Hasselblad 500, 501, 503 and lenses

[mporter012]

Hello!

I am looking to move into medium format and have been looking at Hasselblad's, but I haven't been able to find a precise breakdown of the differences between the 500c, 500cm, 501cm (is there a 501c??), 503cw (is there a 503cm?)?? From my research it appears that most 500cm packages come with an 80mm zeiss f2.8 lens on ebay. A breakdown of the lens line would also be helpful.

Thanks!

Mark

[Rafal Lukawiecki]

I found http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/ very useful.

[tony lockerbie]

I'm a bit stuck in the past with Hasselblads as I have a 500C. I don't think that there is all that much difference between the 500C and 500C/M (which means modified) and all I can see is that the focussing screens are more easily interchanged on the C/M. My C was the last yer of production before the C/M and has the newer type sliders for screen changing, so go figure!
Some others here will no doubt fill you in on the later models like the 501C, but I think that there is precious little difference in these models...change comes slowly at Hasselblad...but if you are on a winner just stay with it.
As you say, the 80mm Planar is usually included, which is a great way to start...top lens, and after the 80 people usually add the 150mm Sonnar (one of the all time great portrait lenses) and the 50mm Distagon. These two lenses are very common and should be reasonably priced. In the early seventies the Zeiss lenses were multicoated, as indicated by a red* and are referred to as T star lenses.
Most of my hasselblad lenses are just the single coated versions and I find no reason to upgrade the the T stars. The wide angles do benefit somewhat from multicoating due to the complex multi-element designs and the fact to you are more likely to include a light source.
Check the camera carefully before laying down your cash as a lot of Hassy's have been used professionally, and the leaf shutters on the older lenses can run slow. especially on the slow speeds. I don't want to labor that point though as the Hassy's are really built to work.

[marenmcgowan]

I found http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/ very useful.

I agree! This is the best resource for info on Hasselblad equipment...plus, there's historical info too. You can really get into your research there if you want.

[jordanstarr]

If you already have a 500c system with lenses, I'd say stick with it. Unless you find yourself saying "damn, I really wish this body had (insert option here)" or "I wish my lenses produced pictures that look like the T* coated ones" on a regular basis, what you have is fine. I have the 500cm with 3 lenses (up for sale actually in the classifieds) and they're all T* and I'm more than happy with them. I wouldn't upgrade for twice the price to a 503 with 3 CF lenses because it likely would no equate to better photographs at the end of the day, which is the point, right?

[Slixtiesix]

I couldn´t explain it any better than that: http://www.hasselbladhistorical.eu/HS/HSTable.aspx

[GarageBoy]

500CM does 95% of what a man/woman would want to do with a Hasselblad
Want to frequently use long lenses? Get a camera that has the gliding mirror
Want TTL flash? CX and later is your camera
Winder? 503CW (or EL/ELX)

[Too old to care]

There is a 501C too, I have one and love it. Standard 80mm lens makes a nice combination to get started with. Buy the best example you can, repairs are not too expensive, but avoid them if you can.

[mporter012]

Thanks for the replies! Great info on the website mentioned. Can someone also help me out a bit on explaining exactly what all i need in getting started. Obviously the body, lenses, back (recommended ones? - I'm not interested in 220 film at the moment), prism and viewfinders. I don't have a light meter at the moment, is this a requirement? Thanks for the help!

[Rafal Lukawiecki]

Back, body, and a lens.

Body should come with a viewfinder and a focusing screen—waist-level viewfinder is default and perfectly good. Prism is not necessary. Light meter is pretty much a must, and it would be a good long term investment, but to just get started you could try exposure tables, rules like Sunny 16, use a digital camera for metering, or a flash. Some prism viewfinders come with a light meter.

And film.