edward_burlew

Get the 110 THe extra opening is wonderful.

I have used both, the 500c is a fine lense, It does well if you are shooting b7w and using a yellow or orange filter. In color it is fine and 16x20 enlargements are sharp. The Apo 500 is better in sharpness and thee is no color fringing which is noticable in the 500 at extreem blowups. I do project slides from both and there is not much difference. I do favor the Apo because of the internal focusing which is much easier to use. But do use a tripod and better yet even then prerelease the mirror. I have used the Apo with the Zeiss 2x mutar and found no practical loss of sharpness with that combination.I do prefer the tessar for portraits.

The workhorse combination is the 503 with a metz 60 flash. The camera does not depend on batteries and will not let you down. The flash metering is TTL. The metz 60 will light up a room for a group. Lense wise 60mm for groups, a 120mm for portraits, a 180 for head shots or closer candids. A softar no 1 for the bride. A pro lense hood for better contrast control. A good off camera flash and 3'x4' soft box or 6' umbrella to light the bride head to toe. Try for about 1000 watt seconds in a one head unit on a strong stand. If you want flexibility then a winder CW with infra red trigger so you can set up the pictures and then take them. AND 3 or 4 24 shot backs.

Hasselblad had a double handed grip for the elm, it also monted simple flashes in shoes on the top of each upright handle . It resembled a "U". additionally the grip and U bracket was in three sections the right grip the center to hold the camera adn the left upright. These are available used for about $100. SO get one and remove the left hand grip and you have the right hand grip. I also use a Lowepro flash bracket that mounts the flash directly ablve the lense and it is held by the RIGHT hand. It is about $250 new and can hold any flash. I use the metz 45 series.

Hasselblad 500 series is great in cold weather. I have consistently used 500 series Hasselbalds in -20C for three decades. NASA used these in the space missions by having Hasselblad service degrease the lenses and used kerosene. Terrestial environs are not quite that severe and the standard lenses work fine. I have used these lenses and bodies in more severe cold, -40C without problem. In such cold I leave the cameras in the cold and do not warm them up. SO I leave them outside to avoid condensation. Avoid cameras with fabric shutters adn bellows. I can also load several backs with film so I avoid film handling in severe cold.

So I got ripped off. I bid sucessfully ona $10 part, a simple cord,

then I paid by money order, I amiled the money order and I told the

vendor this as I did it and then just after I got tht emoney order in

the mail he said I was too slow and he was relisting the item, did I

want to bis again. So I told him to send the money order back or I

would charge him with international mail fraud. So maybe he did or

maybe he didn't. I have traced the money order and it is not cashed

but the return from a foreign country where the mail is refused means

the letter with my money order ends up in their dead letter zone. So

I will never get the money back.

I do however look at the scenario and note that it was after I had

confirmed the mailing of the paymnet tht he re listed the item so to

me it is clear that he was intent to get my payment and to sell the

item to someone else.

So who needs that possibility of a rip off? I have been ripped off

three times on E Bay from vendors adn to me its three strikes and

out.Also when I put in negative feed back and tried to defend it E

Bay took it off so the feedback is unrealistically always positive.

Deal only with businesses that have a store you can walk into. If

they are on the web then maybe they can be trusted. I keep getting

stories of people buying mint cameras where the shutters don't work

or the lense was apart or the item had been drowned. Think of the

problems you could get from buying a digital item?

The question you have to ask yourself is "Why did I buy Hasselblad?" the answer is easy, for the lense quality. So why in the name of )*(*(*%#(^#% would you ever put a less sharp and less coated lense on???

The 30MM fisheye is superbly sharp and full frame, that is why it is not funny. The lense is excellent for doing full length portraits that include the environment. The center of the lense does not distort significantly and the very high edge to edge sharpness makes the picture interesting with the high detail. If you want to use one try renting but do no buy the cheap alternatives. If you are so inclined just put an old fisheye adaptor on for fun. The 30MM Zeiss is a lense that can do serious work.

I have used hasselblad for 38 years but I recommend the pentax 6x7 SLR as an affordable alternative. The negative is large and the lenses are inexpensive. If you are doing prints then thsi will give you excellent 16x20". The lenses are very flexible and if you want to sell then there are buyers. There is a very excellent macro lense and wide angle. Do't bother with the 6x4.5 format. The larger negative sort of makes up for the lesse lense quality. IMHO don't waste you time with the Kiev. The pentax is used by pros and it is easy to handle adn realatively inexpensive.It has been made for over 35 years and even the olde models give good quality. Ask Sam Haskins.

I use the metz 45 series and they have enought power and alot of flexibility. The sca module mounts on the sede of the camera body. I also use the older metz 32 and it is good for snaps.

There is more to the technique than a white background. He also used a black gobo on each side of the subject. to duplicate that get a 3" peice of styrofoam 4x8 paint it black and set it just outside the frame and top it with a black sheet the same. then light the front with a soft box or big umbrella and light the background 1-1.5 stops higher than the front light.

He would set this up on the street and in a studio.

I have used the 250mm with the vivitar doubler and the mutar duobler and the lense focuses just fine. I also use the mutar on the 500mm apo and it focuses fine too. I was in the Yukon with the 500mm and a doubler and it was necessary. So I fugure the same for Alaska because Alaska is large and yuodid not say where in Alaska you were going. Don't be afraid. the lense will focus just fine. I project my slides 9 feet square and it is just amazing!!!! Please Please do use a tripod.

The 203 wil act like a 503 when the battery is removed. It will also act like a 503 when you mount any lense that is not electronic. The only conveince is the auto metering but if you are competent then you can meter adn shhot with a 503. I passed up a full 203 kit last year with 50mm 2.8 110mm 2.0 and 150mm 2.8 at a truly great price because I have used the 500 series for 38 years and I like the no batter aspects. I also have a rollie slx and the batter requirement drives me nuts. I keep it because I am too lazy to sell it.

And don't forget the NEW Kodak 100UC, Yep they brought out a 100 speed Ultra Color.

I have used a vivitar 2x for years adn I also got a zeiss. The zeiss is definetly better btu the vivitar is very excellent. If you are using a pre cf lense then use either. There is little reaale of the non-hasselbald doublers. I stll use the vivitar on portraits.

I use the 500 apo tessar and it is very sharp I do wildlife adn people and use a tripod for critical work. Thai lense is fantastic. I have not used the 350 superachromat but I did look at the curves and then I found a used 500 apo at a new york store in mint condition so I got it for about one quarter of the 350 superachromat and the convertor. I have not been disappointed. to fill in the gap I had a 180 and I got a zeiss mutar and I see no degradation with the 180 and the 2x mutar.

 

I did use the 500 tessar and there was fringing my friends used a 350 tessar adn got fringing.

 

The apo is a whole different lense than the tessar. Don't hesitate to get one.

 

And all those ridiculous comments like get closer are just taking up space.

Man O Man what a lot of nay sayers you all are. There has been a series of commerative Hasselblads going back decades adn these are valuable to collectors. The people on this forum may be primairly shooters but there are collectors who do buy htese commeratives and put them away and trade them. I see them in Toronot and Montreal. Having said that I will emphasis that the point of collecting is selfish, meaning that this camera has to have a special meaning to you. If a person is collecting just to make money there are hundreds of ways to make better money.

I have considered your plight and considered the market place and I would encourage you to get a cheap photo assistant who is in college or university to be your eyes, as a professional you understand tha tthe vision is in your mind befor ethe camera and shutter captures the shot, so get an assistant and the best camera money can buy and get the shts by close supervision. You are a wonderful person, You have alot to contribute and offer to us and the world. Please shoot alot and get the shots to us!!!!!!!!!

This is another stupid question session. And the person who said forget the CF 250mm unless it is a superachromat is genuinely not a Hasselbald user. All the 250mm's are fine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The best, My UN-humbele opinion, combo is the 50mm, 100mm, 180mm and a 2x Mutar, get a cuple of extention tubes and there is NOTHING you cannot get a great picture of. The old style was 50-80-150 and that is great too. I used that for twenty years!!!!

I have had some difficulty with various sellers, Especially when negative feedback is required. I had an independent get my 300USD and not ship then he refunded and kept 50USd and I left negative feedback and went throught all the hassel og the arbitration on square deal and it was not resolved until I gat the police involved on the basis of international mail fraud, then I got the 50USD back and then I was FLOORED when ebay REMOVED my negative feedback, and I was not vitrolic in the feedback just that he get my money and did not ship or communicate adn I had difficulty obtaining a return.

SOOOO.... I take the feedback with a grain of salt. Ebay will not let the truth of the rip offs the use of the auction system to fence stolen goods or the constant litany of misdescriptions. I write and then demand a phone call and most importantly I will only deal with big time camera shops on the web. I just cannot get over people buying stuf sight unseen or even held and tested for basic functions and paying top dollar. You have to realise that the price limit you bid at should allow for alot of repairs or refurbishment. There was one guy in Northern Ontario selling the same Nikon F4 over and over again and he was just shipping ROCKS, literally ROCKS, well he got a jail term and the people who sent him money lost it. SO it is like a gamble unless you really get a rappor going with the seller.

The 30mm fisheye is so unique and just plain wonderful, Portraits of people just will never be the same.

You are barking up the wring tree, the 1.4 shift is bulky and , yes it is sharp. You will loose all of the electrical contacts of the 200 series advantage. the lense will not automatically close the iris, the lense will be like an ancient preset.

I have used Hasselblad for 38 years and when I travel the best combination is 50-100-180 and a 2X Mutar, with that I have never felt that I missed a shot. I fit all of that into a small Haliburton case with a special external ring so I can lock the case adn use a kriponite cable to lok it in the trunk when traveling. Insurance is great but I prefer to have the camera so I can get pictures. I have the 30-38 and 40 but I like the 50 alot. and the 60 alot. Hell I like them all. The 40 does get a definite wide angle look and the 50 does not seem to have that effect. Frankly going wide from 40 and wider requires a special eye to composition. That is whot you really have to decide and that only comes with the experience of shooting with each lense.

The chrome lenses ar just fine!!! I have chrome non t* and new CFE's the chromes are great in B&W and excellen, yes, excellent in color. THEY ARE SHARP, the new lenses are the SAME GLASS but with better coatings, if you use a shade you really wob't see much if any difference. Just be sure to check the shutter, You will beable to repair these because independent camera repair shops have the peices. SO get them and use them.

Last May I flew from Toronto to San Fran. In Toronto I had to take the camera apart and the inspector looked through each lense and in the camera body I had to open the film box take out a factory wrapped film and open the blue plastic film cover pouch. The film did not get xrayed. They had never seen a camera like it. That surprised me. On the way back from San Fran I had no film left, I used the new lab to do the developing and had the processed film shipped separetely. Anyway the camera and lenses went through the xray right along wi th my shoes and the inspector didn't even open the bag. I asked them if they wanted to open it and they said they knew it was a camera. SO either the US inspector there had a better knowledge or the USA X-Ray was powerful enought to clearly see the camera and the lenses. I suspect the later. I was very nervous with the Canadian inspector because of the possibility of her damaging the camera or lense. I knew the film and xray would be a problem so I arranged ahead of time to have a large film order waiting fo me in San Fran and then I ran a test roll and got it developed and the Gossen meter was off, I had to buy a new meter. As an after thought could the xray have damaged the meter sensor on the gossen?

A fuji 6x17 has a 15mm lense so if you use a 120 Nikor and just center the image and take the picture on a sheet of 8x10 film and crop it you will get the wide effect. You really should do this first, I did and it works. You do not have to modify anything. You could mask your gg to be sure of the effect but you can do that mentally anyway. The 120 Nikor has no movement on an 8x10 it just covers. f you like the effect and have the money then you could purchase a dedicated 6x17. I balanced the cost of using 8x10 over the investment in the 6x17 camera to save mony and I figured that I could do a carload of 8x10 before that economy was achieved. Of courese the 6x17 is alot more portabel but with the 8x10 and the idea of croping you can also just shoot normal