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Leaf credo-60 hassy v-mount.....

PhiloFarmer

Member
Greetings All,

After much consideration and exploration, I have decided that my next-step is buying a used Leaf Credo-60, Hassy V-mount.

I think it's realistic to project a purchase sometime by March 2016.

If you'd like to begin discussing your back with me now, I'd like to get to know you and how the back was used, how you liked it, what were the drawbacks you found......things like that.

A PM might be best, or my direct email ([email protected]). Please feel comfortable.

The purchase will likely involve me paying freight (out-bound and in-bound) for you to ship the back to a reputable dealer for evaluation. If we can agree on a reasonable price, the dealer will be reimbursed for services, your purchase price will be transmitted to you, and the back will be shipped to me.

If there is some unfortunate feature of the back that prevents completing the transaction, I'll pay freight back to you...all safe transit assured.

Please let me know your musings...and feelings...

Best regards,

Hank
 

JohnBrew

Active member
Possibly, for a "Wanted: Leaf Credo 60". OTOH, I'd be very interested in user experiences as I am also pointing to getting this back in early 2016.
 

tjv

Active member
I bought my Credo 60 (in V mount) used earlier this year and couldn't be happier.

I bought it to use on my Linhof Techno and at the moment have very little interest in using it on an SLR platform. I jumped in after demoing the CFV-50c and trialing the workflow in my shooting conditions.

There were plusses and minuses for both backs, but in the end the Credo won out for a number of reasons, mainly due to its ability to push the shifts further with a wider range of lenses plus the full frame chip, which makes lens selection for wide angle shooting a lot broader.

When I demoed the CFV-50c I was incredibly disappointed with the live view, which refreshed at only 11fps (if memory serves me correctly) and while this refresh was adequate for focusing in terms of lag, it mean that in bright light I couldn't have my tech lens wide open to find critical focus without all the details blowing out. In other words I could only use the live view and see a well exposed preview on the screen (when in live view) with the lens stopped down to f16, which was no good for critical focus. I was surprised because I'd not read of any other user having this problem, so I contacted Hasselblad who put me in contact with a big name shooter who was involved in beta testing new firmware. He said this was a known problem and that there was to be a firmware update (which he'd trailed) to increase the refresh rate and fix the problem.

Anyway, with all that said, the CMOS sensor produced stunning results but I hated the user interface of the 50c back. Unstatisfied, I contacted an aquaintence who had a Credo 60 to give that a go. Straight away it was clear to me that this was the better back for me. The UI is more refined and the screen is better (don't believe all the hype though, the details aren't rendered as sharp as a modern DSLR but are adequate to judge best point of focus with some experience,) and the full frame CCD was perfect at base ISO or one stop above (where I ALWAYS use it,) and the battery is internal and doesn't hang below the body. The thing that surprised me most though was that I actually enoyed focusing and composing using the ground glass on my Linhof more than the live view on the 50c. I found the processes was quicker (I'm well practiced from years of large format view camera shooting) and that it kept me more in tune with what was in front of me and the camera than looking at a digital read out on screen. The LCC process in C1 is excellent and unless I'm doing extreme shifts with wide angle lenses, I'm yet to see any ill effects from shifting save for increased noise at the edge of the frame as a result of large corrections for vignetting. This is only if the lens is shifted a lot. DR is amazing and I simply expose to the right with an eye to preserve highlight detail then push the shadows in post. The CMOS would probably perform better in this regard in some situations for noise in shadow areas, but the CCD at base ISO or one stop above is no slouch and perfect for my needs.

And the colour... Stunning. C1's profiles are amazing. I must admit I'm not a real fan of the C1 workflow, but I'm working on it because the colour and tone curve profiles are brilliant compared to the more generic profiles in LR. Now I do my basic conversions in C1 to get the files as close as possible to where I want them (including LCC), export to 16bit tiffs then import into LR to do my fine tuning edits and / or stitching. Works well for me.

I've probably left out a lot of info here, so ask questions if you have any and I'll try to answer them. At the end of the day, both the 50c and the Credo are excellent backs but the Credo just won me over for my needs and personal sensibilities.

Now, off to test my new 70HR-W lens which arrive on the courier this morning...

TJV
 

tjv

Active member
I didn't buy my Credo new, I bought is used at a price slightly cheaper than a new CFV-50c. Current Hasselblad prices might has swayed me that way, but in the end I'm glad I went with it and have no regrets.
 
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vjbelle

Well-known member
When I demoed the CFV-50c I was incredibly disappointed with the live view, which refreshed at only 11fps (if memory serves me correctly) and while this refresh was adequate for focusing in terms of lag, it mean that in bright light I couldn't have my tech lens wide open to find critical focus without all the details blowing out. In other words I could only use the live view and see a well exposed preview on the screen (when in live view) with the lens stopped down to f16, which was no good for critical focus.

TJV
WOW..... I was not aware of this issue. I have the Leaf Credo 50 which has live view as good as my now sold Nikon 800e. I can and always do use it wide open for focus without ever getting blow outs. The CFV-50c issue would be a 'deal breaker' for me.

Victor
 

tjv

Active member
WOW..... I was not aware of this issue. I have the Leaf Credo 50 which has live view as good as my now sold Nikon 800e. I can and always do use it wide open for focus without ever getting blow outs. The CFV-50c issue would be a 'deal breaker' for me.

Victor
That was certainly the case for me, especially considering I'd only use it on my Techno.
 

tjv

Active member
Even with my easy solution of putting an ND filter on a 67mm to Bay60 adapter...?

I mean...really, click, focus, un-click, done.
For me it was a matter of combining that with a clunky user interface, external battery and lower resolution screen. The Credo just seemed more refined, especially with C1 Pro (which I don't particularly like using as yet, but am getting over it slowly. Regardless, Phocus is no better.)

Make no mistake though, I think the CFV-50c is a great product and at the price it is at the moment I would most probably have jumped, especially considering the firmware beta tester I talked to confirmed to me that the faster refresh update was / is on its way and that he's well tested already.

Does anyone know if that update has been released yet? It was quite a while ago we spoke.

PS: The new pricing on the H5D-50c kit is exceptionally tempting. Nick-T at Luminous Landscape has hinted at some pretty big things happening in camp Hasselblad next year, so I guess we'll see some exciting announcements soon.
 
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