HC Lens recommendation for newbie ...

[paul25]

I have just entered medium format arena.
I have acquired H1 with Kodak 645H, and have HC80, and HC150 ...
I bought HC150, because I do take portraits often.

However, I was wondering if it's better to have HC120, rather than the HC150.

Also, I'm taking a lot landscape pictures ... is HC35 the lens to have for this purpose?
Or is it better to have HC35-90, instead of HC35 & HC80, as far as IQ is concerned.

As 35mm digital user, I opted for prime lens over zoom, because of their better performance.
Does that hold same for HC lenses?

Thank you in advance for your kind input.

[Professional]

For my Hasselblad[H4D-40 and previously H3DII-39] i have the following:

HC2.8/80[kit lens: for portraits, street/candid, general shooting
HCD4/28mm: for landscapes, architecture, cityscape
HC4/120: for macro, still life, portraits sometimes, close-ups

I want to have a zoom, prefer 39-90 if possible, buy if i have 50-110 i will never say no either.
Another prime lens i may consider will be 100, it is the best lens for portraits i heard, but i am sure 80/120/150 all can do great job for that as well.

[michele]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but as long as i remember the HCD 35-90 and the HCD 28 are not available for the H1... I think you have to upgrade to the H3 or newer...
By the way, i think the 120macro and the 150 are very different lenses, the 120 is slower and naturally designed for close-up. I personally find a very good working solution my 120macro + 210mm
But since you are in the hasselblad price ligue... well, i'd stay with the 150mm. But, and this is a big but, i use a P45+ sensor size, can't remember the size of your sensor...

[eronald]

Michele, which body are you using ? how recent?

Edmund

[michele]

PhaseOne 645 AF... not hasselblad, sorry for being not specific...

[Dustbak]

Both HCD35-90 as well as the HCD28 are no option for you. You have to get a H3/H4 or a H2F with CF back for those. For portraits I like to have fast AF (all is relative) where the 150 is much faster than the 120. The 120 allows you to come in really close though and is scaringly sharp.

The 50-110 is excellent. Better than some of the primes in the same focal lenght region. It is only heavy which I have gotten used to but since I have the 35-90 I keep the 50-110 as a backup. The HCD35-90 is better than both the 35 as well as the 80 (though the 80 is not bad in some areas)!

The 35 is one of my least loved lenses. Personally I find it only usable when closed down to at least f8.

The 210 is also a lovely lens even though I hardly ever get to use it (small places over here .

[ondebanks]

Welcome to MF[D], Paul.

I have the same type of Kodak back but on a Mamiya AFD platform. So I cannot answer concerning which H lenses are better in quality, but I can say something about which focal lengths I like to use for the particular "crop factor" of our backs.

Also, I'm taking a lot landscape pictures ... is HC35 the lens to have for this purpose?

Yes, the 35mm focal length is good as it has the same diagonal field of view on the 645H as a 'classic 28mm wideangle' on 35mm format.

My lens lineup is currently a mix of AF and manual lenses: 35/3.5, 55/2.8, 80/1.9, 110/2.8, 55-110/4.5 zoom, 200/2.8 APO, 2x TC from Mamiya; and 30/3.5 fisheye, 300/4 Sonnar from P6/Kiev mount.

Of these, my "normal" walkabout kit is 4 items: the 35, 55-110 zoom, 200, and 2x. This covers more than a 10x range from 35mm to 400mm. I shot all of this range during an 80-minute beach walk the other evening, and never noticed the weight.

Indoors, I usually replace the zoom with the 80/1.9 as my "people" lens. Much faster, focuses closer, great bokeh. The 100/2.2 H lens sounds like the equivalent one you'll want. You ask about the 120 H lens - I would say yes, it is a more typical focal length for portraits than the 150mm, given the crop factor. My 110mm (whether prime or zoom) seems plenty long for this purpose.

Astrophotography: mainly 30/3.5 fisheye, 80/1.9, 200/2.8. Sometimes the other fast primes (35/3.5, 55/2.8, 110/2.8, 300/4) as well. The fast apertures of the Mamiya lenses are critical here.

Ray

[Kitty]

HC 120mm macro is very sharp lens. Close-up is a plus for portrait but may be too harsh for old age people.
HC 100mm is a nice portrait lens. Light and creamy smooth skin. But you got big nose with close-up shot.
HC 50-110 zoom is all purpose lens sharp but less than prime ofcourse. Quite heavy for long time shoot.
HC 35-90mm. I think only for H3D or later. Not for H1 or H2.
I have 120mm and 150mm and it seems 120mm is quite easier to use because of close-up. But a bit slower to focus.

[Dustbak]

Why less than primes ofcourse? It is actually sharper than some of the primes in its range. It is definitely sharper than the 50 for instance and the jury is still out on the 80 (actually my 50-110 is sharper than my 80).

[paul25]

Wow ... Thank you for the nice replies...

This move to MF is a huge leap of faith on my part.
I had to give up some gears that I cherished...

I think I definitely need a wide angle lens.... that leaves me not much choice other than HC 35mm.

One quick question....
I've read quite of few comments on this particular lens, and it seems to get a mixed review as far its optical performance.
Is it really that bad wide open?
I ask because I sometime take close focus pictures with background blur....even with a wide angle lens...

For typical landscape shot, I don't mind stopping down to f/8, or even to f/22.
What f-stop gets you the best resolution from this particular lens?

I spent almost 2 full days to find some link to find out user reviews on HC lenses, but to no avail....
Can anyone, if you know some weblink, recommend me one?

[BrendanStewart]

I've used the HC35 a bit. It's a great lens. Very large and works well. There is some corner softness, but nothing outrageous. Phocus does a great job of helping with any distortion. I say go for it, you'll really enjoy it.

I sold mine because i picked up a 35-90. I adore that lens even though it's heavy and large.

[JV]

Phocus does a great job of helping with any distortion.

Is this also true for the H1/H2?  Could you use Phocus together with an H1/H2 and a non-Hasselblad digital back?

[ondebanks]

Me again. Just wanted to point out that when people say that the 35mm H lens has "some corner softness", remember that you won't be seeing the real (645: 56x41.5 mm) corners on the 37x37 mm Kodak back. My Mamiya 35mm has soft corners on 645 film, but is actually very good out to the edges of my Kodak back. If you were to later upgrade your back to something larger that might become an issue, but I don't think it will be for now.

Ray

[paul25]

Again, some newbie questions on H1 ....

How long does Lithium battery on H1 camera body last?
Does it last few days of shooting?
Am I better off buying the rechargeable Li-ion battery grip?

[Kitty]

You are right Dustbak. 50mm is exception. 
But I think my 80mm is better than 50-110mm.
IMHO

[darylgo]

Again, some newbie questions on H1 ....

How long does Lithium battery on H1 camera body last?
Does it last few days of shooting?
Am I better off buying the rechargeable Li-ion battery grip?

A good compromise (to start) is a set of rechargable 123 batteries from Amazon, Tenergy, as I recall.  4 batteries and a charger are $30.00.  Mine have lasted a few days (mostly landscape, 30-50 shots/day), with a second set as back-up.   They don't give much warning when they are exhausted so be sure to have the backups.   

[darylgo]

Also, I'm taking a lot landscape pictures ... is HC35 the lens to have for this purpose?
Or is it better to have HC35-90, instead of HC35 & HC80, as far as IQ is concerned.

As 35mm digital user, I opted for prime lens over zoom, because of their better performance.
Does that hold same for HC lenses?

Hasselblad publishes measured mtf curves for all lens on their website, this is often a good starting point for determining which lens is sharper/better contrast.  Often, you will hear conflicting viewpoints on lenses, as seen in the posts here.  Individual variations in lenses are common, even among the most expensive brands, therefore different views of which is sharper result. 
That is just the tip of the iceberg regarding image quality. 

In addition you have the ability to use many older C lenses from Zeiss with the CF adapter.  You lose automation with the adapter but you gain optics such as the 100mm f3.5 lens and 180mm f4 both known for their outstanding optics and very much sought after today. 

[imagetone]

I find my HC35mm sharp enough for landscapes and interiors although it's usually stopped down and I haven't done any formal testing of it at different apertures. If you want to remove distortion I don't believe you will be able to process the files from that back in Phocus.