Can anyone help with some questions on a Hasselblad 501CM?

[jools230575]

Evening folks

For the last 6 - 9 months I have been dabbling with the idea of going to medium format. I've tried weighing up all sorts of things and I am getting close to a decision.

Basically, I am looking at the Hasselblad 501CM but before I finally decide I'd like to see if someone can answer some nagging questions.

1) I know that the fastest shutter speed is 1/500s. What is the longest? Can you do a bulb setting on it?
2) With regards to stops, be it either aperture or shutter speed, is there the ability to have half or third stop increments?
3) I've read a lot about the Hassie's using EV instead of aperture and shutter speed. Is is possible to change the aperture/ shutter speed independent of one another? So for example, when I am setting up my shot I want f/22. I measure the darkest tone that I want in the picture and my meter says 1/60 at f/22. Can I keep the f/22 setting and adjust the shutter down to 1/250?
4) Does the Hasselblad 501cm have mirror lock up?

Think that is all.

Thanks for any help. It is most appreciated.

[design_freak]

Evening folks

For the last 6 - 9 months I have been dabbling with the idea of going to medium format. I've tried weighing up all sorts of things and I am getting close to a decision.

Basically, I am looking at the Hasselblad 501CM but before I finally decide I'd like to see if someone can answer some nagging questions.

1) I know that the fastest shutter speed is 1/500s. What is the longest? Can you do a bulb setting on it?
2) With regards to stops, be it either aperture or shutter speed, is there the ability to have half or third stop increments?
3) I've read a lot about the Hassie's using EV instead of aperture and shutter speed. Is is possible to change the aperture/ shutter speed independent of one another? So for example, when I am setting up my shot I want f/22. I measure the darkest tone that I want in the picture and my meter says 1/60 at f/22. Can I keep the f/22 setting and adjust the shutter down to 1/250?
4) Does the Hasselblad 501cm have mirror lock up?

Think that is all.

Thanks for any help. It is most appreciated.

1) Yes, Bulb is there
2) Yes 1/2
3) ?? It's full manual camera. You can set anything you want. You can lock Aperture and Time ( You set f22 1/60, lock and you can get f16 1/125 , f11 1/250 ...)
4) Yes

Best regards,
Design Freak

[jools230575]

Thanks for that!

One question that I forgot.

I believe that the is a way to do 6x4.5 images on the 501CM. Do you have to use a different film back or is there some kind of methodology as to how you achieve this?

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Thanks for that!

One question that I forgot.

I believe that the is a way to do 6x4.5 images on the 501CM. Do you have to use a different film back or is there some kind of methodology as to how you achieve this?

There is an app for that... ooops, sorry, got carried away   Actually, there is a film back for that.

[jools230575]

Cool. Thanks for the swift reply!

BTW. Those pictures are great!!!

[Pedro Kok]

It's full manual camera. You can set anything you want. You can lock Aperture and Time ( You set f22 1/60, lock and you can get f16 1/125 , f11 1/250 ...)

That's the interlock button, which is present on all lenses except the 80mm C T* (LATE). This lens looks very much like the CF version, but all marking are white and that button is missing. Be on the lookout, since it was regularly bundled with the 501CM.

Pedro

[Dick Roadnight]

Do you specifically want the 501? Have you contemplated the 555ELD, which will do anything the 501 would, is motor-driven and designed for (possible later upgrade) digital?

[jools230575]

Do you specifically want the 501? Have you contemplated the 555ELD, which will do anything the 501 would, is motor-driven and designed for (possible later upgrade) digital?

To be honest, I have found it a bit bewildering with all the models and was just looking at the main ones.

How about cost wise? Is one more expensive than the other?

[John R Smith]

Jools

You certainly don't want an EL series if you are going to be carrying the camera about doing landscape work, which I see is your area of photography. The EL is a studio beast.

The standard 500 series (500C/M, 501, 503 etc) are all good rugged, portable beasts with a great selection of lenses, finders and magazines. You can shoot 120 or 220 film in 6x6 or 645 format. There is a Hasselblad accessory, usually beautifully made, for just about everything. The only thing lacking really is a shift lens.
However, they are idiosyncratic old beasts - you have to remember that the original 'Blad came out in 1946 and the 500 series in 1957, and they never changed much at all - so you have to get to know and love their little ways. This is a camera which you use in a deliberate, contemplative fashion. It is not quick, and it won't be rushed. Good for fast-moving sports or candids it is not. Prices for the 500s and the Zeiss lenses seem very low these days, but don't get too carried away. Spares and service are very expensive, and all this kit is now elderly. I have got used to doing a lot of my own servicing and repairs, but even so there is no way I am going to try to fix a Synchro-Compur shutter. My own collection includes just about every item made by Hasselbald for the 500 during the 1960s, so you can tell that I am biased - but I do use it all for photography. The Hasselblad 500 is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and influential cameras ever made - along with the M3 Leica, the Rollei TLR, and the Nikon F. One of the nice things about using one is the comments it draws when I am out and about - an awful lot of people seem to recognise a 500, and it gets the same sort of attention as a classic car.

John

[jools230575]

Thanks John.

I will be looking to use it for landscapes.

Right now I am looking at doing two things

1) Getting a Hassie, and
2) Upgrading my old Canon 350D to an EOS 5D mark II

Want the power of both formats;)

My reasoning behind the 501CM was that you didn't get any vignetting as it has the gliding mirror.

[jools230575]

Thanks for all the replies so far. You are really helping me with my decision!

To throw a spanner in the works, what would be any advantage of buying a 501CM over a 500CM? I am aware of the mirror design to avoid vignetting. What lenses does that affect?

Does the 500CM use the same film back as the 501CM?

With regards to shutter speed/ aperture. How exactly do you change these by 1/3 or 1/2 stops? Looking at the lens design it is just in whole stops?

Sorry to ask so many questions. I don't want to fork out loads of money and make a HUGE mistake.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... With regards to shutter speed/ aperture. How exactly do you change these by 1/3 or 1/2 stops? Looking at the lens design it is just in whole stops?...

You can not do 1/3. But 1/2 is easy... the numbers on the lens are for full stops indeed, but there is a click position in-between.

[jools230575]

You can not do 1/3. But 1/2 is easy... the numbers on the lens are for full stops indeed, but there is a click position in-between.

Thanks.

Is this applicable to all the lens varities? I am starting to unravel another bag of worms here!

There seems to be a variety of lens from C to CT* and CF etc

[byarvin]

Yes, you have half-stop settings on all of them. And you won't be making a "huge mistake" unless you reject medium format entirely. (For whatever reason.) Hasselblad cameras have been the tool of choice for great photographers for over half a century. Some of my gear has been with me for almost forty years and is still going strong.

[jools230575]

I can't see myself rejecting medium format.

Just yesterday I was photographing and imaging the square image through my Canon. I am just dying to get a Hassie. All I need to do is be sure of my facts, which I think is reasonable.

My favourite professional photographer is a die-hard Hasselblad user. Mr Charlie Waite, who lives near to me, has been using them for all of his career. It was after getting his book "50 favourite photographs" that the idea has been in my head to move onto medium format.

Personally, I think that I will notice one hell of a difference in image quality between 35mm and medium format 6x6.

One of my final nagging things is using filtration with it. I use the Lee Filters system and my adaptor ring is the wide angle version. Lee don't seem to do a wide angle for the Hassie, just a bayonet type at varying mm. I have emailed them to ask about it this particular question to see what they say.

[John R Smith]

Jools

The film magazines are the same fitting for all Hasselblads post-1957, 500s, 200s, and SWC. Which means that the digital backs for the V-System all fit too. The "gliding mirror" in the 501 and later cameras means that the top of the picture is not vignetted in the viewfinder when using longer lenses. However, this is only really an issue with the 250mm and upwards, and it has never bothered me. 120mm and 150mm are fine on the 500 C/M. The one not to buy is the 500C (1957-1971), because this one does not have interchangeable focus screens. This is a major issue, because the earlier focus screens are truly awful. The 500 C/M onwards have the interchangeable screen. All C/CF/CFE lenses will fit all the 500 cameras.

My advice would be to buy a 500C/M, 501, or 503 with standard 80mm Planar and A12 magazine to get you started. Buy the best condition and latest model that you can afford, and then use it for a month or two to see how the pair of you get on. If you find that the 'Blad is not for you (and you might be horrified by how demanding the camera is), then you can sell it on again as a package and not lose much. Make sure that the camera you are buying includes lens caps and a strap - all these little bits and pieces are hard to find. Also expect that the light trap in any magazine you buy will need replacing - you can do this yourself for about a fiver in parts. A lens hood is another essential - note that the C and CF lenses use a different size.

If I may add another word. I have no commercial connection with any camera dealer, but I would recommend (for the UK) Ffordes in Scotland. They have a 10 day no-quibble return policy (which they have always honoured with me), their packaging and delivery is first-class, and they will also sell your gear for you on a very reasonable commission basis. There is a six-month warranty on most used Hasselblad kit from them.

John

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I can't see myself rejecting medium format...

One thing that is missing from this discussion is your intended digital leg of the workflow... how do you plan to transfer film into digital? That is, what kind of scanner type (drum, dedicated film, flatbed) and make, and by whom (you or lab)? Answers to these questions (and associated cost/quality trade-off) will greatly influence the perceived benefit of going retro.

[jools230575]

One thing that is missing from this discussion is your intended digital leg of the workflow... how do you plan to transfer film into digital? That is, what kind of scanner type (drum, dedicated film, flatbed) and make, and by whom (you or lab)? Answers to these questions (and associated cost/quality trade-off) will greatly influence the perceived benefit of going retro.

At the moment, it's not something that I am factoring in. I figure that the ability to do that will be around for a while.

In a way, I am already retro as I use a Canon EOS1 with Velvia50 in it. I am just wanting to move on as I feel that I have improved enough with my photography that I can justify the jump to MF.

As far as which one I get, it looks highly likely that I will seek out the 501CM. Why? I understand that with the 500CM there is some cutoff on the focussing screen when using lenses beyond 110mm. Even with the later 503CX I believe that it is a problem.

My shopping list is basically:

Hasselblad 501CM with WLF and film back.
80mm lens
50mm lens
150mm lens
250mm lens

They will cover the focal lengths that I use the majority of the time.