Rented a Film MF Hasselblad

I've always been a DSLR shooter. This weekend I'm renting a film Hallesblad with color film, mainly to explore its

uses and take extra-long star exposure. I also reserved a 50mm lens and spot meter. What are the main

differences between DSLRs and film MF? What should I pay particular attention to? Any pointers? Anyone else

experimented like this?

Which Hassy model did you rent? I'm assuming one of the 500 series. It's a great camera. Goes "klunk" when you make

an

exposure. Manual focus. Takes more time to set up. Using film, you will need to look up the reciprocity table(s) for the

film you chose - digital does not

have "reciprocity failure" but film requires exposure adjustment for times >1 second. Have fun.

Thanks for the info. I'll research reciprocity failure.

and I'm not sure which model. Whatever Calumet had.

The biggest

difference will be

exposure latitude.

When shooting a good

quality medium

contrast print film

like Fuji Pro 160 S,

you can record great

shadow detail

without blowing out

the highlights. I

would recommend

exposing this at ISO

100. Loading film

into the magazine,

operation of the

dark-slide, and

mounting the lens

should be explained

by the sales clerk.

You have time now to

download a user's

manual before the

weekend. Make good

use of it. There is

nothing inherently

difficult about

using the

Hasselblad, it just

takes some getting

used to. Winding

off at the end of

the roll seems to

stump a lot of

people. Depending on

which film you

shoot, you will have

to lick to stick the

backing or crack &

peel then press. You

will see when you

get there. After

reading the manual,

feel free to ask any

specific questions,

but I'm afraid there

is no concise answer

to your question.

There are volumes

written on the

subject. Good luck

and welcome to the

club!!

Hi Tim;

 

Ok, I'm not even

close to being an

expert here, and

I've never shot a

Hasselblad, but I

can offer a little

amateur advice from

my experience. I

shot something in

the neighbourhood of

60,000 digital

images before

returning to film a

few years back. My

digital experience

was good training,

but for me film is

the real thing. I

know that is

inviting argument,

but it is simply an

opinion. Every

photographer finds

the tools that

insipire them most.

 

Working with MF

cameras really

forces you to slow

down your process.

To me, that is a

positive thing; you

get to experience

your shooting

experience in a way

you don't with

smaller, faster

formats. You might

be able to get some

pretty good shots

hand-held, but I

would recommend a

sturdy tripod.

 

I haven't loaded a

Hassy, but I know

that some MF cameras

can be a little

tricky just getting

the film in the

camera. If you have

questions, make them

show you how it's

done before you

leave the store.

Improperly loaded

film is the quickest

way to a bad

shooting experince.

(that and leaving

your freshly loaded

camera on the roof

of your car when you

drive away.)

 

Secondly, compared

to your DSLR, you

will find 5omm

fairly wide. I

forget exactly what

the ratios are

between 35mm and MF,

but it seems to me

that a "normal" lens

for MF is between 80

and 100mm. (I get a

fairly good aspect

with 100mm with my

Bronica GS-1)

 

Third... if you're

not used to spot

metering, I wouldn't

recommend it for

your first MF

experience. A simple

reflective or

incident meter will

give you a good

general exposure in

the majority of

cases. Spot metering

can really help

fine-tune the

process, but it can

really frustrate you

as well.

 

For the really long

exposures required

for star trails, use

the "Time" setting

rather than bulb. (I

assume that is a

feature on a Hassy.)

Bulb uses battery

power and can be

really draining.

Time is a mechanical

function, even on

electronic shutters.

A good colour film

will give you good

results with star

trails. You will

really be able to

discern the colours

of the different

stars. (ok... now I

have to get out and

shoot some stars

again)

 

I won't try to

convince you that

film is better than

digital. It is in my

opinion, but you

really have do

decide whether it is

right for you or

not. You will hear

lots of arguments

pro and con for each

format. Try to tune

that noise out and

focus on your

shooting.

 

Enjoy!

 

Cheers,

Tom

 

Oh, yeah... let us

know how it goes.

Forget reciprocity for star trails, what you will need is a shutter release cable, unless you plan on holding the shutter open

for a few hours.

Oh yeah... the dark slide. It's easy to forget that it's there (though the Hassy shouldn't fire with it in) and it's easy to forget where you put it when you take it out. (the voice of experience)

Thanks for the input. Downloading the manual is great advice!

Don't use the spot meter for star trails. It would be useless. I have shot astroshots piggybacked to a scope and also attached to the scope's focusing tube. Just try different exposure times and write eveything down.

Have fun!

Yeah, I know star trails are easy (one reason I want to do them). But thats night-only photography. I thought I'd mess around during the day time, too.

Great responses! I expect Calumet to be knowledgeable, but I want to ask the right questions about the gear.

The most common issue with first time Hasselblad users seems to be focus. You will probably get a screen with split

image and grid, which is easy to use once you get the hang of it. With the 50, you will be able to use hyperfocal for

landscapes.

Hi Tim, welcome to the club!

 

There are a few things that can be frustrating for first time users.

One of them is handling the darkslide. It is an essential part of the system.

 

Filmbacks can be removed and fitted behind the camera without losing a single exposure.

To remove a filmback you will need to fit the darkslide first into the back after that you can remove the back.

 

Most people keep the darkslide in the back during transport because that way the camera is locked and cannot be tripped accidentally in a camera bag.

 

That is also a little frustrating because you will have to remember to take the darkslide out before taking a picture. When the darkslide is in position you cannot trip the shutter. It is a safeguard from the system. This needs to become a routine. It is easy, you will learn.

 

Shutterspeeds are dependent of focal length. Nothing new there.

For handheld shooting with 80mm and shorter lenses try not use any speed slower than 1/125.

Slower speeds handheld are possible but take a little training.

 

Do not be shy and ask the Calumet rental guy to load a film for you and explain how it should be done.

After the last exposure transport the film with the winding crank on the back before you take it out or you will lose your last exposures.

 

Here is a link from the site of a friend in Australia who loves Hasselblads amongst other cameras.

It also contains the story of his first generation Hasselblad cameras, a 1600F that left the factory

in 1951.

 

Great site with lots of great Hasselblad shots!

 

link: http://www.f8vision.com/section44680_57548.html

I forgot to mention:

Your rental camera will look just like the one from 1951 on the site.

It may give you the impression nothing has changed with Hasselblad in 57 years.

 

Of course lenses, bodies and filmbacks have been steadily improved.

The camera still looks like one made in the fifties but is in fact completely different.

I shot with a dslr for a while a few years back, now i shoot exclusivly with an RB67,(for serious shots) the MF chromes cant be beat, probably one of the most important things for you to learn is loading the film correctly (already mentioned above) i have loaded my film in wrong more than once when i first started. after this experience you might be selling your digital gear, I know I did. : )). useing a 50mm lens like the fellow said above you can use hyperfocals to focus so focussing shouldnt be a prob. if you not sure what that is there are several good articles concerning hyperfocals on the web. imo there is not a dslr alive that will be able to match a chrome that you can get from that hasselblad unless of course its that hassey digital, but thats in the neighborhood of $20,000++. I use a pentax digital spot meter, great meter, good luck and please post the results.

When you pick up the camera, ask if they have cheap out of date 120 film. It doesn't matter if it is b&w, color or whatever, you are not going to shoot it. Just buy a roll of the cheapest 120 film they have.

 

Then unroll it right there in the daylight. See how the film is taped to the paper backing and other interesting things. You'll never see this with the film in the camera and understanding how it works will answer a lot of questions for a first time user.

 

Then roll that film right back up on the original spool. Make it just like it came out of the box. Then load the film in the camera back. Run the film through the camera by taking photos of nothing. See how it gets stuck together at the end of the roll.

 

All this is much better done at the sales counter of the store where someone can answer your questions than when you are someplace by yourself in the dark. Everyone will forget to tell you key things because they assume everyone else knows them.

 

BTW, save that plastic spool from the roll of film you have trashed. You need an empty one to start with. When you finish the first roll of film you exposed for real, you will have your next empty one. But if you don't have one to start with (as everyone assumes you do) you are in trouble.

A few things:

 

1. You probably won't have to worry about draining the battery during long exposures. All camera operations are mechanical, no power needed.

 

2. If you're using the camera on a tripod for a landscape, or other non-moving subject, pre-release the camera before tripping the shutter. This eliminates the potentail for vibration from the reflex mirror and baffles opening. The prerelease control is a slider on the right side of the camera underneath the winding crank. Reading the manual will make this seem much more obvious.

 

3. This is the important one -- always advance the film right after you've taken a picture. This ensures that the lens is cocked, the reflex mirror is lowered, the baffle closed and the film advanced to the next frame. Although not advancing the film immediately won't cause the camera to jam, it does create a situation where an inexperienced user can (all too easily) jam the camera accidently. Trust me, I've been that inexperienced user. Now, I make it a point to advance the film immediately as a best practice. Haven't had any problems since.

I've shot quite a few star trails photos with Hasselblads. Each of my photos at the site has the technical details

(exposure, aperture, film, etc.) listed, when available.

<br><br>

<a href="http://homepage.mac.com/tarashnat/astrophoto/trails.html">Taras' Star Trails Photos</a>

<br><br>

One of the things to watch for in long exposure night photography is dew (condensation). A lens shade helps a bit.

<br><br>

Taras

Photographers: Thanks for all the info. I wasn't able to take the Hassy out this weekend, but will soon (a full moon isn't good for star trails...)