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Hasselblad 100 on S2

pesto

Active member
I would like to hear from anyone who has had experience using the Hasselblad 100mm f/2.2, Leica H to L adapter, with an S2? I am considering adding this lens and would be interested in how well it compares in image quality etc. with respect to Leica native lenses.

Thank you.

Douglas Benson
 
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RVB

Member
I would like to hear from anyone who has had experience using the Hasselblad 100mm f/2.2, Leica H to L adapter, with an S2? I am considering adding this lens and would be interested in how well it compares in image quality etc. with respect to Leica native lenses.

Thank you.

Douglas Benson
Douglas,there is most likely a Leica 100mm f2 on the way.. check out the screen grab from LR which lists this lens..

Best

Rob
 

fotografz

Well-known member
OMG, I cannot imagine what that S100/2 ASPH will cost in CS version. $9K+ is my guess.

If you have to ask … :rolleyes:

- Marc
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Yeah, f/2 probably will push this lens past the $10 to 11K mark in CS version.

That's a boatload of cash considering that you can get the HC100/2.2 and H to S adapter for about $3,200 to $3,500 used.

Terrific set-up BTW, I use that combo all the time. The 100/2.2(CS) and Leica 45/2.8-CS are my most used lenses on the S2P.

- Marc
 

sortvitt

New member
It's a great combo. I use it frequently on my S and assume it will work equally well on the S2. My first H-S adapter wouldn't work in CS mode on certain lenses, but the replacement works fine. Hasselblad lenses brings their own character and the HC 100 seems very well suited for the S system.

Good luck!

Jan.

Here are a couple of samples HC 100 on S from last year, I got to take it for a spin from a friendly dealer :)

Hasselblad H5D-50, Leica S and HC 100 f2.2 | SORTVITT
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Huh, I don't really see that much of a benefit to a 100mm f/2 when the 120mm f/2.5 is probably the best lens in the whole system...probably the best lens I have used in any system. 20mm makes a difference, but it is not dramatic in this case.
I would have much rather they did the 45mm as an f/2...seems much more useful to have a fast moderate wide than a fast portrait lens...the depth of field on 100mm at f/2 (or 120mm at f/2.5) is already so thin as to be useful more for atmospheric effects than most general photographic work. 45mm f/2 on the other hand is quite useful for even general images, particularly in low light...
Oh well!
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Stuart, I now have the CS-45/2.8, and IT now may be the best lenses in the whole system IMO, (although we're splitting hairs at this level of performance).

The 45/2.8 is already huge, so I'm not sure a gain in size to get to f/2 would have been worth it.

The 120/2.5 Macro is big and has dog slow AF compared to the other S lenses, so as a general working lens a regular 100mm may be welcome to many who already have the 120, or don't necessarily want a macro.

We'll have to see how the new 100/2 performs, what "level of spectacular" it is, how big it is, how fast it AFs, and how much it cost … since the HC100/2.2 is pretty reasonable in size, has fast AF, is pretty spectacular in its' own right, and the cost is very reasonable.

- Marc
 
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Stuart Richardson

Active member
Hi Marc,
I am glad to hear it is so good. I had been looking for a lens in the 45mm range, but when I saw the size and aperture of the 45mm, I went with the 30-90mm instead. While I loved the utility of the lens and its center performance, mine did not seem to do very well in the corners and edges of the images. It went to Leica and they said they could not find anything wrong with it, so they want to see the body (which is fine with the other lenses). I am printing a book nearby in Karlsruhe in a few weeks, so I am just going to bring my body to the factory and go for a visit. Hopefully I will get a chance to try the 45mm then. If the performance is as good as you say, that's great news, but I have to admit I am still underwhelmed by the size and speed...given how good the 35mm is at 2.5, I was a bit disappointed that they could not make a smaller and faster 45mm. Still, the performance is more important than the size and weight to me in this system, and 2.8 is not exactly slow. If the 30-90 had performed as well as the 35mm or 70mm, that would have been more than enough for me, but unfortunately mine couldn't get tack sharp corners at any focal length or aperture, and that is a problem that is only going to get worse as the bodies increase in resolution. Assuming that is a design feature and not a fault with the camera or body, I will likely sell it and try to find a 45mm...

As for the 120mm, it performs so well for me that the occasional hunting does not bother me so much, but I can understand how someone might want a lens more similar to the 180mm if they were mostly working with quick moving subjects. I am not sure if I just got a great copy, but my 120mm is sharper at 2.5 than most lenses I have used in other systems...that along with the quality of the bokeh, lack of distortion and APO color and close focusing...well, I really don't have anything to criticize. I wind up shooting a lot more with it than I would an equivalent focal length on another system, just because of how well it draws. I have 24 images in my book and 8 of them with were with the 120mm, 10 with the 70mm, 2 with the 35mm, 1 with the 30-90 (at 83mm) and 1 with the M9 and 35mm summilux. Considering how long the 120mm is, I think the fact that 8 of 24 were shot with it is a testament to the quality of the lens...
 

pesto

Active member
Hello Stuart,
I agree that 20mm of focal length and 1/3 stop of aperture are trivial and essentially distinctions without a difference here but the lethargic autofocus of the 120, while a great lens otherwise, has caused me to miss far too many shots. I lament that I have become somewhat dependent on AF, but it really can be a major advantage when attempting to capture fast moving and uncooperative subjects; i.e. cats.

I previously used the P1 system with the Schneider 110 and P! 150 and found those to be nearly ideal in good light but the absence of TTL on camera flash led me to the S2/ 120 setup. So previously I had the lens(s) but no light and now I have the light and no lens…maybe it's time to dust off my old Canon.
 

anGy

Member
Completely agree with Stuart. S lenses are something but the 120mm is even more astonishing. The best lens I've got. It's AF is not that slow, I can easily adapt my shooting speed to it. But I'm not shooting in low light or fast moving subjects with it. This 120mm is so good I've decided to upgrade mine (currently on sale) for the CS version to get even more use out of it.
Wish that the 70mm was closer in IQ and drawing to the magnificent 120mm.
 

RVB

Member
Completely agree with Stuart. S lenses are something but the 120mm is even more astonishing. The best lens I've got. It's AF is not that slow, I can easily adapt my shooting speed to it. But I'm not shooting in low light or fast moving subjects with it. This 120mm is so good I've decided to upgrade mine (currently on sale) for the CS version to get even more use out of it.
Wish that the 70mm was closer in IQ and drawing to the magnificent 120mm.
A good solution would be a firmware update which allows a choice of focus range,i.e near to 2M and 2m to infinity,the Hasselblad H camera's have this feature.

Rob
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
I don't have many issues with the AF because I am generally photographing things that don't move, or at least things I can browbeat into not moving (i.e. adults!). But when I do struggle with the AF it is almost always because of it deciding to hunt through the entire AF range. I agree that it would be great if there was a firmware trick to set a particular focus range. My guess though is that if this were easy to do, they would have done it already...I have heard the criticism from most everyone who has worked the 120mm, so I guess Leica is probably aware of the issue.

I also agree with anGy about wishing the 70mm was as good as the 120. It is a great lens, but the 120mm is simply otherworldly. I have found the 35mm to be absolutely outstanding as well...not as good as the 120mm, but one of my first S2 culture shocks was when I shot the 35mm wide open and the center of the frame was eye-poppingly sharp, while the edges were still extremely good...nothing I had shot in medium format had come close, not even the 43mm Mamiya, which is slower at f/4.5. Of the S lenses I have used, I would put the ranking as follows: 120mm, 35mm, 70mm, 180mm, 30-90mm. The 180mm is good stopped down, but not that special wide open, at least not compared to the 120mm! The 30-90 would go way up for me if it could just get sharp edges and corners at any aperture...the usability is great and look it has is very nice, but soft edges are not why I use the S2...we will see if that is a problem with the lens or camera, but if it isn't, I will probably sell it for the 45mm.
 

anGy

Member
Don't know how much sample variation there is with Leica S lenses but my 2nd 70mm lens is better wide open than my 1st one. I just upgraded for a CS version and could only test it on 10 pictures before the sensor of my S2 made some kind of fatal LSD trip (repair under warranty, alleluia !). With this 1s test of the 70mm CS it is quite obvious that center sharpness is better @ f2,5 than my older sample.
Not pretending that the CS versions are better. But there is some kind of sample variation or maybe simply production improvement by Leica. The CS is brand new, the non CS was produced 2 years earlier. The older was also rather poor at corner wide open (even when trying to take field curvature into account).
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Yes, it could be. I think that these cameras and lenses are really pushing the limits of the mechanical tolerances too, so even though the lens and camera are supposed to tell each other exactly where the sensor plane and focus plane intersect, I have a feeling that small mismatches can occur or even develop over time, particularly if you mount and dismount lenses a lot. I know my lens mount now shows a bit of bare brass, and given the precision involved I can imagine that might be reflected in a slight degradation of performance. It's all angles dancing on the head of a pin though...all of my lenses except the 30-90 were head and shoulders above nearly anything else I have used.
 

pesto

Active member
I wonder if there is not something germane to the 120mm focal length in medium format that creates such wonderful images. My autofocus related criticisms aside, I do recognize that the S 120 is a great lens but certainly no more so, at least in my opinion, than was the Contax 120 and in fact, the P1 120 is an excellent lens as well. Granted that the Contax was manual focus, it remains among my favorite all time lenses; fortunately I also had the 140 to do what I am attempting to do (unsuccessfully for the most part, I might ad) with the S120.
 
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