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Exit V

Godfrey

Well-known member
I was unaware that they were still in production!

Sad to see these lovely old tanks go. It's ironic that I've just re-acquired a repeat of my once-was Hasselblad V system (SWC plus 500C and 80, 150 mm lenses, etc).

Such it is. With luck, it will be working for me for another few decades at least. If I last that long ... ;-)

G
 

edouard

Member
I'm wondering if it also means they will never update their V line digital back: the CFV-50 (and stop producing it soon) ? ... anyway you could get ~all Phase One back in a Hasselblad V "fitting", but the CFV-50 was kind of "cheap" (16000$ new) for a 49.1x36.8mm 50Mpx (KAF-50100 Kodak, now Truesense) sensor, and could work without sync cables at all! (forming a very nice retro-futurist camera).

I'm very pleased with it and my 500C/M body & lenses, but worried about servicing!?...
 

rayyen

Member
Sad to hear, but I guess it's either sooner or later...
Anyway, I love shooting with my Hasselblad...

 

Shashin

Well-known member
The V is dead, long live the Lunar!

Another piece of photographic history goes. The Hasselblad V design has been around for a very long time. Probably one of the most recognizable designs around. Still, the new Lunar with leave an impression.
 

Uaiomex

Member
It died being the most handsome camera of them all. Stopping again of thinking on investing on my first digital back. Back to Canon!
Eduardo
 

Godfrey

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

G
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Apart from the nostalgic sides, there's one thing I don't like about this: The V series was what used to define Hasselblad. By discontinuing it, they cut the last link to their heritage. Obviously, if their management thinks that their future is in the Lunar and similar cameras, that might be the right thing to do, but for those of us who don't believe that, the future might not look as bright as the past.

It's interesting also to notice, that after all kinds of problems in the past, DHW Fototechnik has decided to continue manufacturing the Rolleiflex TLR. I doubt that they do that for nostalgic reasons only. Film versions of Leica M likewise. The problem with the V for the current owners of Hasselblad isn't necessarily that the V classic cameras don't make a profit, but that they don't make enough profit according to their future projections for Hasselblad. Selling Sony cameras disguised with wood and leather for 5 times the Sony price is apparently more along the lines they are thinking :(
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Actually, the V series camera could be losing money. With film sales continuing to drop and the pressures of the secondhand market, the V series was probably just riding on stock with production halted for sometime. As far as MFD, the H series is a better platform.

I am not sure they are cutting their link to their heritage. The redesigned a99 has a V series look to it. It might even be worse than the Lunar.

Unfortunately, there is a sense that branding can compensate for substance. I think the new owners are going to find out the hard way that products are not good because of the nifty logo.

But regardless of the economic viability, it is a sad loss. This just makes photography a little poorer.
 

weinlamm

Member
Very sad! Hope they will still offer a service for the next years... Leica repairs everything since the earliest time - hope Hasselblad will do so, too.
 

Swissblad

Well-known member
Sad day - to be expected - but still sad.

I wonder if the decision by Zeiss to stop lens production for the V had any influence on this decision.....
 

neil

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.
 
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