Fun with the Hasselblad 907x

[Godfrey]

Congrats. The 35-75 has become my fav and most used lens, followed by the 80/1.9. Even if the range of the 35-75 is somewhat limited this lens is so good and flexible that I really enjoy it on my x1dII. How does it balance on the 907x? I woul expect to be quite front heavy? I evaluate to add a 907x to my Hasselblad kit.

The 35-75 weighs about a pound more than my 21mm and is similar dimensions. I find the balance quite good, but it depends on what kind of shooting you do. I consider the 907x in much the same way as a 500CM ... a waist level camera primarily ... so I usually flip the screen to level, hold the camera and lens cradled in my left hand, and work the controls with my right hand. Or I put it on a tripod. ;-) The large lens tube presents plenty of area to grip and steady the camera with when used this way.

With the 21mm, I also occasionally fit the OVF and then the Control Grip facilitates handy eye level use, with the easy ability to rotate from landscape to portrait format. In this use, I only look at the LCD for focus checking after exposure and to work the camera's controls with the touch screen. That will be a little more difficult as you get out to the far end of the zoom's range since the OVF is targeted to the 21 to 45 FoV range and you'll need to use the LCD more for basic framing. I don't find it unbalanced with the 21mm, the added pound of the zoom will take more effort to hold steadily used this way.

G

 

[Paratom]

Thank you Godfrey,
I admit you are one of the persons who inspired me to get the 907x, eventhough I allready have and like and will keep the x1dII (I have to make final decission tomorrow moening when I go to the store)
The expectation is to shoot waistlevel-like with the 907x, and so get different perspectives and enjoy shooting a different way.
One thing I wonder: with a classic waistlevelcamera one can hold/lean the camer-body on the human body to stabilize it. Since the display of the 907x claps out, there will allways be a certain distance between the 907 body and the photographer. How does this feel for you?
I have 21,45,35-75,80 and (still) 90 xcd, som maybe I will use the 907 more with the lighter and smaller lenses, like the 21 or 45.
I might the 90 with a 65 one day.
I hope the 907x will not be one of those "want have" projects for me and I will use it regulary besides my x1dII. I will skip the grip and ovf for now.

 

[Godfrey]

I personally never leaned the camera against my body with Hasselblad or Rolleiflex TLR waist level viewing. Instead, I use a neckstrap set to a length that allows me to hold the camera at a comfortable overall viewing distance to stabilize it in low light/longish overall exposure time situations when hand held ... and that is no different between the 500CM and 907x. I'd suggest trying that idea ... it's kinda traditional Rolleiflex TLR lore.

Most of my shooting has been with the 45P lens, which is the lightest and shortest XCD lens available. An ultra-wide like the 21 always takes me a couple of sessions to get my eye and brain in gear for, and there've been so many interruptions and constraints in my day-to-day since I got the camera in March that I have only ended up using it for a small number of photos. I adapt to longer focal length lenses more swiftly, so my shooting with adapted 75, 90, 120, 135, 150, and 180 mm lenses has been easier and I've gotten a number of good photos from them. ON the basis of what I see with these focal lengths, my third XCD lens will likely be either the 65 or the 90, and at some point I'll add the 120 Macro. While I like what I get with the 135, 150, and 180 mm quite a lot, I am pretty sure that I'll use a 65 or 90 quite a lot more and would prefer a native lens in this range.

G

 

[elm]

Paratom,

I am right there with Godfrey. Set the length of the neck strap to a comfortable length to help with the stabilization.

I've had my 907x 50c + 45p since the middle of October and love the size and balance! My intent was to use the 50c II for my V-series cameras/lenses, but I have enjoyed the combination so much that I have not even tried to put the back onto those camera bodies yet. I have been able to use it as a simple point-and-shoot or be more technical with it. (I also purchased the OVF, but haven't even used that either just to keep my kit small and nimble! My intent was to get a 21mm at some point to make the kit more like a SWC. (Since I am a hobbiest and not a working pro, I have to be very selective in my additional purchases.))

If you are thinking of a 907x 50c, give it a try. It might surpise you on how it will complement your X1D II 50C and all your XCD lenses.

Best wishes and let us know what you think when you get a chance to play with it a bit.

 

[Paratom]

Thanks for the idea with the strap and when I read it I feel that I also used this stabilizing-effect in the past. I think I have just see how it works for me.
Today our life is loaded with consume and all kinds of new gear, and buying a 907x is consume as well for sure, but I feel this camera is really something different.

 

[Godfrey]

Same way I feel.

I certainly had enough cameras even forgetting about the 500CM sitting in the closet last year when I ordered the 907x SE on its initial announcement. Something about it just spoke to me, and I then thought of how it would bring my old Hassy system into the modern world with a direct digital capture option ... The more I use it, the more delighted I am with my decision to buy. I like using the 907x itself, and using a 500CM fitted with the back is just delightful too.

To make it easier to use the 500CM and shoot both film and digital in the same session, I've now acquired a minty 1977 A16 back for 645 horizontal format. I can easily now carry the 500CM with just a single lens and swap backs as the whimsy strikes me ... The FoV difference is that the film back will net just a hair wider FoV, about 10° on the diagonal with my 50mm lens, less with the longer lenses. I can see one back loaded with Washi-120 film paired alongside the digital back for two absolutely, utterly different views of the same scene.

G

 

[bythewei]

It's probably just me, but I cannot imagine how can one use the 45P for anything that moves the slightest. The autofocus is ridiculously slow, it hunts for like 2-3 seconds, and the contrast-detect system of the 907X does not help a bit.

I sure hope the 45 f3.5 or the 65 f2.8 performs better....

 

[spb]

Mountain experiments again using Phocus, and then Luminar AI. Both images XCD 65mm.

 

[Godfrey]

It's probably just me, but I cannot imagine how can one use the 45P for anything that moves the slightest. The autofocus is ridiculously slow, it hunts for like 2-3 seconds, and the contrast-detect system of the 907X does not help a bit.

I sure hope the 45 f3.5 or the 65 f2.8 performs better....

You don't need autofocus to photograph things that move. I had a small business once upon a time photographing events at motor racing circuits. I used a Nikon F and a Mamiya 1000TL to capture racing cars and motorcycles in action. It takes timing and an understanding of where to place the focus and when to release the shutter. I could do the same with the 907x today. Same goes for shooting photographs of people, and anything else.

I've been doing photography since 1965. I didn't own an autofocus camera at all until about 1999. I still don't use AF very much even today. AF has always been a useful convenience only, when it works for the particular subject at hand, and it is always a convenience. Being slavishly dependent upon autofocus limits what you can do with any camera.

G

 

[bythewei]

You don't need autofocus to photograph things that move. I had a small business once upon a time photographing events at motor racing circuits. I used a Nikon F and a Mamiya 1000TL to capture racing cars and motorcycles in action. It takes timing and an understanding of where to place the focus and when to release the shutter. I could do the same with the 907x today. Same goes for shooting photographs of people, and anything else.

I've been doing photography since 1965. I didn't own an autofocus camera at all until about 1999. I still don't use AF very much even today. AF has always been a useful convenience only, when it works for the particular subject at hand, and it is always a convenience. Being slavishly dependent upon autofocus limits what you can do with any camera.

G

Completely agree with you on that one. I've had much better results with my adapted lenses than the 45P, and think I am going to stick with them for a while!

 

[spb]

Well said Godfrey, I agree entirely.

 

[Paratom]

I had the chance to handle the 907x today and it felt as good in hand as I could imagine if not better. this is really a beautiful piece. I am not a retro-type-person but this just feels good in hands.
My 45/3.5 fits quite good size wise. Here is the first typical pet shot

 

[spb]

I had the chance to handle the 907x today and it felt as good in hand as I could imagine if not better. this is really a beautiful piece. I am not a retro-type-person but this just feels good in hands.
My 45/3.5 fits quite good size wise. Here is the first typical pet shot
View attachment 180047

Couldn't agree more, lovely to look at, lovely to use and of course the results are well worth the purchase.

 

[Paratom]

by the way, while I can take images of my kid and dog with the X system in many situations, there are also situations where a fast and good AF allow to get the shot. Sports, where you dont know in which place the final action will happen, or the dog running towards you and you do want to take more than one image at a prefocused position. But I would not expect any medium format system to deliver such AF function.

 

[Godfrey]

by the way, while I can take images of my kid and dog with the X system in many situations, there are also situations where a fast and good AF allow to get the shot. Sports, where you dont know in which place the final action will happen, or the dog running towards you and you do want to take more than one image at a prefocused position. But I would not expect any medium format system to deliver such AF function.

Fast and consistently accurate AF can help expand the photographic possibilities. There's some amazing stuff that having good AF can allow you to do that is hard to do otherwise. But I am very uncomfortable with being completely dependent upon it to get the photos I want...

I also wouldn't depend upon the X system for all my photographic needs ... That's why I haven't sold my Leica, my Olympus, my Panasonic, et al...

G

 

[spb]

I also wouldn't depend upon the X system for all my photographic needs ... That's why I haven't sold my Leica, my Olympus, my Panasonic, et al...

G

Sounds like a veritable museum collection

 

[Paratom]

another musuem guy here, but I work on it.

 

[spb]

I always have traded in order to buy new. Sometimes I wish I had kept my Leica M10 or Fuji Xpro. Otherwise I am happy with ‘only’ the 907X.

 

[Godfrey]

Sounds like a veritable museum collection

It's bad. I've lost count of how many cameras are jammed into every nook and cranny. And this is after I did a major purge and sold/gave away 30-50 of them! LOL!

another musuem guy here, but I work on it.

I've pretty much given up. I've mostly stopped buying, that's all.

I always have traded in order to buy new. Sometimes I wish I had kept my Leica M10 or Fuji Xpro. Otherwise I am happy with ‘only’ the 907X.

I do that with the costly stuff, can't afford to keep relatively new, expensive digital cameras sitting on a shelf—all they're doing is losing value that way. However, I have just six digital cameras ... I have way more film cameras of all different kinds. While very high quality and desirable to me, they often have no appreciable resale value.

G

 

[elm]

The more I use this kit, the more I enjoy using it! Very glad I got one!

Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square PA for Christmas 2020: