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Author Topic: Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II  (Read 38862 times)

Pedro Kok

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« on: December 04, 2009, 10:21:10 am »

Though there are seems to be a lot of people using this combination, I haven't found many discussions or photographs on the topic.

I've added to my photographic arsenal a Fotodiox Hasselblad-EOS adapter, sold on ebay. This particular adapter has a tripod mount, which helps balancing the system when longer lenses are used. It doesn't have a chip, so the only metering mode available is center-weight average, and there's no focus confirmation. My Hasselblad set consists of the CF 50mm f/4.0 FLE, CF 80mm f/2.8 and CF 180mm f/4.0.

I use live-view for focusing and metering. A sturdy tripod is recommended, as a magnified live-view with a tele lens show a lot of camera shake. Though not necessary, I set the lens to F mode, disengaging the leaf shutter. Lens is stopped down through the DOF preview lever, and aperture is set on the ring. Image is clear and bright up until f/11 on the OVF, though some people might not want to go that far. There is a bug with the 5D Mark II that when in live-view and M mode, the displayed image is clearly darker than the captured photograph. The bug goes away if live-view is set to Movie and Stills, but then you lose all speeds below 1/30s. Av and Tv modes don't exhibit this problem, and I set proper exposure through exposure compensation dial.

On a subjetive analysis, it seems that it's a myth that these lens, made for 6x6, aren't capable of matching the resolution needed by these small and dense sensors. The 180mm is by far the sharpest and aberration-free lens I've used with the 5D Mark II, even wide open. It has been my favorite combo.

The 80mm is also a pleasure to use, and has very good resolution starting at f/4.0. I've tested the CF 50mm and the Canon 50mm f/1.4 side-by-side, and though there are subtle differences, they are hard to describe. The Hasselblad has a narrower field-of-view though.

From what I've seen, these Carl Zeiss lenses have excellent micro-contrast and resolution characteristics, though with lower global contrast. The result is low contrast and very defined scenes, very good for post-processing. And though some people may dislike, I find the pentagonal bokeh beautiful, an irreproducible characteristic of this set.


Here are some images (click for larger version):

CF 180mm:



CF 180mm with extensive perspective correction in Photoshop:



CF 180mm the first two, CF 80mm the third:



CF 180mm, handheld under rain:



Cheers,
Pedro
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SeanFS

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2009, 05:53:47 pm »

Quote from: Pedro Kok
Though there are seems to be a lot of people using this combination, I haven't found many discussions or photographs on the topic.

I've added to my photographic arsenal a Fotodiox Hasselblad-EOS adapter, sold on ebay. This particular adapter has a tripod mount, which helps balancing the system when longer lenses are used. It doesn't have a chip, so the only metering mode available is center-weight average, and there's no focus confirmation. My Hasselblad set consists of the CF 50mm f/4.0 FLE, CF 80mm f/2.8 and CF 180mm f/4.0.

I use live-view for focusing and metering. A sturdy tripod is recommended, as a magnified live-view with a tele lens show a lot of camera shake. Though not necessary, I set the lens to F mode, disengaging the leaf shutter. Lens is stopped down through the DOF preview lever, and aperture is set on the ring. Image is clear and bright up until f/11 on the OVF, though some people might not want to go that far. There is a bug with the 5D Mark II that when in live-view and M mode, the displayed image is clearly darker than the captured photograph. The bug goes away if live-view is set to Movie and Stills, but then you lose all speeds below 1/30s. Av and Tv modes don't exhibit this problem, and I set proper exposure through exposure compensation dial.

On a subjetive analysis, it seems that it's a myth that these lens, made for 6x6, aren't capable of matching the resolution needed by these small and dense sensors. The 180mm is by far the sharpest and aberration-free lens I've used with the 5D Mark II, even wide open. It has been my favorite combo.

The 80mm is also a pleasure to use, and has very good resolution starting at f/4.0. I've tested the CF 50mm and the Canon 50mm f/1.4 side-by-side, and though there are subtle differences, they are hard to describe. The Hasselblad has a narrower field-of-view though.

From what I've seen, these Carl Zeiss lenses have excellent micro-contrast and resolution characteristics, though with lower global contrast. The result is low contrast and very defined scenes, very good for post-processing. And though some people may dislike, I find the pentagonal bokeh beautiful, an irreproducible characteristic of this set.


Here are some images (click for larger version):

CF 180mm:



CF 180mm with extensive perspective correction in Photoshop:



CF 180mm the first two, CF 80mm the third:



CF 180mm, handheld under rain:



Cheers,
Pedro


I have been using V system lenses on a Imacon 22mp back for a couple of years and have no complaints.  I have the 180and 80, also a 40mm that is probably the worst but not by much and a 150. The best lens I have is an older 100mm CF lens and it is stunningly sharp and well corrected. I have now used them all on an H3D and found them all up to the task, and with phocus software any distortion ( which is low anyway ) and CA is removed. So your results are no surprise. ALways lovely lenses to use and focus. I have two copes of the 180 as I use it so much , one an older CF lens and one a more recent CFi lens. the bulid quality on the more recent lens is definitely better, but optically its impossible to tell them apart
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spotmeter

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2009, 12:46:37 am »

I also purchased the Fotodiox Hasselblad-EOS adapter as I have a full arsenal of Hasselblad lenses.

Unfortunately, after a long series of tests, I found they were no better than the Zeiss ZF lenses or Canon telephoto primes.

Also, their weight and size were awkward with my Canon 5D2.

I am keeping my Hasselblad system in the hope that we will finally get a full-frame digital back for this wonderful system.
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Conner999

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2009, 09:12:06 pm »

Nice. M645 lenses (80/1.9, 120/4A, 150/2.8A, 200/2.8APO) are my primary manual focus (and thus most of my) glass on my 1Ds2.  Have also owned and loved the Hassy 110/2 F on same. A Hassy 180/4 is on the shortlist, despite the overlap with my 200 APO. Love the handling, drawing style, build - and even prefer the larger barrel.

Got tired of arguing the 'myth' with self-proclaimed experts and nano-peepers and just decided the myth works in my favor - helps glass prices sane ;>
« Last Edit: December 07, 2009, 09:18:09 pm by Conner999 »
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rovanpera

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2009, 12:37:03 am »

How can the Hasselblad 50mm have a narrower DOF, I thought a 50mm is a 50mm?
« Last Edit: December 10, 2009, 12:37:20 am by rovanpera »
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Pedro Kok

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2009, 07:29:00 am »

Quote from: rovanpera
How can the Hasselblad 50mm have a narrower DOF, I thought a 50mm is a 50mm?

Well, nominally they're the same focal length. But manufacturers round these numbers up and down. The Canon could be a 48mm and the Hasselblad a 52mm, for example.
I didn't measure the provided angle of views, but it's visible when comparing the pictures side-by-side.
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Pedro Kok

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2009, 07:33:07 am »

Quote from: spotmeter
Unfortunately, after a long series of tests, I found they were no better than the Zeiss ZF lenses or Canon telephoto primes.

They may not be better or worse, but these lenses have a unique drawing style, especially regarding bokeh.
Of course, it's up to the photographer to determine if this is worth the hassle (no pun intended).

Cheers,
Pedro
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BJL

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2009, 03:39:30 pm »

It is nice to know, but not too surprising, that heavy crops to the central part of the images produced by these lenses(a 43mm diagonal portion out of an 80mm diagonal 6x6 frame) still perform well with the high resolution (l/mm) of the 5DMkII sensor and its 6.2 micron photosite size. I would not take this as reassurance about how well these lenses hold up over the larger frame sizes of DMF. Nor is good performance with the 9 micron photosite size of a 22MP DMF enough to vouch for newer, higher resolution DMF sensors of course.
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Jimbob2

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #8 on: January 26, 2010, 03:54:02 pm »

I have both a fotoiox and a zork Hasselblad V lens to Canon EOS adapters.  The Zork is made in Germany and the Fotoiox is made in China.
The Zork is nicely machined and fits tightly, the Fotoiox is OK, but doesn't fit the lens as tightly as the Zork.

You get what you pay for.
Thanks.
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douglasf13

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2010, 05:29:21 pm »

I use my V lenses on my Sony A900 from time to time with good results.  The obvious downsides being lens speed and size/weight.   Although I haven't done formal tests, I'm not sure that I'd ever choose my Hassie 80 f2.8 over my ZA 85 1.4.  The ZA 85 stopped down to f2.8 is a razor.  

DOF is the biggest issue to me with using Hassie lenses on 35mm.  With the Hasselblads, I tend to do a lot of shooting at 80mm and f2.8-f4.  That approximately equates to a 50mm at f1.6-f2.2 on 35mm.  So, if I use my Hassie 50mm f4 on 35mm,  it isn't shallow enough for many of my uses by about 2.5 stops or so.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2010, 05:30:10 pm by douglasf13 »
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adrian tyler

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2010, 02:46:23 am »

i use my 180 & 50 hasselblad lenses on the nikon d3x when i have to take care of the "out of focus" stuff, these two lenses are very sharp and have a wondeful, smooth bokeh which i have never seen on any digital lens.

http://www.adriantyler.net/ficha.cfm?idcat...62&pagina=2
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wilcom

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #11 on: January 30, 2010, 06:40:08 am »

I use a Zoerk Shift Adapter for Hasselblad CF-lenses on my Canon EOS cameras. It allows shifting up to 22 mm.

As an alternative to the CF lenses  I have the marvelous Zoerk Shiftball mounted on a hasselblad mount and a rodenstock apo rodagon 4 / 105 mm in the front - fantastic lens

But since I sold my hasselblad and kept my contax 645, i do not use it so often.

If anybody wants to get it , please PM.
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Conner999

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #12 on: January 30, 2010, 07:51:44 am »

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« Last Edit: January 30, 2010, 07:53:21 am by Conner999 »
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adam_j

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #13 on: February 18, 2010, 12:38:05 am »

I've been looking into these for a while and your responses may push me to pick up the Mamiya 645 to Canon adapter.  In the mean time I've been shooting a lot with the Olympus EP-2 and just got a delivery of an adapter to put my Canon lenses on it.  Pretty funny to see the small E-P2 with a Canon 70-200 f2.8 on it.  Quality is pretty good too but you have to shoot wide open as Canon EF lenses don't have an aperture ring on them.
Adam

DesW

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #14 on: February 20, 2010, 07:59:52 pm »

Ho Hum, been using this for years!

DesW

http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/team201/DSCN0017.jpg
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MarkL

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #15 on: March 20, 2010, 03:55:57 pm »

A perhaps stupid question for people using these on dslrs: is it possible to use the leaf shutter somehow? I'm thinking putting the dslr in bulb, holding the shutter release and then releasing the leaf shutter or something. It would be great to get 1/500 flash sync on a full frame dslr
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Pedro Kok

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #16 on: March 21, 2010, 12:27:25 pm »

Mark, these adapters don't have any mechanical coupling with the shutter, which can't be activated nor cocked. I'm sure one can be constructed, but it would be moderately complex and expensive, with high speed sync being the only gain.

Does any one have experience with the Hasselblad 50mm with a shift adapter. I wonder how it compares to Canon and Nikon's 45mm tilt-shift offerings.


Pedro
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MarkL

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Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #17 on: March 21, 2010, 02:26:01 pm »

Quote from: Pedro Kok
Mark, these adapters don't have any mechanical coupling with the shutter, which can't be activated nor cocked. I'm sure one can be constructed, but it would be moderately complex and expensive, with high speed sync being the only gain.

Thanks. Mamiya lenses can be cocked manually but this means taking the lens off each time, ideally I need an MF lens where the shutter can be cocked and released on the lens itself without removal like an LF lens and it doesn't seem like one exists.
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rajatghosh

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Re: Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #18 on: February 17, 2011, 11:47:11 am »

hi
do u still have the hassy lens to  canon 5dmark2  avalaibe?
if so where are u located ?

Thanx
R
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mauricegunning

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Re: Marriage of generations: Hasselblad lenses meet Canon 5D Mark II
« Reply #19 on: May 25, 2013, 07:12:48 am »

Hi Des,
Looks like a nice set up you have, what brand is the adaptor, or/and where did you source it?
I've been looking at the Zoerk ones and also at this one
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/811149-REG/Bower_ABEOSHAS_ABEOSHAS_Canon_EOS_Camera.html
Looks like it will do the same job, but a good bit better on the price.
Cheers,
Maurice.
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