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Hasselblad 503CWD-II???

bensonga

Well-known member
Ok folks.....I am SO CLOSE to calling Steve at PPR and ordering a 503CWD-II with the 40mm lens.....I'm like.....teetering on the edge. :eek:

I know it makes no sense (financially) to go MF Digital when I'm already getting pretty good results from MF film scanned on a Epson V750 Pro.

So I'm serious when I ask (after all, there is $12,995 at stake).....why MF digital capture instead of MF film & scanning? Is it just the convenience of digital capture? Not that I would discount convenience (I love my Canon 40D for that very reason), but shooting medium format (and large format) has never been about convenience for me.....it's all about image quality. :confused:

I can already hear the voices of Guy and Jack saying ......jump, jump!! :D

Gary Benson
Eagle River, Alaska
 

woodyspedden

New member
Ok folks.....I am SO CLOSE to calling Steve at PPR and ordering a 503CWD-II with the 40mm lens.....I'm like.....teetering on the edge. :eek:

I know it makes no sense (financially) to go MF Digital when I'm already getting pretty good results from MF film scanned on a Epson V750 Pro.

So I'm serious when I ask (after all, there is $12,995 at stake).....why MF digital capture instead of MF film & scanning? Is it just the convenience of digital capture? Not that I would discount convenience (I love my Canon 40D for that very reason), but shooting medium format (and large format) has never been about convenience for me.....it's all about image quality. :confused:

I can already hear the voices of Guy and Jack saying ......jump, jump!! :D

Gary Benson
Eagle River, Alaska
Gary

Steve and I are meeting for a drink after the trade show here in Ft Collins today. Should I have him reserve one for you????

Best

Woody
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Ok folks.....I am SO CLOSE to calling Steve at PPR and ordering a 503CWD-II with the 40mm lens.....I'm like.....teetering on the edge. :eek:

I know it makes no sense (financially) to go MF Digital when I'm already getting pretty good results from MF film scanned on a Epson V750 Pro.

So I'm serious when I ask (after all, there is $12,995 at stake).....why MF digital capture instead of MF film & scanning? Is it just the convenience of digital capture? Not that I would discount convenience (I love my Canon 40D for that very reason), but shooting medium format (and large format) has never been about convenience for me.....it's all about image quality. :confused:

I can already hear the voices of Guy and Jack saying ......jump, jump!! :D

Gary Benson
Eagle River, Alaska

The mere mention of MF and your already in mid-air. LOL

Just do it, It really is a kick
 

jlm

Workshop Member
it was Marc that did it! i went for a used 205TCC from Son with a lens, then bought another lens, then another...but i am having way more fun than with the M8 and more fun than when i was shooting MF b/w exclusively
 

PSon

Active member
Of all the folks Jim really use the CFV back well and his image show the quality of the file. What is the different between the new CFV II versus the CFV I?
 

PSon

Active member
thanks Guy but what does a new IR filter do? Also is the high ISO better on the version II?
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Gary, as long as you don't mind the crop factor (1.5x) and the ISO limitations (base ISO 50, max 400), I think you will be happy. If you like wide angle shooting (i.e. wider than a 60mm MF lens), you might be disappointed. In medium format, I shoot a lot in the 40-50mm range, so the CFV does not mesh well with my preferred angle of view.

If you were using an Imacon or other high end scanner things might be different, but if you really want to work digitally and the best film scanner you have is the V750 (which is not bad, but also not doing your film justice), then you will probably be happier with the CFV. You seem to enjoy digital capture anyway. It is likely to give you better dynamic range (particularly compared to color films), though I am not sure how resolution compares to full-frame 6x6 properly scanned or enlarged. Perhaps someone can answer that. Either way, it should give you superb image quality once you get the hang of it.

Back in the day, I was trying to decide this very issue, and considerations about the angle of view and the fact that I liked working with many different types of cameras made me decide to get an Imacon instead. For me, it was the right decision -- instead of having one excellent digital back, I had a top of the line digital solution for every film camera I could ever hope to use -- from 35mm to 4x5. The biggest I have printed with it (from 6x6) is 30x30, and at that size, a 3200 dpi scan yields an extremely sharp print when using a good film and lens.
 

PSon

Active member
Thanks Guy, I wonder if Hasselblad will change the IR filter on my existing CFV back? I will call them directly on monday to find out.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Gary, as long as you don't mind the crop factor (1.5x) and the ISO limitations (base ISO 50, max 400), I think you will be happy. If you like wide angle shooting (i.e. wider than a 60mm MF lens), you might be disappointed. In medium format, I shoot a lot in the 40-50mm range, so the CFV does not mesh well with my preferred angle of view.

If you were using an Imacon or other high end scanner things might be different, but if you really want to work digitally and the best film scanner you have is the V750 (which is not bad, but also not doing your film justice), then you will probably be happier with the CFV. You seem to enjoy digital capture anyway. It is likely to give you better dynamic range (particularly compared to color films), though I am not sure how resolution compares to full-frame 6x6 properly scanned or enlarged. Perhaps someone can answer that. Either way, it should give you superb image quality once you get the hang of it.

Back in the day, I was trying to decide this very issue, and considerations about the angle of view and the fact that I liked working with many different types of cameras made me decide to get an Imacon instead. For me, it was the right decision -- instead of having one excellent digital back, I had a top of the line digital solution for every film camera I could ever hope to use -- from 35mm to 4x5. The biggest I have printed with it (from 6x6) is 30x30, and at that size, a 3200 dpi scan yields an extremely sharp print when using a good film and lens.
Stuart....thanks for the excellent thoughts and insights. I knew about the 1.5 crop factor with the CFV back and since I don't do much ultra-wide angle photography I wasn't put off by it. I find myself usually in the 35mm to 100mm focal length (35mm film equivalents) range. This is why the 40 mm CFE lens with the new 503CWD-II kit appealed to me (with the crop factor applied, I think that 40 mm CFE would be equivalent to about a 35 mm focal length in 35mm film camera terms). I also rarely use film over 100 ISO.

Like you, I enjoy shooting with a variety of cameras. In my case it's the Hasselblad 5xx series, a Pentax 67 system and when I have the time, the Ebony 45SU I bought last year. I think I'll probably be shooting film for quite awhile still......haven't given it up yet, even though I've also owned and enjoyed using a succession of Canon DSLRs over the past 6 years....nothing high end, but enough to know I'm not going to part with my medium format gear any time soon.

I've been pretty happy with the V750 Pro....so it would be interesting to see what more a high end scanner like the Imacon could pull out of my negatives and transparencies. Perhaps I should send something off to a professional lab for scanning to see how it looks.

The thing I like about the 503CWD-II is that it would fit right into my current system....I don't see it as a replacement for my A12 film backs, but as an added capability, when I need it or would like to use it.

If only Hasselblad hadn't made it such an attractive package by substituting the 40mm for the 80mm lens....darn it.....they've made it very hard to resist!

Gary
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Here are the differences between the CFV version I and the version II bundle:

The CFV-II LCD is 2.5" TFT type, compared to 2.2" OLED ... and is a bit more viewable in brighter light.

The IR filter is the same type as developed for the H3D-II cameras and newer CF backs ... it has a much higher anti-reflective multi-coating.

I also recall that something has been altered to improve the internal clock.

The new CFV-II bundle does NOT come with the protective case for the back, nor the L shaped battery bracket to use the CFV on a 555 ELD or SWC camera.

Contrary to the photo imagery on the Hasselblad site, the camera body shipped with the bundle is NOT a badged 503CWD with the chrome winder, it is a garden variety 503CW. I have an e-mail into my dealer about this ... not that important, but not what I was expecting either.

Note: all of the CFV backs will benefit from the one stop ISO jump that all Hasselblad digital backs will receive when implemented in Phocus. So the ISO range will be 50 to 800.
 

TimothyHyde

Subscriber Member
I also understand that the CFV-II will NOT work on the SWC or Flexbody, which makes it a non-starter for me, especially if the CFV-I gets an ISO boost. I love the CFV-SWC combo. It helps compensate for the crop factor and makes a light package, producing incredibly sharp images. By the way, Marc, Hasselblad quit shipping the L-bracket with the CFV-I sometime last year, but it is available for about a hundred bucks as I recall.
 

Graham Mitchell

New member
I think that 40 mm CFE would be equivalent to about a 35 mm focal length in 35mm film camera terms
Well, the sensor is 36mm wide, if I remember correctly, so a 40mm lens would give the same horizontal FOV as a 40mm lens on a 35mm system. Something to bear in mind.

Also the resolution of the CFV will not be greater than the film resolution of 6x6.

You said medium format was all about quality for you, not convenience, so although the CFV files are nice, I don't think this particular back offers quality advantages over 6x6 film, apart from the great dynamic range, and will limit your wide FOV potential.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
I also understand that the CFV-II will NOT work on the SWC or Flexbody, which makes it a non-starter for me, especially if the CFV-I gets an ISO boost. I love the CFV-SWC combo. It helps compensate for the crop factor and makes a light package, producing incredibly sharp images. By the way, Marc, Hasselblad quit shipping the L-bracket with the CFV-I sometime last year, but it is available for about a hundred bucks as I recall.
I wonder if the L bracket comes with the anniversary 503CWD?
 

PSon

Active member
Timothy and Marc,
Thanks for the information this make me want to keep my current Anniversary kit since it can still be put on the SWC and Flexbody.

Marc,
There was no L bracket in my Anniversary kit but there was an L bracket in my CFV I back. Can you see the advantage of the new IR filter on the new CFV II over the CFV I?

Thanks,
-Son
 

TimothyHyde

Subscriber Member
I bought two (!) Anniversary Kits in the past year (the first one was stolen) and neither had the L-bracket, but they are readily available from Hasselblad.
 

atanabe

Member
I bought two (!) Anniversary Kits in the past year (the first one was stolen) and neither had the L-bracket, but they are readily available from Hasselblad.
Timothy,
The 503 CWD kit comes supplied with the L bracket, see the PDF instruction manual under items included. You may have been short packed by the dealer.

In regards to your remark about "Not working" with the SWC or Flexbody, the brochure states "Not recommended for critical work". The mechanical trigger on the CFV combined by the excessive play on the SWC arm can get the capture sequence out of sync resulting in magenta frame or partial magenta frame. I have found that increasing the capture time to 1 second even though my exposure is at 1/125 keeps the photon gods happy. If you are using it with an early model SWC with the long foot, you may need to shim the foot away from the body using a 1 mm spacer for clearance of the L bracket.

Regards,
Al
 
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