Is building a Hasselblad 503cw rig seperately a cunning way to save money, or risky?

[ted_smith]

I want a Hasselblad 503cw. Prices on the Bay average around £1,200 - £1,600, VARYING.

I was wondering though - the parts seperately are frequently listed as single items, e.g the body, the film back, the waitlevel viewer etc. Sometimes, depending on the person listing it, time of the listing etc, these parts can be bought seperately much cheaper than their average price, I have noticed.

So I wondered if building a blad from seperate parts, as long as I check each part is suitable for the 503cw, might be a way of saving a fair amount of cash, though of course it will take several months to build

Anyone else done this? Benefit of your experience if I may?

Ted

[BrianShaw]

The Hasselblad V system is based on interchangablilty so it can be done rather easily I would think. You might be able to beat the price of buying a 'whole system" if you shop carefully and patiently. why not. good luck.

[NB23]

Buying a kit is usually way cheaper then buying separately. Just like selling in parts gets me more money then selling whole kits. This way I've saved a lot of money.

[segedi]

At minimum you need a body, lens, back and viewfinder. The CW Winder is great, makes handholding a bit easier IMO. The AE finder is great too as you can get a reading and have the image appear as it does in real life (as opposed to mirrored), but is not necessary.

The advantage to buying in stages is you can add as you see fit. The disadvantage is cost. It took a lot of funds to build my kit and while I've seriously thought of parting with it, I don't think I'd get back what I put into if I sold the whole kit.

Good luck in your acquisition!

[Alan W]

Buying a kit is usually way cheaper then buying separately. Just like selling in parts gets me more money then selling whole kits. This way I've saved a lot of money.

Anytime I've bought any camera equipment it always worked out better to buy a whole kit as well.When you bid on complete kits you're cutting out the hardcore bidders that want just one item.This is my experience on ebay at least.

[bdial]

I think it would certainly be possible to beat a "kit" price if you're willing to piece it together with some components like backs, for example, that may be much older than a 503cw body.
In this situation, the long linage of compatible components may work to your advantage.
However, you are at increased risk that some of those older pieces may need servicing sooner that a kit made up of recent parts. Getting the best return on an "a la carte" approach may take a while though.