Which Extension Tube (or closeup filter) is Best for Closeups W/ 80mm Planar on a manual Hasselblad?

[jerry_cargill]

I am a high school photo teacher. We have a Hassie manual focus with one lens: a 80mm 2.8 Planar, and the closest

we can get is about 4 feet, which gives us head and chest, but we would like to be able to get close enough to do

head shots. Unfortunately we don't have the funds for a new lens, the camera and lens we have were gifts to the

school. We do have the funds for an extension tube for the 80mm lens, but I have never purchased this kind of

item in my years of photo and need to know which one is the BEST tube to add to be able to do head shots with

this 80mm? We are not looking to shoot super-macro closeups of butterflies, products or anything like that, just

need to get close enough for head shots. Or is a filter better than a tube? Thanks!

[Ed_Ingold]

An 8mm extension would give you the best range for head shots. IMO, this will require you to work too close for favorable perspective and will result in exaggerated features closest to the lens. A 150 lens work work without an extension tube and give the proper perspective. Used 150's are among the most common and cheapest lenses for the Hasselblad - better to save your money.

 

Hasselblad publishes a white paper on closeups which is about the best I've ever seen. Closeup effects are given as a range of field (subject) sizes for various lenses and extension tubes. See (http://www.hasselbladusa.com/media/b257f2b0-cd24-497b-b21f-47dcf6ee295a-Closeup.pdf)

[q.g._de_bakker]

An 8 mm tube would be best with the 80 mm lens.<br><br>Have a look at <a href="http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/HT/HTCuC.aspx" target="_blank">this calculator</a>.<br><br>You can play around with the different tube lengths there. Remember that Hasselblad tubes come in 8 mm, 10 mm, 16 mm, 21 mm, 32 mm, 55 mm and 56 mm.<br>

First, select the lens from the menu above.<br>Then put the length of the tube you might consider in the "Total extension" box to get the data for lens at infinity + tube. Put the length of the tube in the "Extra extension" box to get the data for the lens set to its close focus limit + tube.<br><br>Tubes are without doubt better than a 'filter' (it's not really a filter, but a lens). Close-up add-on lenses introduce aberrations that are clearly visible in the results.<br>But tubes also need a correction of the aperture and/or shutterspeed (also indicated by the calculator. Remember to only apply one of the indicated corrections. Or figure out yourself how to distribute the task over aperture and shutterspeed - not difficult). Close-up lenses do not.

[fred_leif3]

Since your objective is to take pleasing head shots ... perhaps the solution lies not in just getting closer, but in achieving the desired perspective ... you already indicated that a portrait lens is out of the question ... you might consider the following:

 

1. Shoot with a fine grain film and then plan to enlarge and crop your head & shoulders negative up to the level needed for your head shot. True, you lose some of the advantage of the medium format negative ... but with good technique a nice quality head shot can be rendered. Of course, it does depend on the size of the print you are making ... but I've seen quite nice 8 x 10s done this way.

 

2. An alternative to another prime lens might be to consider one of the 1.4x or 2x tele extenders that are on the market. Hasselblad produces them, but they're pretty expensive, even used ... but the aftermarket ones by Kenko and others might be satisfactory for the purpose (I've seen them for $100 to 150 used). There is a cost in maximum aperature with the extender in place (a stop or two) ... and it won't be as critically sharp as a prime Hasselblad lens ... but for your purpose of head shots ... a little softness might not be a bad thing. But the main thing is the optical focal length for your 80 would be 160 with a 2x and about 120 with the 1.4x. These fall in the range of traditional portrait lenses for medium format, and you wouldn't need to crop so much to achieve the print size you want, and have nice perspective.

 

Neither of these is the optimal solution for highest quality ... but, in a pinch ??

 

(PS Oh, and do follow the usual mounting and dismounting advice for extension tubes ... add the extender to the body, then add the 80 mm lens. To remove them, take the lens off first, then the extender. Never take the extender/lens combination off as a unit.)

[erik_wetterskog]

I would say that the 8 mm extension tube is quite useful for head and shoulder shots (I also use the 80mm planar). I bought the whole set of rings, but i rarely use anything else than the 8 and 16 mm rings. The big drawback is of course the very thin DOF that you get when shooting with rings, but that of course is also something that you could use to your advantage. Also the 8mm ring does not eat more light than a yellow filter.

 

I have some sample portraits taken with the 80mm/8mm combo (B/W), email me if youre interested.