My advice to those considering a Hasselblad

[paul_neuthaler]

Alistair, thanks for the nice words.

[desmond_kidman]

"My verdict, having bought the Hassy is that the Bronica is a superior camera."

 

Nobody could deny item 1, and we all know the huge disadvantage of PC cords on lenses. Item 2 is incredibly well supported by your supplied objective evidence, and your final conclusion is irrefutable based on your arguements.

 

Forum folks like that Q guy and Diego will never sleep well again, and Hasselblad themselves must be sighing in relief that the maker of the "superior camera" is out of business.

[pat_fahey]

"My verdict, having bought the Hassy is that the Bronica is a superior camera."

 

Nuts!

 

My verdict, you should have also purchased a good tripod. You would have then seen a hell of a difference in image quality.

 

I used a Bronica for a couple of months. It was amazing how mushy the images were when compared to the Hassy shots.

 

-Pat

[cpj]

Just to "come clean" and not look like a Hasselblad snob . . . I once owned a Bronica with

three lenses that I got a great "steal" on at my local pro camera shop because somebody

who didn't know Darius had traded the Bronica on a Hasselblad. But it took me just about

a month to understand why he gave up on the Bronica; whatever model it was it was a

clumsy tank of a thing with the precision of a Swiss . . . . army knife!

 

Never could take a sharp picture with it! Ever try to actually cut something with one of

those red pocket knives. What the Swiss did to knives the folks at Bronica in Japan did to

cameras when they produced the boat anchor that I bought about 20 years ago!--

 

At that time I went back to my Rolleis for 6x6 format and didn't jump on the 'blad wagon

until about 2001 or so. As my dealer said, "Peter, that's not an investment, that's a

commitment!" And it is because there is such a nearly unlimited number of Zeiss lenses

and Hasselblad accessories you can buy to create your "system." And they all work . . . .

[louis_nathan1]

Can't resist. Just bought a Bronica etrs on the auction site. I like the speedgrip, BUT over the last 3-4 years I've brought a huge smile to my face while accumulating 500c/m's, 500EL's, 500 EL/M's, SWC/M 50's, 80's 100, 120, 150, 350 etc.oops also a 500C. all rather cheaply and all in pretty good shape. I live 7 miles from Fairfield (Hassy) so I can just bop over and get the stuff checked out.But my poor old ERTRS sounds like a Kiev and who knows what happened to Jimmy Koh.

[enw]

I've been using Hasselblads for over 35 years, and been around Hasselblad users for a similar time, and never once have I heard any of them say, "I wish I would have saved the money and bought a Bronica".

[simonpg]

So, Darius as I read the further postings I gain a better understanding of why I'm so committed to Hasselblad 6x6 and why returning to Bronica SQA never entered my mind.

 

But, for me in particular it is the Zeiss optical range that is most compelling - no system has even made me invest so widely in a range of lenses, and specifically prime lenses, than the Hasselblad system.

 

But that should not add a risk of ignoring the sublime impact the Hasselblad body and accessories have on me as a user that makes it my first choice when planning an photographic outing.

 

While you should not be condemned for raising a valid praise of Bronica; it is just not an apples for apples comparison although it is a good choice for those not desiring to make the "commitment" required from owning a Hasselblad kit.

[simonpg]

Eric and Paul - you have both added very meaningful quotations applicable in photography to that wonderful stand-out saying: "different horses for different courses".

 

So I plan to keep in mind all three (excuse my attempted paraphrase of your eloquent statements):

 

Different horses for different courses;

 

The greatest blessing in life is to want what you have;

 

You know the best equipment purchase when you do not wish that you bought another and saved the price difference.

 

As an Hasselblad user I have always felt that my equipment is the perfect horse for my chosen course and have never wished I bought something "lesser" and saved the change - I have what I wanted!

 

In that way the digital revolution enabled me to be able to have what I wanted - I knew my needs and lesser systems would meet those, but I knew I wanted more than I neeed.

[bob haight]

Bronicas were plagued with problems early on and never lost the image as a poor man's Hasselblad. Later models were more reliable but the glass never approached the quality of the Zeiss lens of Hassey.

[david_smith35]

Regarding some of the responses to the above posting about Hasselblad versus Bronica - I've never read such a lot of misguided rubbish in all my life! Comments like Bronica lenses being 'mushy' - whatever that means, just don't make any sense.

 

One can argue forever about the various pros and cons of each system, but at the end of the day, both cameras are capable of producing very high quality iamges which are all but identical to one another, whether viewed with a high quality loupe, or projected onto a screen.

[35mmdelux]

Hasselblad reigns supreme so far as I'm concerned. The built and the optics are incredible, with only the late Rollieflexes coming close. By contrast, Rollie notwithstanding, all other cameras (yes I said all other) look like toys compared to Hasselblad.

 

That is not to say that other cameras aren't great. Many are great, such as the Mamiya RZ, Mamiya 7, and late Rollies. That is about it at the top level.

 

Once you leave this top tier, then you get into other camera attributes, such as ergonomics, metering, rangefinders, that sort of thing. For instance, if you wanted a real fast shooter, then you might want to consider a Mamiya 6/7, with its internal metering and fast rangefinder. Here we're talking shooting style - not the quality of the camera itself, although the Mamiyas are excellent cameras.

 

The best thing digital did was to crush the cost of Hasselblad and made it doable by the middle-class. I've procured mint level Hasselblad gear for dime on the dollar. Given these facts, why would I want a Bronny?

 

To say H'bld is a snob thing is a train off its track IMHO.

[simonpg]

I totally agree David - the 4 SQ lenses I owned and used always produced beautiful images.

 

In my preference for Hasselblad over the past 5 years as stated above, I've never found it necessary to slagg off at Bronica nor regret my earlier ownership of a Bronica SQ system - "different horses for different courses"!

[amund_aaeng]

Here`s another angle. I`ve been using a 500 C/M for a year with a 80mm C T* and 150mm C T*, and while the lenses are superb, for my kind of photography they are just too slow to use. Way to hard to focus quickly. In a studio on a tripod , perfect, but handheld shooting kids and candids, toooo stiff and slow. The newer CF lenses are much better in this regard though, but much more expensive. So I sold my 500 CM/80mm/150mm, and bought a Bronica ETRS with 75mm and 150mm lenses. Couldn`t be happier.

 

Comments like " Hassy and Rollei are the 1st class, everything else is ... " are words of gear fondlers, not photographers...