Hasselblad 503CW versus 201

From reading the archives, I know that Kornelius Fleischer loves the

201. I was wondering if there is anything a 201 cannot do (except for

the add-on winder of course) that the 503CW can. Which is more

suitable for digital (I still have hope for a reasonably priced

50mmx50mm 25MByte sensor, sometime in the future - 10 years???).

Andreas,

 

I own the 503CW, the 203FE, and Flexbody. I think you have to look deeper into yourself, into your photography, and come to terms with the beauty of Hasselblad for what it is. it isn't going to be the perfect digital solution, so it doesn't matter much that Kornelius likes his 201, or that I think there are better digital options.

 

for me, the Hasselblad is a great camera for film, limited only by my imagination. to hold it to the digital light .. she appears out of her prime.

I have owned the 201 and the 503. The 201 can use the new lenses, which are faster.

However, there is one very clear difference. If you plan on using an auto winder the

winder with the 503 has a nice grip and has a trigger on the winder. The winder

which goes with the 201 is VERY uncomfortable. It is not made for the human hand.

So if you are planning on using this camera with the winder, the 503 is the one.

Thanks Brian. www.brianhallett.com

I once bought a 201F (mint used) thinking it would be better for chromes because of the electronically-timed shutter vs the interlens shutters, but still allow me to use the leaf shutter for daylight flash fill. I tested the shutter and it was not all that accurate. Sent it to Hasselblad, they said the shutter was ok but there was a "current drain" and the electronic circuit would have to be replaced. Cost=$800! Luckily I had 14 days to send the camera back to the store for a refund, which I did. So from my limited experience with the 201F I don't care much for it. Any $1400 camera that can need $800 worth of repairs is not for me. And none of the independent Hassy repairmen would touch it, they all said I'd have to send it to Hasselblad USA.

Andreas

 

I have used a 503CW for the last 6 years and about a month ago took the plunge to buy a 201F with 110 F lens.

 

What a dream combination, the fast lens makes focusing soooo easy compared to the struggle of the 503CW in a dark studio. The small number of interlocks reduces mistakes when changing lenses and that 110mm lens wow! The 201F is now my number 1 camera with the 503 relegated to backup.

 

I can't say anything about reliability, my 503 has been flawless in 6 years and the 200 series is shocking value for money, I sometimes think Hasselblad are determined to not sell these cameras but if you want square format there aren't a lot of choices.

 

I believe the 503CW is better served digitally but I don't care, I agree with Daniel that the Blad is a film camera (suits me fine) and my Fuji S2 will do for snaps, besides who knows what will happen next year let alone in 10!

 

Tapas

Thanks for all your comments. I used a Hasselblad 503CX for about 10 years, sold it, cause I thought I wanted to go digital ,then realized, that nothing quite replaces the beauty and Hasselblad shooting style. I sold my Canon 10D in December and good some pretty good deals on like new blads and lenses (have the 503 CW and the flexbody currently). The reason why I am attracted to the 201 (like Kornelius), is the ability to use faster lenses and Zeiss luminars for close ups. I am not worried about the winder (I like the simplicity of a completely mechanical instrument) and I would use the 201 probably for 95% in the manual (i.e. C) mode. I was just wondering if there are any drawbacks.

I have a 503CW and a 2000FC, and I like that combination. I only have a CF-FLE50 and a CFi100 (+ 2XEconv), but maybe I get a F(E)150/2.8, 250/4 or a 350/4 in the future. :-)

 

For digital I think I'll buy a DSLR some day, within the next 5 years.:-)

Andreas,<br>.I'm not quite sure what your "worries" about the winder are. So let me stress that you can (!) use a winder (Winder F) on the 201F.<br><br>Though the 201F in C-mode works completely independent of the electronics inside the camera, there are electronics in the camera, so the 201F is not really "a completely mechanical instrument".<br>And adding a winder to the 201F of course does not really alter the "simplicity of a completely mechanical instrument".<br><br>Anyway, apart from the possibility that the electronics in the 201F may develop a fault (which however is not very likely), there are no drawbacks. Except perhaps not having the 1/2000 top speed, but 1/1000 instead.