Hasselblad Questions

I'm interested in getting into the Hasselblad system (500cm or 501cm). For the lenses, I'm thinking 60mm/100mm or just 80mm. I like my 80mm on my Rolleiflex and I prefer 35mm and 50mm in 35mm format. The lens selection is a personal preference but I'm sure either option will be fine, depending on my budget, well...

1. Are there any long straps? I like Gordy straps but I don't like the string-connection. I want something that is about 48"+. What's a $100 strap that is long, black, and simple.

2. Are B60 filters rare/hard to find? I want UV and a yellow filter, mostly. Maybe only those two, but if not then a few of the basic contrast filters (e.g. Green, Red, etc.) The alternative is to just go 67mm with step-up.

These two details are probably the least of my concern but I usually check keh.com regularly so I'd probably get some accessories if they are priced well.

Now a more general question.

1. How do you guys like this camera for handheld work? I'm not interested in purely handheld work but this is how I would use it most of the time. I have some Rolleiflex's but for some reasons I want to try a Hasselblad. Othertimes, I feel that the added value will be so little...and that I'm better off buying some film. I'm not sure. I definitely see virtues in having removable backs, prisms, lenses, etc.

1. I don't think so. I dislike straps on Hassys. I prefer a tripod or monopod.

2. No, but shopping around is required to get a good price.

1. See 1, above.

I shoot a Hassy handheld in all sorts of lighting conditions. I shoot it handheld on the street at night with Delta 3200 pushed to 12500, and I shoot it handheld during the day with FP4 or Tri-X. It's a wonderful camera once you get used to its quirks. It will train your photographic reflexes to compensate for the slightly more difficult operation of the camera.

I generally hate the strap that came with my 501. It gets in the way of the winding knob and the dark slide. But I'm too much of a klutz to take it off and trust my reflexes to not drop the thing. So it's still on, with much cursing on my part.

Filters are pretty easy to find and KEH is probably the best. Don't want to take a risk on scratched/bad filter over the stunning Zeiss glass. Also speaking of glass, I have a 60mm on my 501 99% of the time. Love that lens! And I don't generally like wide lenses but this one is a perfect happy medium for me.

And I do a lot of fast hand held shooting with no issues. But I also know my limit as to when my shaky hands will give out and when to trust a tripod.

Go for it! It's a gem of a camera and every time I look through that baby I always say to myself "the world just looks so much better through a hasselblad!" :)

Few more questions:

1. What is the difference between the Acute Matte and Acute Matte D?

My main reason for wanting the 501cm is that I believe they come with a better screen. The 501cm has a gliding mirror and some smaller ergonomic differences but a 500cm with an acute matte screen might be cost saving (I'm not entirely sure but that is my intution).

2. The longest lens that I would possibly consider is the 180mm. Would the vignetting be bad? I'm not a fan of telephotos in general, especially long ones. Realistically, I'd probably get a 120mm -150mm if I wanted a tele, which I may never get.

I´ve played around with a 503cw recently and found it to be an ideal camera for handheld work. At least far better than my SL66!
You can still buy new filters from Heliopan. They are not even that expensive as far as I remember.
Concerning the strap: is it possible to attach the hasselblad clips to 3rd party straps at all?

I see the problem with the filters now.

Last time I checked a B60 Yellow filter sold for about $150 on ebay. I felt that was really high due to scarcity or collectibility. I checked B&H and the filters are available. They are just expensive. I usually go used and new B+W 39mm/46mm filters for my rangefinders and used BI-BIII filters for my 'Flex's, so I am familiar with their prices.

67mm filters are cheaper and more readily available than B60 filters on the used market. I will opt this route and just adapt to bay 60 or use multiple adapters for the sake of convinience. I'd be happy with only two filters (UV and Yellow) so two adapters isn't a big deal.

+1

Just purchased a Hasselblad system and the owner had a B60-67 step-up ring (adapter) so if you have that on, you can use regular 67mm filters and not have to invest the $$ to use bayonet filters. Hope that helps!

I have a combination of filters in 67 + adapters and B-60. The B-60 i so convenient that I have put a separate adapter on each one of my 67mm filters.