Hasselblad 903 SWC

[juan_mateos]

I´ve just bought a Hassy 903 SWC today. my question is about the external

viewfinder. What we see inside the black lines is the actual image recorded

on the film??? Any considerations on it??

Thanks everybody

[fabio_scaglione1]

Dear Juan, whay you see inside the black lines is the image using the A 16 magazine.

Regards

fabio

[terrestrikon]

The entire area of the finder shows approximately the area recorded on film (absent parallax corrections). Black lines (four black corners on my 905's finder) enclose a 4x4 area.

[juan_mateos]

thanks a lot for the information. Any other important tips for using the

camera??

[godfrey]

As others have said, the full 6x6 format is to the limits of the finder's field of view and the black lines give you 4x4 cropping for use with the A16S back. I also use the black lines to give me approximate cropping info for shooting horizontal or vertical "ideal" format photos.

 

Best advice for using the 903SWC? Buy a tripod and use it a lot. Slow down, use the level, learn to look at the edges and corners of a scene so you don't include things you don't want.

 

I love the Biogon. The 903SWC is now my most-used film camera.

 

Godfrey

[peter brown - www.peterbro]

<blockquote>Hi Juan,

<p>

One thing you might consider, especially for closeup work or for more

accurate framing and focusing (no parallax problems - WYSIWYG), is the

groundglass adapter used on it's own with a focusing loupe, or in conjunction

with the RMfx reflex viewfinder (which was designed for the SWC and the

Flexbody) which gives a vertical, un-reversed 3.3x magnified image. I think

these are worthwhile accessories to have and very useful when precise

framing and focusing is required.<p>

 

The RMfx finder and GG are easily installed and removed in place of the film

back and one thing I really like on the RMfx finder is the ability to have a

correction lens custom made by an optician and then to be able to easily

install it with the supplied diopter correction mounting kit - this is particularly

useful to people like myself who have to have astigmatic correction as well as

correction for short-sightedness and this thoughtful accessory negates the

need for using prescription glasses, making composing and focusing much

easier.

 

<p>

Kind regards,

<p>

Peter Brown

<p>

<a

href="http://www.peter-brown-photographer.com">http://www.peter-brown

-photographer.com</a>

 

</blockquote>

[jay_.]

Three things to be aware of with the SWC finder: 1)The awful distortion you see in the finder is not present in the shot as long as you keep it level. That's one thing to ignore and another to remember. 2)The lens blocks about 1/3 of the bottom center of the finder so if the foreground is important (and it is especially for ultrawide shots)you have to move the camera around and remember what the lens is blocking. One more thing to ignore and one more thing to remember. 3)The finder shows only what will approximately be on the film and this will vary with the distance to the subject. You will need to use the GG back or make some test shots to familiarize yourself with the actual framing vs the finder. Yep, one more thing to ignore and one more thing to remember.

 

I had an SWC for several weeks without the GG back and several more after buying the GG back and an RMFX finder. I now have the 40 CFE. One man's meat....

[q.g._de_bakker]

One tip concerning Jay's #2: flip the camera on its side, or even hold it upside down, and the lens wil be blocking a different part of the viewfinder image.

 

And one note about #3: the amount of extra field of view in the viewfinder, compared to what you get on film, actually is the same regardless of distance. It is about 12.5 cm/5" extra on top; 5 cm/2" on both left and right side; and 3 cm/1.25" too little (!!!) below.

[jakob_norstedt_moberg]

"And one note about #3: the amount of extra field of view in the viewfinder, compared to what you get on film, actually is the same regardless of distance."

 

It shouldn't be exactly the same. I have not checked it on my SWC myself, but a lens adjusted for a short distance to focus is further away from the film than a lens set at infinity. When the lens is far from the film it gives a narrower field of view (more telephoto effect) than a lens close to the film. The external viewfinder is fixed, so it's field of view is not varying with distance.

 

Jakob

[c-p-j]

OPINIONS are appropriate for many of the things discussed on this forum. HOWEVER, when it comes to specific technical information, we should all be shooting in black and white. To wit: "Viewfinder. The optical viewfinder, which can be attached to the accessory mount on top of the camera body, shows an image that is slightly larger than the image recorded on the film. It has a centre and outline marks to indicate the 6x4.5 and superslide formats. The lens scales can be sceen through a crescent-shaped bifocal optical system in the lower part of the viewfinder image. The rubber eyeshield fitted ot the vie2wfinder is large enough to provide comfortable viewing when spectacles are worn." *

 

* Page 19, Hasselblad 903SWC Instruction Manual.

 

It says nothing about a 4x4 image area or the A16 back (although the image parameters are equal to those in BOTH the A16 and A32 backs--6x4.5.) How did 4x4 get into this discussion by at least two posters?? The last 4x4 I recall required using 127 film in something like the Baby Rollei. I just don't understand how you get 4x4 out of a Hasselblad unless you physically put a mask in front of the film plane. I agree the black lines in the finder may LOOK square, but according to Hasselblad they were intended to define 6x4.5 and a lot of things look "funny" when seen through a superwide optical viewfinder anyway. Note also the manual specifically points out that the viewfinder "shows an image that is slightly larger than the image recorded on the film."

[terrestrikon]

Jorgenson,

 

Please consider the quote you posted. "Superslide format" : What does it mean? Well, it's 4x4. You've given us a quote that tells us that the framing of the SWC finder is good for 4x4. 6x4, meaning 645, then, is what you see when you use one side of the framelines to bracket the opposite full dimension of the finder. It's not so complicated, right? You've actually answered your own question.

 

Good luck,

 

G.