Need help buying Hasselblad gear

film or digital ?

if it's old film stuff, try the Film and conventional lads, lots of us have (or have owned in the past) a hassy or two...

Digital... Go to one of their plush-carpeted dealers and get the full professional service.
 
Digital or film?
 
Hay Mark I want to buy digital either a H4D or H5D but I am sat on an Oil Rig in Sunny Nigeria right now for the next two weeks so want to try and get some good feedback on what to get and why to get this or that. It will be for people and landscape photography.
People being both studio and walking about.
Thanks
Neil
 
can't help you then I'm afraid - last time I used one it was a 500C/M with a couple of 220 film backs shooting weddings (mostly on a tripod and formals... yep, it was THAT long ago...)
 
ndwgolf said:
Hay Mark I want to buy digital either a H4D or H5D but I am sat on an Oil Rig in Sunny Nigeria right now for the next two weeks so want to try and get some good feedback on what to get and why to get this or that. It will be for people and landscape photography.
People being both studio and walking about.
Thanks
Neil
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Bloody hell Neil, do you not get tired of chopping and changing all the time? :eek:

Every post I see of yours your just about to spend thousands on gear to take photos that your previous camera was more than capable of taking. I hope that's not out of order to say. I've just been there and done it with regards to splurging on camera gear and moving from one system to the next. Done my photography no good whatsoever.
 
ndwgolf said:
Guys
Is there anyone on here that can help me with buying Hasselblad gear?
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Suggest hiring to get a feel for things. Hasselblads are most at home as studio cameras and not to everyone's taste, quite unlike a regular DSLR to use. The larger-sensor CCD'd cameras are poor at higher ISO, though the newer/better CMOS sensor is smaller.

Now that both Leica and Pentax look to have more secure futures, I'd also look at the Leica S and the almost-affordable Pentax 645D. If cost is no object, there are a few other tasty medium format options too.
 
I wouldn't think cameras of this value last long in Nigeria, lol
 
Adam
UaeExile said:
Bloody hell Neil, do you not get tired of chopping and changing all the time? :eek:

Every post I see of yours your just about to spend thousands on gear to take photos that your previous camera was more than capable of taking. I hope that's not out of order to say. I've just been there and done it with regards to splurging on camera gear and moving from one system to the next. Done my photography no good whatsoever.
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Adam
Thanks for the reply.........I have had a love hate relationship with Leica from day one...... see here and I have come to the conclusion that its sh!te. I have tried everything in the book to take sharp people pictures but at the end of the day it has let me down, or I have let IT down either way I am going to sell all that stuff and invest in a Hasselblad instead. I still have my Sony and Nikon gear for all the other everyday shooting but recently have started shooting pretty girls in both studio and outside locations and that is now my desired direction that I want to take my photography.........
 
JennyGW said:
I wouldn't think cameras of this value last long in Nigeria, lol
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Jenny........we were chatting about that this morning and one of the local guys who supposedly knows a kingpin in one of the slum areas of Lagos says he wants me to go there and shoot some local stuff.......need to think about that one :)
 
HoppyUK said:
Suggest hiring to get a feel for things. Hasselblads are most at home as studio cameras and not to everyone's taste, quite unlike a regular DSLR to use. The larger-sensor CCD'd cameras are poor at higher ISO, though the newer/better CMOS sensor is smaller.

Now that both Leica and Pentax look to have more secure futures, I'd also look at the Leica S and the almost-affordable Pentax 645D. If cost is no object, there are a few other tasty medium format options too.
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Hi Richard
I though about the Leica S and was told that it isn't half as good as they/some people make it out to be. As for a Pentax I worry that I would buy that then wish I had the Hasselblad ......................and I have been down that road to many times. I would say that I am spending at least 50% of the time in a studio now so makes sense to me anyway to get a great studio camera that can get nice outside stuff as well. My current studio gear is D800e with 55mm Otus
 
ndwgolf said:
Hi Richard
I though about the Leica S and was told that it isn't half as good as they/some people make it out to be. As for a Pentax I worry that I would buy that then wish I had the Hasselblad ......................and I have been down that road to many times. I would say that I am spending at least 50% of the time in a studio now so makes sense to me anyway to get a great studio camera that can get nice outside stuff as well. My current studio gear is D800e with 55mm Otus
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Well, none of these cameras is anything like as good as they should be for the price. Just that high-end, specialist, niche gear usually costs an arm and a leg. Just remember your Leica experience - it's a Leica M, you're buying a legend, that's it. Great lenses for sure but as picture-taking machines they've not been serious contenders for 50 years. Leica doesn't have the technology to compete with the best from Japan, nor any economies of scale, and Hasselblad is in much the same boat. But Hasselblads do have one great virtue, big sensors, and that gives them peerless, effortless image quality that you'll enjoy if you output big enough to see it, eg 3ft wide prints. If not, you'll just be wasting your time. And the further you stray from the studio environment the more you'll find the camera either disappointing or even useless.

The other reason why people want/need Hasselblads is client perception. For example, if you want to charge top rates for headshots in New York or London, a Hasselblad and studio to match is just part of the game you have to play.

Sorry, I'm rambling. You've obviously done your research. I'd still think about hiring though, to be sure of making the right choices. Then I'd probably phone Hasselblad UK and take their advice on the best place to try and buy with your location. If that's in the UK when you're next over, Hasselblad UK has a very nice studio in Islington you could use for a test drive http://www.handsonahasselblad.com/ Expect a high standard of besoke, personal service. Then they'll prolly try and tuck you up with some Broncolor flash at the same time LOL
 
Just filled in there online private demo form and will try and get that done when I am back in the UK in September if they can slot me in..
Thanks again Richard for the link :)
 
ndwgolf said:
Just filled in there online private demo form and will try and get that done when I am back in the UK in September if they can slot me in..
Thanks again Richard for the link :)
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Funnily enough, I'm sure they'll fit you in somehow. Wear the Rolex ;)
 
Hi Neil, sorry you haven't worked out so well with the M's - I really enjoy shooting mine (I'm afraid your website isn't loading so i can't see the hate bit).
There are a lot of Phase and Hassleblad forums on FB who should be able to help. I've only shot them in the shop, but its a far slower process than shooting with an M. If you go with CCD you're going to be stuck with lighting unless you shoot with strobes due to the higher shutter speeds needed. The Sony sensor CMOS ones are meant to be a bit more forgiving, from what i've read.

Again, i can't see your site so i'm not sure why it didn't work out, but i found once i had got a steady hand and the right shutter speed (and an M which was calibrated correctly) then it was really easy to get a sharp framed shot.

Best of luck with the new toys. If you can't spend your money on things/people you love, then what's the point in earning money!
 
I'd argue also that with the Leica M you're not buying it for the best sensor or DR. I bought my various M's due to the enjoyment involved in actually using it. The rangefinder focusing, the bright viewfinder, the beautiful images the lenses produce, the haptics of the manual focusing and the ergonomics of the camera.

I have a Nikon and a 50mm ART when i want to capture the eyelashes of a fly at 50,000ISO ;-)

Each to their own.
 
rich_ said:
I'd argue also that with the Leica M you're not buying it for the best sensor or DR. I bought my various M's due to the enjoyment involved in actually using it. The rangefinder focusing, the bright viewfinder, the beautiful images the lenses produce, the haptics of the manual focusing and the ergonomics of the camera.

I have a Nikon and a 50mm ART when i want to capture the eyelashes of a fly at 50,000ISO ;-)

Each to their own.
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My eyes are not so good now and I really struggle with the Rangfinder even with glasses on :(
When I shoot with my Nikon and 55mm Otus I get amazing sharp images and the Outs almost renders like the Leica's......its a pity Nikon don't come out with a medium format sensor
 
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How interesting. Your website blocked me when I had my VPN running (One of those anonymity ones. I work in tech so am inherently cautious!) when i turned it off, the site worked fine! :-)

It's funny what you wrote about Malaysia. I just returned from a 3 year stint in Hong Kong and it was the same mentality- asking outside the box is very much frowned upon. Unless you ask 3 times in which case it might happen!

I've never shot with the noct, the price and size threw it for me. I found anything over about 300gms felt a bit unbalanced. I had a 50 Lux asph for a while but it felt like a canonball on the front of the camera! I can imagine focusing with the noct is nigh on impossible before about 5 metres with that dof and otherwise there is no point hulking around that lens! But i also reckon you will miss your cameras if you let go of them. Sometimes I look at mine and think the cost is madness. Perhaps i will sell the 240 and replace with an M6 and slow things down. I don't know...

I also haven't tried out the Otus as I wanted to stay with AF on my DF, but i kept the Sigma 50 Art as i felt it did render similarly to the 50 Lux. That yellowy soft light yet cutting sharpness thing. I guess the Otus is bluer.
 
ndwgolf said:
My eyes are not so good now and I really struggle with the Rangfinder even with glasses on :(
When I shoot with my Nikon and 55mm Otus I get amazing sharp images and the Outs almost renders like the Leica's......its a pity Nikon don't come out with a medium format sensor
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Nikon could easily build a medium-format digital, using the same Sony CMOS sensor that Pentax and others use. It's called medium-format, though the sensor area is less than double that of normal full-frame; 6x4.5cm medium-format film is about 3x the area. Tiny, tiny market though.
 
I've just read your blog post which explains how you went though various Nikon kit and ended up with an M9 and hated it so went back to Nikon then saw someone who had an M240 so had to have one and now have a Monochrom too and they're your 'go to' cameras. I'm a bit confused why you now can't take a photo on the Leica kit so need to buy Hasselblad?

I understand the part about shooting studio so naturally digital MF is the top level but weren't you ordering a Sony A7Rii the other day too?
 
Yes I have ordered that along with the Baits lenses but that's 35mm not MF. They will be my go to walk around travel companion
 
stevelmx5 said:
I'm a bit confused why you now can't take a photo on the Leica kit so need to buy Hasselblad?

I understand the part about shooting studio so naturally digital MF is the top level but weren't you ordering a Sony A7Rii the other day too?
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Eye sight is not as good now so I am wearing glasses 24/7 and really struggling with the rangefinder
 
Yes, that Sony CMOS in those medium formats is currently a cropped MF sensor. Phase just brought out the XF which i think uses the full 645 frame.But it costs bucks and maybe is CCD again?

The M9 is a good camera but was crippled by its CCD sensor causing issues when the sun got a bit dim and you wanted some DOF, The processing was also slow as f, based on a 2008 type design. The M240 has far superior ISO and the (new) MM better yet. They're really fantastic cameras if you have the appetite for a rangefinder and the budget to support it.
 
If the Sony a7r2 with the Baits is as good as they make it out to be then I will sell all my Leica gear and stick with Sony
I will also be buying a MF camera and probably a Hasselblad H5D unless I am convinced otherwise
 
I was going to suggest you drop into the LuLa forum......but I see you are there already ;)
 
I'm not trying to stop you spending your money but have you thought about just waiting for the A7Rii and Batis lenses to arrive and actually try them in the studio before deciding that you have to have MF?

Alternatively, just buy the Hasselblad kit now and sell it if you don't like it.
 
Box Brownie said:
I was going to suggest you drop into the LuLa forum......but I see you are there already ;)
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Yes, there's a lot more people over there that use MFDB systems, and they were helpful when I was looking for a Hasselblad. I went for a used H3D simply due to the cost as it was a "cheap" way to try out MFDB photography. Mine has the 39Mpixel sensor which is close to 6x4.5 size but only goes up to ISO 400. Despite what others have said, I've found it quite usable handheld in good light, especially if you're shooting static subjects. The mirror can be fired independently of the shutter, so with a steady hand you can frame the shot, trip the mirror, and then fire the shutter, which minimises camera shake. Clearly that doesn't work wth moving subjects though! The raw files are processed in the Hasselblad Phocus software which is another one of those love it/hate it things. I don't find it too bad, especially as you can just use it to convert to a tiff and then import into whatever software you're used to using. It also allows you to shoot tethered over a firewire connection. The biggest "problem" I've found is that the file sizes are enormous compared to even high-end full-frame DSLRs - the tiff files are often 250 to 300Mb files which requires you to have a beefy computer to work on them.
 
stevelmx5 said:
I'm not trying to stop you spending your money but have you thought about just waiting for the A7Rii and Batis lenses to arrive and actually try them in the studio before deciding that you have to have MF?

Alternatively, just buy the Hasselblad kit now and sell it if you don't like it.
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Steve I am going to have to wait anyways as all the feedback I am getting from the Hasselblad folks is to get the H5D 50 over the 40 or 50c so it will also give me some more time to get my head around the MF system................A mate who has the Pentax 456 or whatever its called said go for the Hasselblad my other mate who has the Hasselblad H4D 40 says go for the Pentax............confused :) :)
I will try and find some good reading material about MF and try and get my head wrapped around this leaf shutter lenses that can sync at 8000 where as the others only go to 800 or something like that.
 
magicolor1 said:
Yes, there's a lot more people over there that use MFDB systems, and they were helpful when I was looking for a Hasselblad. I went for a used H3D simply due to the cost as it was a "cheap" way to try out MFDB photography. Mine has the 39Mpixel sensor which is close to 6x4.5 size but only goes up to ISO 400. Despite what others have said, I've found it quite usable handheld in good light, especially if you're shooting static subjects. The mirror can be fired independently of the shutter, so with a steady hand you can frame the shot, trip the mirror, and then fire the shutter, which minimises camera shake. Clearly that doesn't work wth moving subjects though! The raw files are processed in the Hasselblad Phocus software which is another one of those love it/hate it things. I don't find it too bad, especially as you can just use it to convert to a tiff and then import into whatever software you're used to using. It also allows you to shoot tethered over a firewire connection. The biggest "problem" I've found is that the file sizes are enormous compared to even high-end full-frame DSLRs - the tiff files are often 250 to 300Mb files which requires you to have a beefy computer to work on them.
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Thanks for the reply.

My mate wrote this yesterday;
the benefit of H5D and Phase one over Pentax is they have leaf shutter lens so you can go up 1/8000 syn speed...what's that all about??
I guess bottom line is I need to do some more research and also try and get my hands on one. I did contact Hasselblad in the uk for a private viewing but never got a reply :(
Anyway thanks again for your help
Neil
 
The sync is related to flash lighting. Leaf shutters can sync at any shutter speed whereas a more traditional shutter (built into the body) will have a max sync speed nearer 1/250th like your Nikon kit.

The Pentax is 645 by the way which refers to standard medium format film which delivers 6cmx4.5cm negatives (or 6x6). The digital sensor is therefore the same size as the film negative.

To be honest though, it does sound like you need to find out why you actually want digital MF before you buy it and find out it maybe doesn't suit you.
 
Steve
I want to get into this MF stuff as I am now spending more time shooting models in studios but I also like shooting them outside in both natural light and with portable lights. I guess its just like everything else in life if you have a passion for something then you are always looking for ways to get better and SOMETIMES it may be an equipment change that is needed...............I already know that at the end of the day its the photographer that is taking the picture not the camera but I also know that most of the top photographers that shoot in studios shoot with a MF camera...........well I guess they do?

I just hope its not like when I got into Leica and spent nearly 40 grand on Leica gear because I was lead to believe that it was the best gear for photography but in reality I always got better sharper pictures with my Nikon gear
 
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I understand that and agree that sometimes it's the kit that holds you back. However, I've always said to photographers that they should only change/upgrade kit when they actually know why they need to. If you want to shoot images to put on a billboard, digital medium format used to be the natural way to go but full frame digital now has come so far that it might not necessarily be the best option.

Obviously it's your money so nobody else can tell you what to buy or what not to but reading your posts it appears that you don't really know why you need MF, you just do :0). Your blog post said as much when you bought the Leica kit because you sat next to someone who had one.

Personally, if you can afford to buy it and not be too heartbroken if you sell it on in a few months it's worth trying the Hasselblad otherwise you may always wonder what if?
 
stevelmx5 said:
Personally, if you can afford to buy it and not be too heartbroken if you sell it on in a few months it's worth trying the Hasselblad otherwise you may always wonder what if?
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My next question is do I just go ahead and get the H5D 40 or the H5D 50c???........................... why is the H5D 50 ~10k more than the 50c
 
To be honest, I don't know. Digital MF is way out of my price range so I stick to film Medium Format instead :0)
 
A Leica S2 system would suit you more than the Leica M cameras and the S glass is supposed to be some of if not the finest made for any medium format system.
 
It sounds to me like you want to get a Hasselblad to satisfy yourself that you've at least tried (what is claimed to be) the best. If you went with a Pentax, you'd always be wondering whether you'd get better results from the Hasselblad. The truth is that a good photographer will get good *photographs* with any equipment, even if a higher res camera and expensive lens would give better *technical* results. I went through this with film, moving from 35mm through MF to 5x4 large format. There's no doubt that the photos I got from the 5x4 were technically better than the smaller formats, but there are big trade-offs when you're having to carry around a 5x4 camera, tripod, bunch of pre-loaded dark slides, a dark cloth, separate light meter, cable release and timer. I have a massive poster-print on my wall from it and you can stand within inches and not see the grain. You'll be able to do the same with a (any) MF digital, but will the compromises be worth the effort, not least of which is the cost of it all? I guess if you have the money you might as well try it, but I'd expect you to be writing a love/hate article on it a few months down the line :)

By the way, leaf shutters are in the lenses, so when the 'blad takes a photo, first the leaf shutter *closes*, then the mirror swings up (which exposes the sensor/film), then the shutter opens and closes, then the wind-on mechanism drops the mirror back down and re-opens the leaf shutter. The other sort of shutter is a focal-plane shutter much the same as you'd have in a 35mm camera (including Leica...) which opens by moving one curtain across to reveal the sensor/film, and then moves a second curtain to close it. At higher shutter speeds, the second curtain starts moving before the first one has stopped, so if you're using flash the whole frame won't be exposed to the flash light. That's why cameras with focal-plane shutters have a max flash-sync speed (e.g. 1/250s) which is slower than the max shutter speed (e.g. 1/4000s). With a leaf shutter, it opens and closes in a similar way to the aperture blades, so even if the flash fires when the blades are still in motion, light will be able to reach the whole frame so there's no upper limit on flash sync.

Hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs... ;)
 
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