Lawrence Title , Jul 01, 2003; 01:47 p.m.
I only have 1 year experience, but I can highly recommend the camera. Especially, with the prices going south this is a great body. With only FE lenses, you don't have a lot of reason to upgrade to the 203FE. As you know, with CFE lenses the 203FE could become a fully manual battery-less camera. The only other potential advantage of the 203 is the increased shutter speed of 2000.
I love the 202FA, the metering system, the ergonomics of the meter adjustment buttons, and Differential metering mode. My 202FA was picked up as a demo, which had full servicing at Hasselblad USA and came with the 3 year warranty. I paid $1250 a year ago for the body. I note that there is an ebay auction currently, with the price @ 900 and the reserve has been met. This 202FA also has the full 3 year warranty. No question, you will prefer the 202FA over the meter prism. Remember on the prism you have to set the minimum aperture and you will have to manually set your shutter speed. With the 202FA it is much more automatic and potentially could be a point and shoot body.
Check out:
Also, check with your Hasselblad dealer as they may be able to get a good deal on a demo 202FA or 203FE. I bought mine through The Photo Village in New York and they reliably shipped the camera to Canada (www.photovillage.com).
