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Hasselblad Superachromat with CFV-50c back images?

bindermuehle

New member
Hi all,

Does anyone here have a V system with the 50c back and either the 250 or 350mm Superachromat lens? I'd be very interested in seeing some sample images. I wonder how do those lenses hold up against the finest 21st century glass? Comparisons with other lenses/camera systems (e.g. Pentax) would be very interesting as well.

Cheers

- Balt
 

Jager

Member
When I became interested in the CFV-50c a few months ago, I found information and sample images to be depressingly sparse. A couple of YouTube videos (Matt Day, Matt Grainger, and a nice infomercial by Charlie Waite), a spare handful of forum threads here and over at LuLa, and a very few images. The CFV-50c has been mentioned lots because of its price point, but there has been an unfortunate dearth of anything more meaningful - hard information by those actually using it.

All that said, I pulled the trigger on the back about three weeks ago. First impressions, used with a 500C/M, are very, very positive. Alas, I don't have either the 250 Superachromat or 350 Tessar lenses, so can't help you there. But I've been generally impressed with the imagery from shorter, classic Zeiss glass. My 50 Distagon, 80 Planar, and 150 Sonnar (the latter two the older 'C-type' lenses) all produce excellent results.

I mostly shoot Leica M with (mostly) modern glass, so that's my frame of reference. The Zeiss optics on a V-system aren't as "pure" as, say, a Summicron 50 APO. But then not much is. If I had to describe the look, I'd say they render very cleanly, but with a touch of character; with the added benefit - the only benefit - that the crop eliminates any problems in the corners.

The sensor crop tends to move your use cases to the left - to shorter nominal focal lengths. I am using the 50 much more with the MFDB, whereas I use the 80 more with film. Your 250 and 350 glass would be crazy long with a MFDB. Heck, they're crazy long on film! ;-)

I'll probably write up something more comprehensive on the CFV-50c in a few weeks. In the meantime, I highly recommend it for those wanting very high quality digital files from V-system gear.
 

bindermuehle

New member
Hi Jeff,

I do have a 50c back as well since early this year and am very happy with it. I am however specifically interested in the superachromat lenses mentioned. There are huge differences in quality which has become evident with this back (had a CFV 16 before). If you have a V system, the 180Ci is a lens to look for... Also happy with the 50 CFi and the 30, but at longer focal lengths, the 250 and 500 apotessar is simply not cutting it.

Cheers

- Balt
 

chrismuc

Member
I did one set of test shots with my Contax 645 + IQ180 (which has +/- same pixel size like IQ150/CFV-50c) combi with

Zeiss Hasselblad CFE 350f5.6 Super-Achromat (@ f5.6 and @*f8)
vs.
Zeiss Contax 645 350f4 Apo-Tessar (@ f5.6 and @*f8)
vs.
Mamiya RZ67 350f5.6 Apo (@ f5.6 and f8)

Zeiss Hasselblad CFE 350f5.6 Super-Achromat + Zeiss Hasselblad 1.4x Apo-Extender (@ f11)
vs.
Zeiss Contax 645 350f4 Apo-Tessar + Zeiss Contax 645 1.4x Extender (@ f11)

(I also tried Mamiya RZ67 350f5.6 Apo + 1.4x Extender but did not achieve a vibration-free shot)

I am currently in China, my VPN does not work and so I can't upload files to my dropbox, please wait a few days until I return to Germany.

What I can say:

HB 350 SA is great. Excellent at f5.6, perfect at f8 and nearly as good with 1.4x Apo-Extender at f11.
C645 350 Apo is only slightly worse at f5.6, rather similar at f8, I did not test f4, with Extender still good but not as good as HB.
RZ67 350 Apo is a bit behind the two Zeiss but also pretty good at f8.
 

chrismuc

Member
for example
Zeiss Hasselblad CFE 350f5.6 Super-Achromat @ f8
(att.: ProPhoto RGB)

frame
HB-350@f8-1600-all.jpg

yes the bike lacks air and is dusty, sorry no time to use :-(

crop 1
HB-350@f8-1600-crop1.jpg

crop 2
HB-350@f8-1600-crop2.jpg
the "lightweight" writing is really tiny

corner crop
HB-350@f8-1600-crop3.jpg
no degration in corner sharpness of 54mmx40mm sensor
 

bindermuehle

New member
Hi Chris,

thanks very much for these images! That is excellent performance on that lens, wow! Just looked at the IQ180 specs and the pixel size indeed is almost the same as the 50c, however, the sensor is quite a bit larger. The 50c sensor really is a little bit too small. How does the IQ180 perform in low light?

I'm extremely keen on seeing a side by side comparison to the other lenses also, if you have those images at home and can spare the time? Just the raw frames would be good enough if you don't have them processed already.

Many thanks!

- Balt
 

chrismuc

Member
Hi Chris,

thanks very much for these images! That is excellent performance on that lens, wow! Just looked at the IQ180 specs and the pixel size indeed is almost the same as the 50c, however, the sensor is quite a bit larger. The 50c sensor really is a little bit too small. How does the IQ180 perform in low light?

I'm extremely keen on seeing a side by side comparison to the other lenses also, if you have those images at home and can spare the time? Just the raw frames would be good enough if you don't have them processed already.

Many thanks!

- Balt

Hi Balt!

IQ180 low light performance: It's mainly an issue of long exposure than of low light, up to 8 s exposure time @ ISO 35, the files are fine. Afterwards some degration (grainy).
Any ISO higher than 35 also leads to certain amount of added graininess and reduction of real resolution, so I don't use it.
(For this I now use Sony A7RII.)

I also could share raw files, just same problem: Too big to send by email and right now I don't have possibility to upload to my dropbox. I try end of the week.

Also I might do a test with the A7RII and it's 4.5 um pixel pitch to stress the SA lens to it's limit (at least in center area) :)

All best, Chris
 

bindermuehle

New member
Hi Chris,

keine Eile... no rush... whenever you get to uploading them to dropbox is fine. I've been following a few 250 and 350 SA lenses on ebay for a while, they don't seem to move very quickly. My problem is with the 50c, the sensor size really makes the 250 a 325mm lens, and the 350 almost becomes a 500mm lens.

Noise wise (long exposures) the 50c is fantastic, almost as good as the 5DMkIII. I did some astrophotography with it a few months back on a tracking mount, 5 minute exposures at up to 1600 ISO. Makes beautiful images.

Cheers

- Balt
 

chrismuc

Member
I know uploaded the full res jpgs (Contax 645 + IQ180):

Zeiss Hasselblad CFE 350f5.6 Super-Achromat
@ f5.6
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18437364/pictures/[email protected]
@*f8
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18437364/pictures/[email protected]

Zeiss Contax 645 350f4 Apo-Tessar
@ f5.6
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18437364/pictures/[email protected]
@*f8
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18437364/pictures/[email protected]

Zeiss Hasselblad CFE 350f5.6 Super-Achromat + Apo-Extender 1.4x
@ f11
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18437364/pictures/[email protected]

Zeiss Contax 645 350f4 Apo-Tessar + Extender 1.4x
@*f11
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18437364/pictures/[email protected]

Enjoy, Christoph
 

chrismuc

Member
One more from tonight:

Sony A7R II + Zeiss Hasselblad CFE 350f5.6 Super-Achromat + Apo-Extender 1.4x @ f11 (crop, original resolution)

DSC01567.jpg
 

bindermuehle

New member
Thanks Chris! Those are incredibly useful comparison shots! Question about the 1.4x extender: Do you have the matched Apo extender with the blue ring for the SA and shot with that one? And for the ApoTessar, are you using the same extender or the Hasselblad one (Mutar)?

Did you use lens corrections on the images? There's a rather beautiful depth of field effect happening in the 3050/3051 shots, blink compare them! At first it looked like the entire field might be warping, but it's really only the OOF parts that are doing what they should.

Cheers

- Balt
 

chrismuc

Member
- Balt[/QUOTE]

Thanks Chris! Those are incredibly useful comparison shots! Question about the 1.4x extender: Do you have the matched Apo extender with the blue ring for the SA and shot with that one? And for the ApoTessar, are you using the same extender or the Hasselblad one (Mutar)?

Did you use lens corrections on the images? There's a rather beautiful depth of field effect happening in the 3050/3051 shots, blink compare them! At first it looked like the entire field might be warping, but it's really only the OOF parts that are doing what they should.

Cheers

- Balt
Hi Balt, ur welcome:)
Yes I use the Hasselblad matched "blue belt" Apo extender (a really terrific combination) with the Superachromat and the Mutar with the Contax Apo-Tessar.
I open in ACR, typically apply automatic CA reduction, sharpening something like USM 70-80/0.5 pixel, add some clearance and here about 1 stop exposure because the shots were a bit underexposed. I later upload the raws for you.
For the moon shot I stacked Superachromat + Apo extender + Mirex HB-EF adapter + Metabones EF-FE adapter + Sony A7RII. Five seconds release delay, fully electronic shutter, of course tripod, but moon is moving quickly across the frame ...
Br Christoph
 
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