if you also working with 90 degree viewfinder, the Smart Flex L-Plate may
be help some. it keep the compose when rotate.
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The Slippery Slope - Hasselblad V digital back options
- Thread starter Godfrey
- Start date
be help some. it keep the compose when rotate.
richardman
Well-known member
Godfrey, for a while, I had a P25+ and I used it with my SWC and it worked great. I since sold it to pay bills though. Expect to pay ~$5000+ for that sort of back. The crop factor over the "full frame" 645 is only 1.1 so you are not really losing much. Personally, I think the ~25MP is at the sweet spot for the Hassy since any higher, and you might be pushing the limit of those Zeiss lens. Nice fat pixels and if you put it on a tripod, the result would be excellent.
Godfrey
Well-known member
I do kinda agree with that, but there are times when having the digital back in addition to film has an advantage.
It's a great thought exercise, even if I never buy, but right now the notion of getting the latest CFV-50 for the 500CM and SWC is a fine fantasy. I would never say never, but let's face it: $17000, or $13000 for a well priced used one, would buy a LOT of film and processing, and I already have the Coolscan 9000 ...
G
Godfrey
Well-known member
That is where my thinking has gone now, but I haven't seen anything in a CFV-39 back yet for under about $10K. At $7K or thereabouts, it becomes the question "Which do I want more: the Leica M or the digital back for the Hasselblad?" Either way, that decision is some time in 2014 at earliest for me.
(Thankfully. It means I'm best off just getting on with making photographs and save my money. ;-)
G
Seascape
New member
I am currently using a P45 (CFV-39 equivalent) with my 503.
So long as you are working off a tripod with care, and using the better performing V lenses, it is an excellent rig.
Maybe not that fast to work with, but the results first rate.....large files with lots of detail, that print superbly :thumbs:
bensonga
Well-known member
Agreed, but Godfrey can continue to shoot film with his SWC, which is what I would do (if I owned one).
I would only use the digital back on a standard 'Blad. So it's just a question of square sensor (1.5x crop factor) or rectangular sensor (1.1 to 1.3x crop factor), number of megapixels, Hasselblad vs Phase, Leaf etc and of course, the price.
Oh yeah...one other choice to be made..."fat pixels" vs everything else.
Gary
Maybe a slightly different question. How are the lenses on the V system, considering a full frame 60 Mpix back ?
Is the main problem accurate focusing (which could be solved with live view focusing on a tripod), or are the lenses simply not sharp enough ? I am especially interested in Landscapes (so f/11 would be fine), and the lack of something wider than 40mm is a bit disturbing, but a V system could be a "cheap" introduction to MFDBs - before going to a tech cam.
Is the main problem accurate focusing (which could be solved with live view focusing on a tripod), or are the lenses simply not sharp enough ? I am especially interested in Landscapes (so f/11 would be fine), and the lack of something wider than 40mm is a bit disturbing, but a V system could be a "cheap" introduction to MFDBs - before going to a tech cam.
The V-system lenses are uniformly excellent. I have most of them (lacking the 60mm and the 135mm bellows lens).
I used to shoot Agfapan 25, and those were as sharp as you could imagine.
I very much doubt the digital backs would exceed the resolution of that film.
The back manufacturers want you to think so, so you'll buy their stuff.
- Leigh
I used to shoot Agfapan 25, and those were as sharp as you could imagine.
I very much doubt the digital backs would exceed the resolution of that film.
The back manufacturers want you to think so, so you'll buy their stuff.
- Leigh
dougpeterson
Workshop Member
Leigh: a 60mp back will easily produce more on-print detail than your 6x6 Agfa 25. Comparing final-print detail compared to a very well exposed, carefully scanned, perfectly focused fine-grain 8x10 inch piece of film is still a relevant debate. But resolution vs 6x6 film was settled long ago. That's not to say that [Film vs Digital] is settled - they are tools, and as such have different pros/cons; neither is "better" overall, just very different. BUT the resolution thing is empirical and easily demonstrated. If you'd ever like to try a digital back to see this for yourself we'd be glad to help; I VASTLY prefer to have someone do this test themselves then to talk back and forth about numbers or use previous tests, but here is a 32mm HR lens with an IQ160 (60mp back) for you to download and print as big as you want and compare to any large prints you did back in the day on Agfa 25:
28mm & 32mm Lens Comparison - DT Blog
Regarding Hassy lenses: they were best-in-class, but their class was [lenses designed for film]. You'll find they still draw beautiful images, and still focus with wonderful manual mechanics (as compared to say the Canon 85/1.2 which is on a delayed fly-by-wire focus system even when manually focusing). And for several of the lenses, like the 120 Macro, that the resolution is excellent even for 60mp or 80mp.
But you will find, compared to modern lenses, that they have more chromatic aberration, lack bite (which you may like or dislike depending on your aesthetic) and that the wide angles don't hold up at the edges for work like landscape where edge-sharpness is traditionally considered important.
If you compare the Hassy SLR wide-angle options to other modern medium format wide angle options you'll usually lose, but not by so much that it couldn't be justified based on the very low cost of entry. If you get the Hassy pancake body with the 38 Biogon you'll likely be very pleased relative to most modern SLR wides.
BUT you know at the end of the day what you want is a tech camera. Those wide angles will beat anything you've ever seen.
28mm & 32mm Lens Comparison - DT Blog
Regarding Hassy lenses: they were best-in-class, but their class was [lenses designed for film]. You'll find they still draw beautiful images, and still focus with wonderful manual mechanics (as compared to say the Canon 85/1.2 which is on a delayed fly-by-wire focus system even when manually focusing). And for several of the lenses, like the 120 Macro, that the resolution is excellent even for 60mp or 80mp.
But you will find, compared to modern lenses, that they have more chromatic aberration, lack bite (which you may like or dislike depending on your aesthetic) and that the wide angles don't hold up at the edges for work like landscape where edge-sharpness is traditionally considered important.
If you compare the Hassy SLR wide-angle options to other modern medium format wide angle options you'll usually lose, but not by so much that it couldn't be justified based on the very low cost of entry. If you get the Hassy pancake body with the 38 Biogon you'll likely be very pleased relative to most modern SLR wides.
BUT you know at the end of the day what you want is a tech camera
. Those wide angles will beat anything you've ever seen.dougpeterson
Workshop Member
Indeed, though as a large dealer of Cambo and Arca we have complete systems (body+adapter+lens+viewfinder) on the shelf ready to ship today for most of the Cambo and Arca bodies.Of course, I know I want a tech camera
But they don't seem like an off-the shelf deal, and having a digital back doing nothing for a couple of months, waiting for the tech cam to arrive, sounds like an awful waste.
Thanks for the info !
But we definitely don't have every lens on the shelf. Usually those lenses come fairly fast, but for sure they can take a month or two if you're unlucky.
That's a pretty amazing amount of detail with the 32HR. God, I need an IQ! :banghead:
Leigh: a 60mp back will easily produce more on-print detail than your 6x6 Agfa 25. Comparing final-print detail compared to a very well exposed, carefully scanned, perfectly focused fine-grain 8x10 inch piece of film is still a relevant debate. But resolution vs 6x6 film was settled long ago. That's not to say that [Film vs Digital] is settled - they are tools, and as such have different pros/cons; neither is "better" overall, just very different. BUT the resolution thing is empirical and easily demonstrated. If you'd ever like to try a digital back to see this for yourself we'd be glad to help; I VASTLY prefer to have someone do this test themselves then to talk back and forth about numbers or use previous tests, but here is a 32mm HR lens with an IQ160 (60mp back) for you to download and print as big as you want and compare to any large prints you did back in the day on Agfa 25:
28mm & 32mm Lens Comparison - DT Blog
Regarding Hassy lenses: they were best-in-class, but their class was [lenses designed for film]. You'll find they still draw beautiful images, and still focus with wonderful manual mechanics (as compared to say the Canon 85/1.2 which is on a delayed fly-by-wire focus system even when manually focusing). And for several of the lenses, like the 120 Macro, that the resolution is excellent even for 60mp or 80mp.
But you will find, compared to modern lenses, that they have more chromatic aberration, lack bite (which you may like or dislike depending on your aesthetic) and that the wide angles don't hold up at the edges for work like landscape where edge-sharpness is traditionally considered important.
If you compare the Hassy SLR wide-angle options to other modern medium format wide angle options you'll usually lose, but not by so much that it couldn't be justified based on the very low cost of entry. If you get the Hassy pancake body with the 38 Biogon you'll likely be very pleased relative to most modern SLR wides.
BUT you know at the end of the day what you want is a tech camera
Godfrey,
If you ever want to get together to put my IQ 160 on your Hassy let me know.
Bob