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fotografz

Well-known member
:cry:

40+ years of having used a Hasselblad V, and I have nothing but fond memories.

Just the experience of holding one, the thrill of winding it and the sense of trust it instilled. Nothing has ever replaced that. It is just an engineering masterpiece.

Reminds me of the old Yogi Berra quip ... "That place is so popular, no one goes there any more." .... the V is so well made nobody buys new ones unless they have money to burn.

There-in lies the problem.

The digital age requires obsolescence ... companies now have to make your current gear seem worthless ... make it seem your camera is a Dodo Bird after 2 or 3 years. That life isn't worth living unless you get the new ZhaZaam MK-V ... and all new lenses because the old ones can't keep up with the MK-V.

Hasselblad seems to have bottled that lighting with the new Lunar ... it'll be totally obsolete before anyone can even buy one :)

RIP: V for Victor

-Marc
 

Shashin

Well-known member
The digital age requires obsolescence ... companies now have to make your current gear seem worthless ... make it seem your camera is a Dodo Bird after 2 or 3 years. That life isn't worth living unless you get the new ZhaZaam MK-V ... and all new lenses because the old ones can't keep up with the MK-V.
I am wondering if that is the manufacturers or the photographers? I have a Pentax 645D and the old film lenses keep up with it nicely. Since I already can make beautiful prints on a a 44" printer, what do I get with a new camera? ISO is fine with me. The only people that might care I don't have a new camera are not my audience.

I am sure the manufacturers do not mind that photographers have bought into the upgrade cycle. Actually, I suspect the manufactures would like to go back to the good old days where they could make a model and sell it for ten or more years.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I am wondering if that is the manufacturers or the photographers? I have a Pentax 645D and the old film lenses keep up with it nicely. Since I already can make beautiful prints on a a 44" printer, what do I get with a new camera? ISO is fine with me. The only people that might care I don't have a new camera are not my audience.

I am sure the manufacturers do not mind that photographers have bought into the upgrade cycle. Actually, I suspect the manufactures would like to go back to the good old days where they could make a model and sell it for ten or more years.
Some older lenses do very well with digital sensors, others do not. Most lenses for medium format SLRs ought to as the primary issues that make lenses not work well are greatly ameliorated by the deep mount registration they need to clear the mirror and the smaller than original format sensor size.

That said, I think most of the "upgrade or fall behind" stuff is marketing consumerist spin that has become ingrained in photographers today. My 2003 Olympus E-1 and 2006 Panasonic L1 continue to produce superb photographs. Not every photograph needs to be a 24 to 50 Mpixel example of ultimate resolution, or printed big enough to fill my living room wall ...

Perhaps if I eschew saving for the Leica M and MM, that CFV-50 becomes more of a potential reality. Just took my first few snaps with the 500CM, first with a Hassy 500 in about a decade, and I absolutely love the thing. :)

Godfrey
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Marc and Godfrey, my thoughts exactly. Sometimes I wonder where the focus is, aimed at the gear or the photographs. Not many recent cameras can claim that they are more suitable as photographers' tools than the Hasselblad.
 

Douglas Fairbank

New member
Anyone who wants V gear will be able to get it for decades to come as there is so much V gear in the second hand market. This stuff is so well made the camera and lens could last more than a hundred years.

The thing to worry about is getting the camera and lens serviced. The lens shutter needs to be serviced and the camera mechanics lubricated. Some of my lens are many decades old and are still going strong. So with light use service is not required that often.

The people who are factory trained to service the V system are getting old. The person who services my lens is 75 years old. The main problem is going to come when this expertise is lost.

Maybe time for a full shutter overhaul on all my lens. I think then that all my lens will outlast me.
That's me you're describing and I am only 60 years old! :cry:
 

thrice

Active member
Marc and Godfrey, my thoughts exactly. Sometimes I wonder where the focus is, aimed at the gear or the photographs. Not many recent cameras can claim that they are more suitable as photographers' tools than the Hasselblad.
I did find my 501CM had considerable mirror slap and the focusing screen was a little tricky (accu-matte), but it sure was sexy. I have replaced it with an Alpa, which suits my landscape/architecture needs much better.

In my opinion this isn't a reflection on the product no longer being desirable, it's a reflection of the mismanagement going on at Hasselblad. If I had a lot invested in their products announcements like the Lunar would make me nauseous.
 

ondebanks

Member
You could say it lens itself to the occasion.

(Do I get any Brownie points?)
Well, this management move certainly brings down the (leaf) shutter on the V line.

Their casual discarding of this fine pedigree is such a waist (level). Nothing could be Planar than that.

OK, I'd better (f-)stop now before you all dismiss me as a (winding) crank.

Ray
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Well, this management move certainly brings down the (leaf) shutter on the V line.

Their casual discarding of this fine pedigree is such a waist (level). Nothing could be Planar than that.

OK, I'd better (f-)stop now before you all dismiss me as a (winding) crank.

Ray
I would not want to go off have cocked. That would not be a good reflex and would not primarily mirror the sentiment. I sync there are interchangeable eye deers that we could focus on. I certainly hope this is not an aberration. Hypo-thetically, it can be fixed, even with this development--we just go with the photo-flo. But, Mama-Mamiya, what news. We really need to put it into Contax.

Sorry, I got carried away (you could say I was on a roll)--sometimes things just click...
 

neil

New member
That's me you're describing and I am only 60 years old! :cry:
Hopefully you will be able to offer another two decades worth of hasselblad camera and lens service. To keep all our camera wheels whiring and lens shutters clicking.

I am sure I will still be using the V system for decades to come as I enjoy the experience of using the camera so much.
 

Douglas Fairbank

New member
Hopefully you will be able to offer another two decades worth of hasselblad camera and lens service. To keep all our camera wheels whiring and lens shutters clicking.

I am sure I will still be using the V system for decades to come as I enjoy the experience of using the camera so much.
That is the plan. Classic V is about 6 months old now and looking good, it's good to keep in touch with all the photographers I have known for years.
 

Rolfe Tessem

New member
I don't think they've actually manufactured any since about 2008 and have simply been selling off existing stock. Has anyone actually seen a body dated newer than that?
 

fotografz

Well-known member
has anybody info/clues/guesses about what HB will do with their V system digital back "line" (CFV-50)
I would guess that the CFV/50 will be available for a little while longer since it uses the same sensor as the H5D/50 and 200MS backs.

They discontinued the CVF/39 after the H3D-II/39 was discontinued.

However, who knows ... they have more important matters like getting the wonderful Lunatic camera out the door to a drooling throng hungry for the newest Euro-Trash status symbol. :banghead:

-Marc
 

edouard

Member
I would guess that the CFV/50 will be available for a little while longer since it uses the same sensor as the H5D/50 and 200MS backs.

They discontinued the CVF/39 after the H3D-II/39 was discontinued.

However, who knows ... they have more important matters like getting the wonderful Lunatic camera out the door to a drooling throng hungry for the newest Euro-Trash status symbol. :banghead:

-Marc
yes, soon we'll have to hide in shame for being Hasselblad users ;-)

and sadly they will probably never develop a new back for the V system...
 

dorigatti

New member
I'm just going to have to scrape my pennies together for that CFV-50, eh? B&H has them in stock.

G
I just bought one from Pro Spirit in Holland. Great deal. Took three weeks to come from Denmark. No plan to discontinue it afaik and from the distributor.
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
yes, soon we'll have to hide in shame for being Hasselblad users ;-)

and sadly they will probably never develop a new back for the V system...
Ironic isn't it?

For a hasselblad 500 you can get an 80mp back, a back capable of iso3200, a back that has an internally rotating sensor, a back that is monochromatic, a back with wireless review on an iPad or iPhone, a back with usb3 and FireWire 800, a back with a touch LCD with retina quality.

You just can't get such a back from Hasselblad.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
It's like seeing a family with 5 kids at a railway station on their way to the beach. But for some reason they board the train to Siberia and leave all their beach gear at the platform, waving happily from the train as it leaves the station :loco:
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Hasselblad V system has had a very long run. I'm sad to see it go out of production, but the cameras will run for many many years yet if you keep them in good shape.

I'll send my SWC off to have the shutter cleaned and calibrated soon. And later do the same with the Sonnar 150/4. The 500CM body seems to be just fine, the late series Planar 80 (Compur) seems to be in perfect condition. I've acquired a bunch of filters, close up lenses, and my other essential accessories. and I have three backs in perfect condition. I'm set for a good, long time, probably longer than I'll be hauling the gear around to shoot.

BTW, my decision to buy a Coolscan 9000 rather than raise three times that price for the digital back is working out splendidly. The CS9000 is such a versatile scanner that it's also breathed new life into all my other film cameras, from Minox up. :)

G
 
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