ken_mccallum1

Bob,

 

In my area, the medium format processing has gotten too expensive for me and impossible to find. I finally lost patience when a local lab went out of business with three rolls of my film. Using the adapter & Shooting onto a 35mm format with my Hasselblad lenses was a good alternative since I already owned the lenses and a Canon EOS Elan.

 

Also, photography is one of my hobbies & I don't have $5000-$10,000 to spend on a camera back just in case I decide to blow a picture up to billboard size.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Ken

I've been using a Hasselblad to EOS adapter for over a year. Purchased it on Ebay from a fellow in Hong Kong for around $90. Recently, I bought a Canon 20D digital camera body & use my 6 Hassy lenses along with a standard Canon lens that came with the camera and have acheived very good results. Prior to buying the digital back, I tested the hasselblad lenses against the Canon consumer grade lenses & found that the Hassy lenses offered much more contrast on 35mm film. The 20D now gives me an 8.2 MP camera back for only $1500... much cheaper than anything else on the market.

 

I'm sure the "experts" will all disagree. Spend the $80 and see for yourself. You'll need to use the aperature preview on your Hasselblad lens to set your aperature when shooting. It's easier to focus with the lens wide open. Otherwise, use your Canon EOS just like you would with any Canon lens in the manual focus mode with aperature priority.

 

Ken

I also own a complete Hasselblad 500cm set up. Recently, I purchased a new Canon 20D to use with my Canon lenses and with my Hasselblad lenses using a high quality EOS to Hasselblad adapter. The system has worked out very well. Using the 20D with my Hasselbald lenses gives me a situation where I have a 8.2MP digital back with an automatic light meter. If I just want to shoot 35mm digital slr, I have that option too. Kind of the best of both worlds for only $1,800.00 including a basic zoom lens. The digital camera with a 2GB card can shoot 500 pictures at high resolution with no film cost... I'm having a blast and if the camera becomes obsolete in a couple of years... so what; It didn't cost a fortune anyway.

 

I'm not ready to give up the medium format lenses yet... they seem to be appreciating in value on ebay over the past few months.

 

Ken McCallum

Canon 35-85 1:4-5.6, Canon 75-300 1:4-5.6, Canon 18-55 1:3.5-5.6, Hasselblad 50mm CF 4, Hasselblad 150mm CF 4, Hasselblad 250mm CF 5.6, Hasselblad 350mm CF 5.6

To answer a couple of questions:

 

My comparisons were made using 4 Canon EOS lenses; a 70-300 zoom, 50mm standard, 35-85 zoom and the new 18-55 zoom that came with the 20D camera kit. The Hassy lenses where 250mm CF, 150mm CF, 350mm CF and 50mm CF all multicoated T*. Most likely, the reason I'm able to acheive a brighter vewfinder is due to the fact that since each of the Hassy lenses have a built-in shutter, I first focus with the aperture wide open then close it down prior to shooting using the f-stop preview lock on the lens. The Canon body is set to aperture priority, so the camera automatically sets the correct shutter speed. Of course I can override the settings if I so choose. This works great for stills; and for long telephoto shots (eg. nature) I nearly always shoot with the lens wide open.

 

I assume that if I made my comparison using the pro Canon lenses the difference wouldn't be as great. But since I already own the Hasselblad lenses, keeping them and using them in this manner makes sense. It's no longer a choice of digital SLR or medium format; in effect I now have both and can interchange them as needed. Soon I plan to make a trip to my local camera store to try out the Pro Canon lenses just for comparison.

 

I don't think the same results would be experienced using the older Hasselblad C lenses. I don't believe all models were multicoated like the CF style.

 

My goal here is not to conduct a study, it's simply to be able to use equipment I already own in the new digital age without paying a fortune for a Medium format digital back. Believe me, it's much easier to shoot with my Hassy 350mm CF attached to a Canon body than trying to do the same thing using a Hasselblad body, film back or digital back, PME 3 prism finder and setting the shutter speed manually for each shot. Now I just point, focus, shoot up to 600 images and download.

 

I'll try to post some images in the coming week.

 

Ken

Over the past couple of years I've accumulated a nearly complete

collection of Hasselblad lenses for my 500cm. But since it's

getting more difficult to find processing in my area, I recently

decided to go digital with a new Canon EOS 20D 8.2 MP camera.

 

I began by shooting quite a few pictures using my EOS lenses and

then following them up with using my Hasselblad lenses using an

adapter I'd purchased which enables me to mount them on the Canon

20D. I just wanted to make a quality comparison before I listed the

Hassy lenses on ebay.

 

Wow! what a difference. With the Hasselblad lens, the difference is

night & day. Much more contrast and a sharper focus... even with my

failing eyes (I'm over 45). The image in the viewfinder was also

much brighter with the Hassy lens. I tried the experiment with four

Canon lenses & 4 Hassy lenses just to make sure. The results were

remarkable. So I've concluded that the easiest and cheapest way to

obtain a 8.2 MP digital back for my Hasselblad is combining the EOS

camera with the Hasselblad lenses. The adapter cost around $85 from

Asia and the Canon 20D cost $1,499 through Ritz Camera.

 

Needless to say, I'm hanging onto the Hasselblad lenses & selling

the film backs. You might want to try this before selling any of

your high quality Hasselblad lenses.

 

Ken

Here's another method you may wish to consider. There are high quality adapter rings available which enable you to mount any of the Hasselblad lenses to a Canon EOS camera. I purchased one for around $85. This makes it possible to mount the Hasselblad lenses to cameras such as the Canon Digital Rebel which would give you a 6.3 megapixel back for around $1,000 US and give you the versatility to also have a digital SLR. With the canon, an 18-55mm lens is also included. Something to consider while waiting for the price of their 1Ds to come down.

I purchased a "do-it-yourself" kit on ebay for $19.99. The parts are original Hasselblad and it takes about 15 minutes. I believe it's called a Hasselblad light seal kit.

Here's another way to get the same results.

 

High quality lens adapters are available to connect a medium format lens such as Hasselblad, to an Canon EOS or Nikon camera body. This will enable you to use your existing lenses on Digital SLR style camera bodies, which are in most cases less expensive and more versatile than digital backs.

Canon A-1 and Canon EOS Elan

Your answers have been very helpful.

 

My other primary consideration, which was also introduced by a respondent, is whether or not the optics of the larger Zeiss lenses make any difference when shooting digital. Any thoughts on this, aside from the obvious advantages of auto focus and metering with 35mm?

 

It's interesting that several people have suggested the Kodak Pro Back Plus, since it's the unit that I've been considering.

 

Thanks

 

Ken

At the present time, I own a complete Hasselblad 500C/M system

including five CF lenses. I've been considering the possibility of

either selling my existing system and making the switch to a new

professional 35mm digital camera, or waiting and purchasing a

digital back sometime in the future; hopefully, when prices come

down.

 

When using traditional film, it is without question, better to use a

larger fomat in order to obtain a higher resolution image. But,

does the same hold true for digital? Are MF digital back pixels the

same as 35mm pixels? Can someone please explain the differences, if

there are any? Can I expect to obtain the same quality image using

either a 14 megapixel back or a 14 megapixel 35mm camera?

 

Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Ken

Check ebay for used Hasselblad. You will find the prices to be excellent, and probably below your student discount. Why buy Mamiya or Rolliflex when you can buy Hasselblad for not much more?

The same thing started happening to me at age 45. Although I have 20/20 vision and normally do not wear reading glasses, my ability to focus up close has slowed. It's most noticable when trying to focus my Hasselblad or read the new Shutterbug magazine (small font size). It happens to everyone.

 

One thing I did which has helped, was to begin using a split image Acute-Matte view finder screen in my PME, and learn to trust it.

 

Good luck

I recently purchased a Hasselblad polaroid back in mint condition off ebay for $125. You shouldn't have any problem buying a Hasselblad back for under $200, if you are patient. Good luck!