mristuccia
Well-known member
I too have the 503CW and the 50c back.I have had a 50c Back - 503CW combo for several years and really miss the ability to conveniently shoot in the portrait orientation when hand holding the camera. The 500 Series Cameras were designed for square format so landscape vs. portrait orientation was never an issue. Unfortunately, unlike the Phase One Hasseblad V Mount Backs, Hasselblad did not design the back to for both landscape and portrait mountings. For tripod shots a "L" bracket provides the correct camera orientation and the Live View Function permits convenient setup but I have never figured out how to handhold the Hasselblad Camera in the portrait orientation. The second problem with the 50c Back is cable-free operation at low shutter speeds. Even when the back is properly set for exposures longer than 1/8 second I frequently get timing errors if I press the shutter release too quickly. The instruction book and suggests the use of a flash sync cable if there is a timing issue. If the 50c-2 Back probably uses the same system as the original 50c Back, there may be situations where the flash sync cable is necessary.
I solved the problem of the portrait orientation by using a P90 finder, with a foldable magnifier lens for fine focus.
When hand-held, I add the CW Winder as well. The overall weight is high but It helps a lot in keeping the camera steady while firing the shot button.