<br>

I reasure the Hasselblad CF optics very much ..... and hope they can be used for many many more years.</p>