darr
Well-known member
I have used Hasselblad gear for over thirty years. It was “the workhorse” in my business. Besides normal maintenance, the only repairs I had were flash syncs on “C” lenses because I was using flash for well over five hundred shots in a work week. The Hasselblad system earned its reputation by working professionals, and I have never heard any complaints from the pros I have known using them.I'm glad the gear is working out for you, but that doesn't mean that it can or could stand up to the type of wear and tear that comes with professional use. Guys who used Bronicas never complained. Mamiya 645 series were not as durable as the Bronicas, but they withstood the knocks better than the Hassys did. And that's a fact.
I don't quite understand why people take this gear stuff so personally. You're not married to it and it's not like I'm talking crap about your momma. It's just stuff and when we pay a lot for stuff, we sort of expect it to work reliably and perhaps more so than the cheaper type of stuff. I don't see what the issue is.
I briefly owned two Bronica cameras that a client gave me towards a barter. They were 645 models with the newest light metered prisms (ETRS I think). They felt thin and plastic compared to the Hasselblads. Shot two rolls of slide film on a family weekend trip and the frames looked nice, but there was no way the Bronicas were going to last through the work I was doing. Breaking down and setting up gear on various locations throughout the work week puts demands on a camera system that many do not do well in. Plastic and thin camera bodies need to be babied to last, not my choice for pro gear.
As far as why some of us take our gear seriously, all I can say is the Hasselblad V system provided me with a good income and was dependable and predictable. I have had many cameras, but I still shoot with a Hasselblad V system because it proved to be “the workhorse” throughout my career and now also into retirement.
Best to you,
Darr