Hasselblad 500mm TeleTessar - Any experiences?

[jmooney]

Hi All,

 

After a short fling with a Bronica I'm succumbing to the siren call of the

'Blad. In planning out my kit I've come across the 500mm TeleTessar (not the

APO version). I understand it's got some fringing issues but other than that

how does it rate? I'd love to hear anyone's experiences with it or see some

samples if you have any to share.

 

I know the Tele-ApoTessar is a great lens but it's out of my league budget wise

but I think it's be great to have that focal length in MF. After all I've heard

that Victor invented the Hassy to take better bird pictures so it'd be great to

go back to the root of things and shoot some wildlife.

 

Take care,

 

Jim

[tarashnat]

First off, I have no direct experience with the 500mm f/8 Tele-Tessar C, but have an

Apotessar. Often you can find an Apotessar for about 2 thousand dollars on the used

market.

 

The 500mm Tele-Tessar has a poor reputation amongst Hasselblad lenses. I would

suspect that much of it may be undeserved. It takes a lot of care to technique to shoot at

the long focal length of the Tele-Tessar. Any shutter/mirror vibration or user induced

camera movement is magnified by the focal length. There is a reason that Hasselblad

released an accessory stock to help steady the aim of those trying to handhold this beast.

A lens of this size begs to be set on a tripod, and possibly used with mirror prefire and

maybe even a soft weight to minimize vibrations. There is little that can be done about

fringing of high-contrast areas in the composition (I do not know to what degree this is an

issue), but at a maximum aperture of f/8, the TeleTessar, as well as the Apotessar have

limitations as to the use of lens. Often you will find you can not use a quicker shutter

speed, and must deal with keeping the lens steady for the duration of the exposure.

 

I would think that the 350mm Teletessar may be a good compromise, as this lens is very

good wide open at f/5.6, and with care, one may even be able to hand hold it, though a

tripod is recommended. Sometimes that extra stop comes in handy...

 

My primary use for my Apotessar (and 350mm Tele-Tessar) is astrophotography, so I

usually have the lens piggybacking on a guideing telescope.

[fredrik_matheson]

Same here ??never used it, heard all sorts of things about it. The main gripe that one of my

friends has with it is that it's f/8, so he has a hard time using when there is little light.

 

When it comes to keeping the lens stable, a good tripod, mirror pre-firing and a strut to

secure the camera to the tripod at a second point will do the trick.

 

If you do get one, please post your experiences with it here. Good luck!

[gavinstok]

I own one of these and it is a LOT of fun.

 

What you need to know:

 

1. The f8 version is old (1960s I think), it is heavy, and it is built like a tank.

 

Go to the gym before considering carrying this around for great deals of time!

 

2. It is sensitive

 

Don't even consider hand holding it, and expect to mount the lens to the tripod.

 

When you're taking a shot you'll want to:

 

a. Make adjustments on the lens

b. Wait a few seconds and look through the viewfinder

c. Pre-cock the shutter (is that the right term?)

d. Wait a few more seconds

e. Take the shot using a cable release

 

3. It makes selective focus and the need to revise how you compose shots (because of the selective focus) a real joy.

 

Some of these come in their original Hasselblad leather case.

 

I've taken shots on a Blad and connected to a Canon digital SLR (via an adapter). I saw nothing of concern. I wish I had some samples to share, but none are online as yet.

 

Enjoy the lens if you get it.

 

 

Gavin Stok

 

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