Hasselblad H2 lense question

[Greg Haag]

I shoot with a Hasselblad H2 w a Phase One back.  I currently have the 80mm and 55-110 lenses and wanting to purchase either the 150mm or 210mm lens.  I would be using these for portrait work if there is anyone shooting with either of these lenses I would really appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks,
Greg

[eleanorbrown]

I have the 210 and it is a wonderful lens..tack sharp and good bokeh. I don't do much critical shooting with it wide open so I really can't report on the lens at f4.  eleanor

[DavidP]

I rent one often for environmental portraits, I like to shoot wide open with it and it is a really nice lens.
nice compression and nice shallow focus wide open.
I am also using a phase back.
you just have to be able to get back from the subject a bit.

[MarkKay]

I was not a big fan of the 150mm but a huge fan of the 210mm.  I think the 100mm + 1.7x is as good as the 150mm in terms of image quality and bokeh.  

I shoot with a Hasselblad H2 w a Phase One back.  I currently have the 80mm and 55-110 lenses and wanting to purchase either the 150mm or 210mm lens.  I would be using these for portrait work if there is anyone shooting with either of these lenses I would really appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks,
Greg
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[Dustbak]

I have both. While the 210 renders visibly better than the 150 there are a few things that the 150 has going for it if you think about portraits.

The focal length is one thing but that might not apply to you but I like to be pretty close to the persons I photograph.

The major difference I find the autofocus speed. The 150 is one of the fastest focussing lenses of the HC line, the 210 must be one of the slowest. This can make a big difference doing portraiture.

The 100 is an excellent lens that renders much better than the 150, even better than the zoom. I cannot say how much image degradation you get when you use it together with the converter.

[Greg Haag]

Thanks to everyone you have been very helpful.  Although based on your comments I probably would revise my decision to choosing between the 100 and the 210.  I have heard great things about the 100, but I was interested in the compression that the 210 would offer.  I guess my question for those of you doing portrait work is given my current lenses of 80 and 55-110 which would be your choice the 100 or 210?
Thanks,
Greg

[Dustbak]

Difficult one since I am not you and vice versa. I have the 50-110 as well. The 100 performs slightly better than the zoom. If having to select between the 100 and 210 I would go for the 100 if operability and ease of use were of importance. I also like holding the 100 for the whole day and just use it.

Even if you already have the zoom the 100 has its use. Personally I would get the 100 before the 210. I did actually. Eventually I also bought the 210 because I could get it at a very low pricepoint. An offer I couldn't refuse so to speak.

If you really need the compression of the 210 the 100 would simply not be an option. It is a bit like apples and oranges.

[Greg Haag]

Dustbak,
Thanks for your input.
Greg

[Morgan_Moore]

I would consider the 1.7 converter and also the future T/S converter

The 1.7 is very good - not like the crumby converters of old

ie you could get the 100 and the 1.7 and gain some flexibility

The 100, not that I own one, seems nice to me, small, bright, light and very desirable

currently I regularly use the 1.7 with the 80 for a bit more compression than the 80 gives

S