Who uses a high resolution back with a Hasselblad V?

[KevinA]

How do people make the Alpa work, do you have to be tethered for every shot?

Kevin.

[cng]

Anyone have any opinions on camera/DB sync cables?  i.e. PhaseOne, Kapture Group etc.  For use with a P1 DB and 503CW.

BUMP. Serious question. Are some cables better than others or are they all pretty much equal? Have just dug out my old 503.

[henrikfoto]

BUMP. Serious question. Are some cables better than others or are they all pretty much equal? Have just dug out my old 503.

Hi!

Normally you can get this sync-cable from Phase one dealers everywhere.

Henrik

[epines]

I'd like to continue a couple of issues raised earlier in this post:

1. Cabling from lens to back. I'd love to know if others have a misfire problem and what they do about it. I have an Aptus 54S on a 503CW, and nearly everything I shoot is with strobes (so I'm also cabling from the back to a transmitter). The lenses are mostly great (40CFE isn't stellar at wider apertures, and the 60 for some reason seems less sharp than it ever did with film. But the 50, 80 and 120 are just great). My biggest problem with using a DB on the analog Hassy is the occasional misfired shot due to a poor cable connection. Sometimes there can be a frustrating number of misfires in a row, even when I manipulate and tweak and move the cable between shots. If I stay on a tripod, there are usually very few misfires. If I go handheld, they increase dramatically, since the cable seems to get nudged by my hands. On an editorial shoot, it's frustrating and can cause a missed great shot. On a commercial shoot, it is an absolute deal-breaker. If it were the DB-transmitter connection creating the problem, the shots would just be dark from the strobes not firing. But the problem is almost always that the back hasn't received an image at all, so it seems to be the lens-DB connection.  

I've had the sync ports cleaned on all my lenses, and I have gold-tipped sync cords special ordered from Paramount. Has anyone else found a better solution? When this happens, it makes me want to chuck all the stuff out the window and buy an H system.

2. Using the 203FE. If I had my 203FE modified by the factory, could I use it without a lens-to-back cable (considering that my back is a Leaf, not a Hasselblad)? And what do I lose from the body if I do this?

thanks

ethan pines

[Graham Mitchell]

Critical focus on moving subjects with medium format digital is a challenge, with or without AF. Personally I don't much value in AF for my kind of work, especially a single centre point system, so you just need to improve your focusing technique and expect some missed shots, especially under f4.

I have heard a rumour though that Hasselblad are close to opening it up again.

That would be interesting!

[yaya]

I'd like to continue a couple of issues raised earlier in this post:

1. Cabling from lens to back. I'd love to know if others have a misfire problem and what they do about it. I have an Aptus 54S on a 503CW, and nearly everything I shoot is with strobes (so I'm also cabling from the back to a transmitter). The lenses are mostly great (40CFE isn't stellar at wider apertures, and the 60 for some reason seems less sharp than it ever did with film. But the 50, 80 and 120 are just great). My biggest problem with using a DB on the analog Hassy is the occasional misfired shot due to a poor cable connection. Sometimes there can be a frustrating number of misfires in a row, even when I manipulate and tweak and move the cable between shots. If I stay on a tripod, there are usually very few misfires. If I go handheld, they increase dramatically, since the cable seems to get nudged by my hands. On an editorial shoot, it's frustrating and can cause a missed great shot. On a commercial shoot, it is an absolute deal-breaker. If it were the DB-transmitter connection creating the problem, the shots would just be dark from the strobes not firing. But the problem is almost always that the back hasn't received an image at all, so it seems to be the lens-DB connection.  

I've had the sync ports cleaned on all my lenses, and I have gold-tipped sync cords special ordered from Paramount. Has anyone else found a better solution? When this happens, it makes me want to chuck all the stuff out the window and buy an H system.

2. Using the 203FE. If I had my 203FE modified by the factory, could I use it without a lens-to-back cable (considering that my back is a Leaf, not a Hasselblad)? And what do I lose from the body if I do this?

thanks

ethan pines

Assuming that the cables and the back are OK, I would suggest having the lenses serviced and the sync ports replaced with new ones, including the little coil spring inside. This is a rather inexpensive repair and I think it is well worth it

[DeeJay]

Critical focus on moving subjects with medium format digital is a challenge, with or without AF. Personally I don't much value in AF for my kind of work, especially a single centre point system, so you just need to improve your focusing technique and expect some missed shots, especially under f4.

I agree. I found that I had missed alot of shots or had the model hanging between poses while the autofocus hunted so killed the connection and fluidity of the shoot so stuck with MF. I found focus and reframe with the Centre point system was counter productive too. These two reasons were main contributing factors that helped me make my mind up about V or H Systems. The final straw was the closed system....we'll wait and see about that.