For newcomers to Medium Format, and those experienced in the medium, Hasselblad is undoubtedly the place to start. And, for many, there is no reason to explore any other option.
Based in Goteborg, Sweden (same city as Volvo), Hasselblad has been making Medium Format cameras since the late 1940s. The format could not be more simple, sturdy, elegant, nor reliable.
Best of all, it's modular...
At the front, there's a lens. Hasselblad currently sells over a dozen lenses for the "500 series" plus about a half-dozen more for the more automated "200 series." The widest of these lenses is a 30mm (a fish-eye), and the longest is a 350mm lens. (Bear in mind that the 35mm SLR equivalents of these lenses are equal to about half these focal lengths, or roughly 15mm to 175mm.) Hasselblad does not manufacture these lenses; instead, the company works in a long-term relationship with Carl Zeiss, arguably Germany's finest maker of optical devices.
The lenses used on the Hasselblad 501CM are, generally, CF and CFi lenses, the latest in a long series of high-quality lens lines from Zeiss. As a rule, they're about twice as heavy and twice as bulky as their 35mm SLR counterparts (this is true not only of lenses for Hasselblad, but of all 6x6 and 6x4.5 lenses; 6x7 lenses are heavier still). Speed is a factor: the fastest lens has a maximum aperture of 2.8 (it's the 80mm "normal" lens) and most are around f/4.
CF and CFi lenses are unique for another reason: they contain not only the aperture but the shutter as well. The round shutter, or leaf shutter, is used in place of the horizontal or vertical shutter found in most 35mm and many Medium Format cameras. There are no substantive disadvantages to this design, but there is one major advantage for flash photography: sync speeds up to 1/500 of a second.
For day-to-day use, the lens is substantial and easy to handle. Focusing is fluid but firm. Shutter speeds and f/stops can be adjusted in pairs; both rings can be turned as if they were one. There's an Exposure Value (EV) scale printed on the lens, making it easier to convert light meter readings.
In short, this is a professional system with no compromises. But it is easy enough for any amateur photographer to use with great success-- and is often the camera of choice in serious college-level photography coursework.
Of course, ergonomics are not the primary feature. Optical quality is the essential quality that sets Hasselblad (and Zeiss) apart. These lenses are among the finest in all of photography.
These lenses are not just heavy, they are expensive. A new lens costs over $2,000 new, and a used one in very good or excellent condition costs about 2/3 of that price. Fortunately, the lenses are durable and long-lasting. Rentals are available.
The 80mm/2.8 lens is quite popular, and many amateurs choose (for reasons of money, weight, or design) to work with only one lens. The 100mm/3.5 is also a popular normal lens. Beyond those two, choice really depends upon the job at hand.
In fact, there's not much to say about the body. It's a light-tight box, made to the most careful specifications. On the bottom, there are two screw holes to attach a tripod (different sizes). On the front, there's a push-button for the shutter and another to release the lens. On the right, there's a manual winder (if you want a power winder, you'll need the 503CW, which costs a few hundred dollars more). On the back, there's a pair of dark curtains that flip up and out of the way to expose the film area. And on the top, you'll find a glass plate for viewing the image.
The classic finder for Hasselblad finders is a four-sided metal hood designed to shield the ground glass plate on top of the camera from stray light. To compose the image, you look down into the hood. To focus, you then flip up a magnifying glass (it's built into the hood), and, with a careful eye, adjust the focusing ring on the lens until the entire image is clearly focused. The process isn't difficult, but you must look directly down into the finder in order to do this job properly. If you look down from an angle, as you might if you were craning your neck above a too-high tripod, the image will not be sharply focused.
At first, this system of focusing was pretty scary. On the one hand, the image appears bright and clear. On the other, truly critical focusing seemed to be unattainable. For me, practice was the remedy. Simply shooting a dozen rolls of film and studying the results. Taking the time to compose the image, thinking about what I was doing. The difference between Hasselblad Medium Format photography and my old approach to Canon manual photography was enormous. This is not a tool for the casual; as soon as you look down into the hood, you'll feel a different sort of dedication to the art. (I did.)
(Other finders are available. Many people find that a Prism Finder, which reverses the viewfinder image so that left is left and right is right, is essential. The more expensive Prism Finders also contain a light meter; which the 500 series lacks.) Here, the waist level finder is replaced by a 45-degree prism finder. The buttons on the side allow push-button electronic changes of ISO setting, switches from center-weighted to spot metering, and a run up or down the scale of matched shutter speeds and apertures for any given exposure. When peering through the eyepiece, a display shows the resulting exposure.
The beauty of the Hasselblad system is its modular design. You can swap out lenses, viewfinders, and even the film chamber. Hasselblad's film backs take a bit of time and patience before they can be consistently loaded without reliance upon printed directions. Ostensibly, the process is simple enough. Try this:
The process is a bit tricky, but help is instantly available in the form of a web site consisting of step-by-step directions (see below) It's a site every new Hasselblad owner ought to visit.
All of that said, I was able to master the process after working with about a dozen rolls of film. The film back attaches to the body with two fittings on the bottom and a snap on the top. The open area, where the film is exposed, is covered with a removeable metal plate when not in use (or when the Film Back is removed). The image numbers are shown in the larger circle at the bottom.
By the way, there are three Film Backs available. The A12 comes with the camera; it's used to shoot 12 6x6 images on a roll of 120 film. The A24 can be used with 120 film as well, but it's designed for use with 220 film (24 6x6 exposures). The A16 back is used in conjunction with a special mask that transforms the Hasselblad into a 6x4.5 camera; it's used with 120 film for 16 images.
There's less camera shake with a tripod, but I had no problem working without one. Shooting at f/5.6 on a sunny or partly cloudy day, my typical shutter speed was either 1/125 or 1/500, even with 100 film. With Medium Format, there isn't a whole lot of loss with 400 ISO film, which permits hand-holding under most outdoor conditions. For indoor shots, a tripod was needed to compensate for slower shutter speeds, in part because the fastest lens speed is f/2.8. Night shots require a tripod, just as they do with most 35mm SLR situations.
Of course, for fine work, a tripod is essential. But for day-to-day travel or casual shooting, a tripod did not prove essential.
In short, the good news is that this is one of the best cameras you can buy. The camera itself is rock-solid, the latest iteration of a design that's kept photographers working for decades. The images are spectacular. Skin tones are natural, and hold their own even on poster-sized enlargements. When the exposure is true, colors are more lifelike that you'll ever see in 35mm, and among the finest in the Medium Format world. The contrast and sharpness of these images is, once again, spectacular-- but you'll need some experience mastering both focus and the tricky depth-of-field issues related to Medium Format.
The 501CM is all that most photographers will ever need from Hasselblad. The camera is not inexpensive, but as long-term investments go, and as Medium Format prices go, under $3,000 for the 501CM kit is reasonable (the kit includes the 80mm/2.8 lens, the body, an A12 Film Back and a waist-level finder).
In my hands, with an 80mm lens and the waist-level finder, the camera weighs 3 1/4 pounds. While that seems slightly heavy, it's about the same as any modern all-automatic 35mm SLR, and lighter than some of the better ones.
Perhaps the best news about the Hasselblad system is its backward compatability. While newer lenses are of higher quality, and newer Film Backs are easier than their predecessors, the vast majority of Hasselblad equipment from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s can be used with the 501CM. The used marketplace is enormous, and global.
What's more, Hasselblad's repair system is just about the best in the business. You can find a Hasselblad service center in most major world cities. And because the system is mechanical, there are no oddball electronic circuits to fail, nor are there advanced systems that go out of date. Pretty much, this is your father's Hasselblad-- and your grandfather's.
One more bit of good news: no battery required. None whatsoever.
The camera does not contain a light meter. For someone like me, whose only experience was in 35mm SLR, where a light meter is as much a part of the camera as a viewfinder, this seemed odd and still seems odd. A series of misadventures in exposure was caused by my lack of understanding in this area.
I tried using the built-in light meter from my old Canon SLR, but the Hasselblad images were never properly exposed.
Then, I tried Hasselblad's Meter Prism Viewfinder (PME90). It worked (it even includes spot metering), but added 1 1/4 pounds, making the camera uncomfortably heavy for my small-ish hands, and way too heavy to carry around for casual travel. This particular finder also makes removal of the Film Back difficult, causing me to balance various (expensive) removeable pieces every time I wanted to switch from B/W to color film. The PME45 is better because it does not interfere with the film back.
Ultimately, an old-fashioned hand-held light meter proved to the best choice. But would it be so difficult for Hasselblad to simply include a meter as standard gear? (Please?) At the end of the day, the 501CM is at its traveling best when used with a waist-level finder. The larger top-mounted prisms take away from the durable elegance of this wonderful camera's design.
Adding a flash is not simple. You don't add a flash to the camera. You add a bracket to the camera, and a flash to the bracket. So you look like a wedding photographer, regardless of the flash work you're doing. Not ideal for amateurs.
Much has been said about the high prices of Hasselblad accessories. This is a company that makes quality products, and charges for everything, even lens hoods.
Finally, there is the occassional shutter jam. It happens, but not often. Still, it's scary to suddenly find the camera locked, with no apparent way to get it moving again. The way: sneak into the inside of the camera and manipulate a tiny screw. (B&H Photo sells a tool to unjam, which indicates that this is not a completely unheard-of problem.)
Mamiya 645 ProTL: Can't effectively use the waist-level finder here. Overall, camera seems heavier and not as comfortable in my hand. Can't seem to quite get the right balance. Image quality is good, but I prefer the 6x6 squares. Hasselblad also seems to deliver better tonality, color depth, maybe because I tend not to magnify the squares as much as the rectangular images. But I wish the Hasselblad had the metering in the Mamiya.
Leica M6TTL: Fine as those Leica M lenses can be, the enlargement required for 35mm runs against the format. The resulting Hasselblad images are better, but metering and exposure is far easier on the Leica. The result: a higher percentage yield of fine Leica results in comparison with Hasselblad, especially during the learning period. Nice to carry around a lighter camera for awhile (albeit a more expensive one...)
Mamiya 7II: Hasselblad is easier to focus, but the resulting 6x7 images win over the 6x6 squares. More depth, more color energy-- less magnification is the the reason why.
Canon 1v and Nikon F100: Same issue for both cameras. The automatic-everything features are a joy, but I preferred slowing-down and taking the time to carefully compose each image. And while jealous of the constant run of perfect auto-exposures, there was more personal satisfaction in getting the fewer Hasselblad images right.
Mamiya RB67: Heavier than the Hasselblad, so it really can't be used for travel, and shouldn't be much used off a tripod, but it's certainly competitive and may be the better camera. Judgement about optical quality are a matter of personal choice.
Great camera because it's simple, modular, extremely well-constructed, and because it can take spectacular pictures (once you get the focus, depth-of-field, and exposure issues in order). Tough choice for a full-scale system because the parts are expensive. Not bad for field use, a bit on the heavy side, tolerable if you take along just the basics.
As for this particular model: it's the one to buy unless you insist upon a motor drive (power winder). For that, shoot up to the 503CW.
And if you insist upon built-in metering, it is available in an essentially similar design: model 202FE. That body costs twice as much as the 501CM, but it does add automatic exposure as well.
T T , October 18, 2002; 09:35 A.M.
Randall Shafer , April 09, 2003; 12:29 P.M.
Mike Hess , July 26, 2003; 01:17 A.M.
Tom Just Olsen , August 14, 2003; 07:39 A.M.
Taras Hnatyshyn , January 16, 2004; 06:32 P.M.
Luis Gonzalez , June 24, 2007; 05:04 P.M.
After all the quibbling dies down, the fact remains that HASSELBLAD has been the industry leader for a very long time, and purely because it produces the best results. Many Blads never leave the studio, or are used under strobe light only, so a built in meter(a terrible idea for any camera) would be just an annoyance. I jokingly say I own the world's most expensive exercise machine, HASSELBLAD, and have schlepped them, in a huge Halliburton case, all over the world. My ELM, SWC, six magazines, polaroid back, Pentax 1 degree spotmeter, prism, pro shade, plus filters, and miscellaneous stuff. Lenses, 50mm, 80mm, 150mm and 250mm, along with the 38mm on the SWC, the finest glass man has made. All I needed to do is scan a transparency, and stare at phenomenal detail and color, its truly amazing. This has been always with me, and faithful, never letting me down, when I needed it, and always making me look better than I am. And I have pulled off some miracles with it. Worth every penny.
Bengt Ljungkvist , June 26, 2007; 02:59 P.M.
Marco Taje , March 12, 2008; 11:54 A.M.
mike plews , March 13, 2008; 01:03 P.M.
Frank Schifano , March 15, 2008; 11:37 A.M.
marc holden , March 19, 2008; 07:03 P.M.
Daniel Chow , May 28, 2008; 06:32 P.M.
IVAN COUMARBATCH , June 28, 2008; 04:11 P.M.
Debejyo Chakraborty 
, November 25, 2008; 11:25 A.M.
Paul Gardener , November 30, 2008; 01:49 P.M.
