Different hasselblad models

[kryn_sporry1]

Simple question (but the answer eludes me for now)

What is the difference between:

500CM; 501CM; 501C; 503CW;and 503CX?

I prefer to work completely battery free, or teh alternative is that

the body contains a light meter (center weight preferrable), so some

advice on teh correct body would be great. Note, I mostly do street

photography, landscape and people. No studio work and no flash.

[alejandrokeller]

none of the above uses batteries and none contains a light meter (althought you can you a viewer with a light meter for any of them).

 

1) The CW and CXi can be used with TTL flash and with the "CW winder".

 

2) The latest of the CM line (discontinued last year) together with the CW have the Gliding Mirror System (GMS) which allows you to use lenses longer than 150mm without loosing part of the image in the viewfinder.

 

If you think that in the future you will buy a digital back, it would be wise to buy the CW which is the one that is more likely to be compatible with them. I personally have a CXi and am very happy with it... My opinion is that, at the end, if you put together what the complete Hasselbald System will cost you it is not so important if you give away abit more money for a newer body.

[jonee]

What Alejandro wrote above is true. I own a 500CM and just borrowed my friends latest 503CW. Theres really no difference except being more new. If you do streets, landscapes and people and are tight on a budget you can get the oldest 500CM and not miss anything from the newest models. The best thing to do about a light meter is to use an external one like a Sekonic rather than the metered prism. They are more accurate and if you get another manual camera, can be used for that too.

[kryn_sporry1]

I doubt I ever will use a digital back for it. I think scanning the slides will be way cheaper and will give me satisfactory result if I want to digitize my photos.

From what you guys say it would be best to invest in an average CM, CW or CX, I'll keep that in mind.

As for light meter, I was planning in getting an L558 or an older spot/ambient meter combi (508, 408) because I also have a Large Format Camera (haven't used iut yet though)

thanks guys!

[cpj]

RETHINK THE BATTERY THING for a minute: A Hasselblad battery lasts at least 18 months

and usually two years unless you are using the camera professionally and exposing 50

rolls a week in a studio. I date my batteries with a permanent marker pen like a Sharpie

when I install them. They seem to last forever.

 

Not wanting to carry a spare battery is like saying "I don't want to carry spare film." A

battery is about 1/8th the size of a roll of film and can be just taped to your neck strap

with duct tape if you don't want to add one of those little snap-on accessory carriers. You

are more likely to run out of film than run out of battery power. If you change your battery

once a year--on your birthday, or on Christmas Day--you'll never need to carry a spare

anyway.

 

The only non-battery light meters--handheld or built into a camera--were made of

Selenium cells and they stopped making that type of meter about 20 years ago in general.

You might still be able to buy a Weston meter of recent vintage on ebay or from the last

manufacturer to make them in England. Search Google under Weston Light Meters and

you'll come up with the name.

[donald_ingram1]

I see myself adopting and increasingly luddite attitude to cameras, so to me the battery

free thing if future proofing.

 

Should a electronic camera fail, the repair solution is often 'replace PCB' which equals cost

( if the manufacturer is still supporting that particular camera ).

 

A mechanical fault is more likely to be a clearing a jam or replacing a gear cog. If the part

is unavailable, some time on a mill or lathe and a replacement is born. For the traveller,

third world ( hmm.. even outside of most 1st world capitals ) field repairs also become

more of a possibility.

 

I'm happy with a 501C and a 80mm lens. This reasonably new model is a bit cheaper than

the 501CM and 503s. I don't want any other lenses ( > 150mm ) or need flash or a winder,

so other models have no advantage.

[stephen_abbott3]

Hassy's aren't really geared for "street photography", as I found out the hard way. I have a 503cw. It's HEAVY and doesn't take the sharpest pictures handheld. I just bought a Rolleiflex for the Streets and the Hassy I'll use for tripod-mounted landscapes, etc...

[neild]

I have a 500C and it has a light meter built in to the winder/film advance (it is an alternative to the usuual winder with the handle). I find it works well enough for my purposes, although it is not a spot meter. It does not need a battery to operate (neither meter nor camera).