Waist level finder brightness

abdoujaparov · 10 Mar 2014

My only experience with a WLF is my tatty old Yashica-Mat, and I love it, which is why I've been lusting after other medium format cameras and wavering between an SQ-A or saving for a Hasselblad.

Anyway, I went into Camera Centre in Cardiff today, and they had a Hasselblad 500 C/M in, and I asked to have a look. I was BLOWN AWAY by how bright and lovely the screen is - miles ahead of my Yashica, which I had thought was bright and lovely before I looked at the Hasselblad (to be fair, the Yashica needs a clean). Are Hasselblad WLFs especially bright, or could I expect similar from an SQ-A?

dinorock · 10 Mar 2014

hi keith see if your camera shop has one of those as well, or just check out a few places to have a play with another type of camera. hth mike.

cariadus · 10 Mar 2014

I haven't tried a Bronica, but I would imagine that would also blow away your Yashicamat. I have a Kowa Super 66 and my Hasselblad is a bit brighter with its Acute Matte Screen, but not by much. The Hasselblad is much brighter than my Rolleicord, though.

Be careful of prices in the Camera Centre. They have a reputation for being on the high side. I saw the Hasselblads they have on display recently but I don't think they had any prices displayed.

abdoujaparov · 10 Mar 2014

dinorock said:
hi keith see if your camera shop has one of those as well, or just check out a few places to have a play with another type of camera. hth mike.

I asked them if they'd had any SQ-As in, but they hadn't. They had an ETRS, but I only had a quick look through it as I've decided against 645, and I hadn't been blown away by the Hasselblad at this point. I should have asked to see it again.

cariadus said:
I haven't tried a Bronica, but I would imagine that would also blow away your Yashicamat. I have a Kowa Super 66 and my Hasselblad is a bit brighter with its Acute Matte Screen, but not by much. The Hasselblad is much brighter than my Rolleicord, though.

Be careful of prices in the Camera Centre. They have a reputation for being on the high side. I saw the Hasselblads they have on display recently but I don't think they had any prices displayed.

Cheers, Roger.

You're right, they didn't have prices on any of the MF gear. The C/M with WLF, 120 back and 80mm 2.8 lens was £500, which didn't actually seem too bad to me going by eBay/Mifsuds/Ffordes prices.

cariadus · 10 Mar 2014

Possibly not too bad if it's all in good nick. I didn't pay much attention to the Hasselblads when I was in the shop to be honest as I already have two! I've just put my 500C/M in the Classifieds section, but it's a well worn example so might not compare to the Camera Centre one.

TheGreatSoprendo · 11 Mar 2014

cariadus said:
I haven't tried a Bronica, but I would imagine that would also blow away your Yashicamat. I have a Kowa Super 66 and my Hasselblad is a bit brighter with its Acute Matte Screen, but not by much. The Hasselblad is much brighter than my Rolleicord, though.

Be careful of prices in the Camera Centre. They have a reputation for being on the high side. I saw the Hasselblads they have on display recently but I don't think they had any prices displayed.

Have to say the original screen in my Rolleicord Va was particularly dim (seem to remember the Yashicamat one was similar when I had that), but when Brian Mickleboro serviced it he replaced it with a much brighter ground glass screen he had 'lying around'. Can't compare to a Hassie (probably wouldn't compare favourably) but it's a massive improvement over the original.

abdoujaparov · 11 Mar 2014

Cheers all. I should clean my Yashica's screen at least, now that I know what's possible!

cariadus · 11 Mar 2014

TheGreatSoprendo said:
Have to say the original screen in my Rolleicord Va was particularly dim (seem to remember the Yashicamat one was similar when I had that), but when Brian Mickleboro serviced it he replaced it with a much brighter ground glass screen he had 'lying around'. Can't compare to a Hassie (probably wouldn't compare favourably) but it's a massive improvement over the original.

I was going to send mine to Brian for a CLA ages ago but never got round to it. I was thinking of possibly buying a Rick Oleson screen and getting Brian to fit it while he was at it. Handy that he had one available for yours - wonder if he's got any more lying around?!

TheGreatSoprendo · 11 Mar 2014

Dunno. I'm not sure where it came from, think it was a used screen, he didn't charge me much for it. Bear in mind that sometimes brightness doesn't equal better focusing, the old screens can snap into focus better in good light I think, just that they are pretty useless in weak light.

retrogamer1990 · 16 Mar 2014

You can get different screens with different brightnesses. The lens F stop also has an impact. The 120mm f5.6 macro is bloody dull on my Hasselblad, so I might look for the Acute matte screen to brighten things up once I can afford it. Bronica ETR series cameras seem to have a very bright screen as standard. Generally, the older the camera, the duller the screen

Martpix · 2 Apr 2014

Keith,
If you were blown away by the Hasselblad 500 C/M screen, have a look at the pictures you get from it!
That will really blow you away (Save for a Hasselblad)...

abdoujaparov · 2 Apr 2014

Martpix said:
Keith,
If you were blown away by the Hasselblad 500 C/M screen, have a look at the pictures you get from it!
That will really blow you away (Save for a Hasselblad)...

Hah! You're quite right, of course. No matter how much I like any Bronica I buy, I'm always going to be lusting after a Hasselblad. It's just that even if I got a Hassie with a lens (I could afford that) I just don't think I'll ever be able to justify buying more lenses, at the price they are. If I get an SQ-A, I could get three lenses for the same money.

On the other hand, of course, they hold their value so well, I could buy a Hasselblad and worry about different focal lengths if and when it crops up (pun intended) . . .

Decisions, decisions.

Martpix · 3 Apr 2014

Yes, I can't argue with that!

The price difference is massive, but having used both cameras I know which one I would go for (but at a cost). If you think that film is for you in the long term then it's a good investment.

I am not knocking Bronica's by the way, they are a very good system with very good quality lenses, but there is an edge with the quality of the Carl Zeiss lens.
Good luck with your search!
Mart.