Best first Hassy outfit

[don_simmons]

Having sporadically used an old Hasselblad camera with std lens, I

love the format & all-mechanical nature of the system. I don't have

access to this camera anymore & am going thru MF withdrawal. I have

decided to get a Hassy 500CW body (new), but am uncertain which lens

would be best. Most shots are landscape, with occasional pics of my

young kids. Any advice on lens? I've read that many like the 150mm

for landscape. Also, I don't want to pay for a Hassy meter/prism at

this time; any recs on handheld meters? The old Hassy had a meter on

the winder.

[dennis_beins]

I have used Hasselblad cameras for about 6 years, mostly weddings and seniors, I have used the 150 for 2 years and do like the lens, I had owned a 180 but found it was alittle tight for aerials, I still own the 150, 100, and a 50 fle, every one of them is great to work with, Just last week I decided to move up in the Hasselblad system and purchased a 202fa and a 60 to 120 zoom lens, this will be nice for weddings but I also feel that I am going to miss the leaf shutter, also this lens is very heavy, I have shot 2 weddings with it and havent seen the results yet, I think that if you are mixing people and landscape photos you might go for a standard 80 0r 100, you can always crop your negs to get a tighter look, but if you have a 150 and would like a wider shot you cant get it, I currently use a sekonic 778 spot meter,but think that the minolta auto iv is good and reasonable priced ,either way decide if you want it to read flash before you buy, I think that it is a valuable option,Ihope that I have answered some of your questions, also to anyone interested I have 2 cm bodies, 3 lenses, 2 24 backs 1 12 back,1 pm90 finder, 2 accumat grid screens for sale

[colm boran]

I have a 500 C/M and when I go traveling to shoot landscapes I take

two lenses: a 50mm and a 150mm. I find I mostly use the 50mm as it

offers similar coverage as you would get with a 28mm lens in 35mm

format. The 150mm is similar to the coverage you get with a 100mm in

35mm format and I find it's coverage is usually to narrow. The 150mm

is much more useful for taking pictures of my young children,

although without a prism finder, it is very difficult to track them

in the waist-level finder as the image is reversed: They move right,

I turn the camera left ... damn! Also, focusing on these moving

targets is pretty hard, and the 150mm with its very shallow

depth-of-field will really show off focusing inaccuracies. My

advice is to forget the Hasselblad for shots of your children and

use a 35mm camera instead, preferably one with auto focus. That said,

if I were to choose one lens for landscapes, the 50mm would be it.

Or, if you can afford it, the 40mm is fantastic for landscapes.

You'll probably enjoy a T* coated lens more than the non-T* lens.

 

 

Regarding a meter: I bought the Polaris for just over $200 new and

have been very happy with it. It is simple to operate, has

consistently given perfect readings, and works well for studio flash

situations too. Keep in mind there a lot of used meters on the

market now as a lot of people seem to be buying the new Sekonic.

[_____]

Hi Don

 

I hate to be a contrarian but have you considered a Rolleiflex SL66 with the tilt feature. For landscapes, the tilt feature of the Rolleiflex will be particularly useful. Same great Zeiss lenses as the Hasselblad of similar vintage, same great square format. Hadley Chamberlain has some good ones. www.hecphoto.com.

 

As for a handheld meter, for landscapes especially, I recommend the Pentax Spot meter highly in both its analogue and digital incarnations.

[dave_wilson1]

Don, the 150 is indeed a wonderful and expressive lens, I personally prefer the 180 but I have a 80s and a 50mm also so I don't mind that it's a bit long. If I was just going to be running one lens, I would choose the 120macro because of its versatility, and later add a wide.

Good luck!

[jack_chase1]

I own a 50, 80 and 150 CT* lenses. I recently took advantage of the Hassy promotion and bought the 120 MakroPlanar CFi and got a free A24 back. What a lens! Of course, with this lens I had to buy a new Lindahl shade, since there is no adapter to convert the one that fits the Bay 50 lenses. I recommend trying before you buy. Just because someone else loves a lens, does not mean that it will meet your needs.

[brian_hinther1]

I think you should get the (why do ya' think they call it "normal?") 80mm normal lens. Having a focal length the diagonal of the format, it does a marvelous job of "getting everything in" without reducing distant mountains into molehills like the 50mm can. And, while the 150 can add impact to a scene, there are times you just can't back up far enough to establish a near-far relationship. I have all three, but find myself using the 80 more than half the time. You might even be able to get a package deal on it with body and magazine. By the way, the CF version has better specs than the CB, according to Hasselblad.

 

As for light meters, I got a Minolta IVF primarily as a flash meter for portraits, but find myself using it for landscapes in incident mode more and more.