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Hasselblad CFV ll 50c

Photon42

Well-known member
It's certainly easy enough to cut a mask from a piece of thick black paper and slide it into the WLF. Or to scribe a set of format lines on my viewfinder screen. This isn't rocket science. :D

G
I would probably print something on thin transparent and if required cut the center part out. So you can still see what's around. Rangefinder style. I like the Hasselblad screen from the CFV50c because of that. Very useful. As long as one does not go below 30ish full-frame field of view, the 44x33 is fine. Stitching is also possible. I finally settled on something like 50/80, 50/100 or 50/110 (on a FP shutter body). as a two lens set. Versatile enough.
 

stephengilbert

Active member
ALPA used to have templates you could download and laser print on clear plastic to use on their ground glass. Things have changed a bit.
 

leejo

Member
Interesting interview that confirms some of my speculation: https://www.dpreview.com/interviews/2769223879/interview-with-uwe-moebus-of-hasselblad:

‘Everybody thinks that the V system Hasselblad were only for professionals. The camera was about £5000 at the time, and actually almost two thirds of users were amateurs. So, working in this market is not so new to us. But in between, when medium format went digital, things became so much more sophisticated, complicated and expensive that our whole market turned around to the point that over 90% was professional. The number of cameras we made dropped a lot and the price went up a lot - and we had a much smaller customer base.’

‘Now though we will be turning that situation back again. There are fewer professional photographers and it is getting harder and harder for professionals to make decent money. So Hasselblad needed to look to the future and ask if those customers would continue to use expensive medium format cameras, or would they look at full frame cameras? We decided that ‘no’ many wouldn’t continue to spend on high priced medium format systems and that we needed to take a different route. We will continue to develop our H system, which is very high-end and for pros, but the new X1D will open a new market for us. Maybe we can go back to [how things were in] the 80s and have a lot of amateur customers.'

'The purpose of this new model and its lower price is to broaden our market, to put the company on solid ground. We can do this by having more products: this X series, the H series, having a new V series with the CFV attached and the new 907X – this will allow us to develop our position in the market. Looking back ten years we only had the H system. Now though we can attract a new customer group. £5500 is still a lot of money but it is a lot less than these cameras used to be, and you can have a camera and a lens for below £10,000. This is a much bigger market for us.’
Doesn't say anything about the actual price of the CFV II 50c, but definitely hints something.
 

leejo

Member
My previous post has been eaten by the spam filter, so i'll try again without a link ...

There's an interview on dpreview with Uwe Moebus who states that Hasselblad are going after the amateur market, as I speculated, and the reduction in prices reflect this. Although he does argue that the original CFV wasn’t expensive, which is a slight contradiction (if it's implied that the original back was aimed at the high end market then perhaps not a contradiction in that case). No news on the price of the CFV II 50c but I continue to believe, given what else is stated in the interview, that Hasselblad *know* they cannot sell this back for more than the X1D II because they want it to be a feeder into the X system for existing V system users.
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
There are people who seel these printed masks on eBay as well. I got one of them a couple of years ago
There are people like me who use a mask for square composition on the H5D-50c, thanks to Steve Hendrix at CI. It works so well I never take it off the camera! And yes it is transparent, so I have the option to shoot and crop later, or compose for the square initially.

There are multiple ways to accomplish what you need, if 645 is an issue. :thumbs:
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
...
There's an interview on dpreview with Uwe Moebus who states that Hasselblad are going after the amateur market, as I speculated, and the reduction in prices reflect this. Although he does argue that the original CFV wasn’t expensive, which is a slight contradiction (if it's implied that the original back was aimed at the high end market then perhaps not a contradiction in that case). No news on the price of the CFV II 50c but I continue to believe, given what else is stated in the interview, that Hasselblad *know* they cannot sell this back for more than the X1D II because they want it to be a feeder into the X system for existing V system users.
Makes perfect sense to me.

I await the full spec, price, and feature list for the CFV50c II, as well as the availability of product to demo on my 500CM body. And the price of the 907x body. My plan at present is to prepare funding to purchase it, the XCD 21mm lens + 907x body (perhaps not all at once). And an X system mount adapter for Leica R lenses... presuming the CVF50cII back includes electronic shutter that enables their use. Same for the Hasselblad V to X lens mount adapter.

Plans change all the time. This is a nice plan for the moment. :D

G
 

fotophil

Member
The pricing of the new back seems be a closely guarded secret held by the Hasselblad Marketing Department. Although the pricing of the X1D-2 is somewhat influenced by the Fuji 50S, the new back has no direct competition so i would expect the price to be considerably higher than $5700. The closest competition is the original CFV-50c and the Phase One IQ150 and IQ250 Backs which use the same SONY 50MP Chip The Phase One backs are very hard to find in the Hasselblad V Mount and usually sell for over 10K. Since the new back will probably have many new functions including AF, touch screen controls, maybe even an electronic shutter, I would not be surprised if the new back price is around the original CFV-50c price of 10K. We all just have to wait and see. I suppose it would be possible for Haaselblad to also offer the original CFV-50 Back for under 5K for the 500C Owners who don't need the new AF, electronic shutter, etc. features.
 

vieri

Well-known member
The pricing of the new back seems be a closely guarded secret held by the Hasselblad Marketing Department. Although the pricing of the X1D-2 is somewhat influenced by the Fuji 50S, the new back has no direct competition so i would expect the price to be considerably higher than $5700. The closest competition is the original CFV-50c and the Phase One IQ150 and IQ250 Backs which use the same SONY 50MP Chip The Phase One backs are very hard to find in the Hasselblad V Mount and usually sell for over 10K. Since the new back will probably have many new functions including AF, touch screen controls, maybe even an electronic shutter, I would not be surprised if the new back price is around the original CFV-50c price of 10K. We all just have to wait and see. I suppose it would be possible for Haaselblad to also offer the original CFV-50 Back for under 5K for the 500C Owners who don't need the new AF, electronic shutter, etc. features.
That's very true, on the other hand I think that:

1. Hasselblad knows that if they price it too high they won't sell many, and
2. All the technology in the CVF II is in fact X1D / X1D II technology, so there will be very little development costs involved;

My speculation is that the CVF II will cost the same as the X1D II, give or take a little, and the 907x will cost around 1.500 US. Ideally, I think it would be a very smart move to offer the CVF + 907x together at equal price or just slightly above the X1D II, but I think Hasselblad will go a bit higher than that.

Just my .02 of course.

Best regards,

Vieri
 
I'm with Vieri here. Let's be honest that the CVF2 is a little bit, just a tiny bit, gimmicky and they could easily price themselves out of the market here. The CVF2 is probably less useful to most photographers than a X1D 2 as well so the price cannot really be (much) more than the X1D 2.

If they ask £6k for it with the 907x I will most likely buy one, but if they want £10k It's just too much for too little gain.

That's very true, on the other hand I think that:

1. Hasselblad knows that if they price it too high they won't sell many, and
2. All the technology in the CVF II is in fact X1D / X1D II technology, so there will be very little development costs involved;

My speculation is that the CVF II will cost the same as the X1D II, give or take a little, and the 907x will cost around 1.500 US. Ideally, I think it would be a very smart move to offer the CVF + 907x together at equal price or just slightly above the X1D II, but I think Hasselblad will go a bit higher than that.

Just my .02 of course.

Best regards,

Vieri
 

leejo

Member
The pricing of the new back seems be a closely guarded secret held by the Hasselblad Marketing Department. Although the pricing of the X1D-2 is somewhat influenced by the Fuji 50S, the new back has no direct competition so i would expect the price to be considerably higher than $5700. The closest competition is the original CFV-50c and the Phase One IQ150 and IQ250 Backs which use the same SONY 50MP Chip The Phase One backs are very hard to find in the Hasselblad V Mount and usually sell for over 10K. Since the new back will probably have many new functions including AF, touch screen controls, maybe even an electronic shutter, I would not be surprised if the new back price is around the original CFV-50c price of 10K. We all just have to wait and see. I suppose it would be possible for Haaselblad to also offer the original CFV-50 Back for under 5K for the 500C Owners who don't need the new AF, electronic shutter, etc. features.
The CFV II 50c doesn't make sense if the price is higher than an X1D II. I'm convinced that Hasselblad haven't announced the price to avoid an impact on sales of the X1D II. If you have an existing V/H/Xpan kit and the price of the CFV II 50c is say, 10%, more than the X1D II then you will just buy the X1D II and the lens adaptor to allow you to use the V (or H, or Xpan) lenses because the experience is going to be far better than with the CFV back on a legacy system.

Make absolutely no mistake - the experience of using this back with a legacy system *will* be a compromise compared to the X1D II, Hasselblad know that, I know that, most experienced V system users know that. The price cannot be set at a point that means the compromise is too much to justify it because there are more options as an alternative now - as i've said, the medium format market is very different to how it was five years ago.

*If* the CFV II 50c had a higher resolution sensor, or larger sensor area, then indeed it would make sense to charge more for it, but in the advertised form it does not. It is nothing but a stripped down X1D II. A large number of V system users now are not the type to drop $10k on a back, let alone $5k. I continue to believe that this back is a gateway drug to feed users into the X system, and Hasselblad will price it at that point and not at the pros who can write it off as a business expense.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I sincerely hope that Vieri is right: The cost of a CFV50c II at about the same price as the X1D II would net my Hasselblad V system camera and lenses new useful life and give me an excuse to buy into a couple of XCD lenses as well as the 907x body. To me, that's a brilliant marketing strategy as it places value on existing users' current equipment and gives them a way forward to new Hasselblad equipment.

I'm sorry, but saying the CFV50c II is comparable, better than, or less than the X1D II is completely beside the point. I want to make use of my existing Hasselblad V system with digital capture, and I'd like to extend my existing Hasselblad V system with new generation lenses. The X1D system is a nice way of replacing my V system equipment or moving into medium format digital equipment, but it isn't a way to extend and modernize the use of the equipment I already have.

I also prefer the form factor of the traditional Hasselblad 500 series cameras to that of the X1D for many uses. Simply a personal preference... :)

G
 

mristuccia

Well-known member
I sincerely hope that Vieri is right: The cost of a CFV50c II at about the same price as the X1D II would net my Hasselblad V system camera and lenses new useful life and give me an excuse to buy into a couple of XCD lenses as well as the 907x body. To me, that's a brilliant marketing strategy as it places value on existing users' current equipment and gives them a way forward to new Hasselblad equipment.

I'm sorry, but saying the CFV50c II is comparable, better than, or less than the X1D II is completely beside the point. I want to make use of my existing Hasselblad V system with digital capture, and I'd like to extend my existing Hasselblad V system with new generation lenses. The X1D system is a nice way of replacing my V system equipment or moving into medium format digital equipment, but it isn't a way to extend and modernize the use of the equipment I already have.

I also prefer the form factor of the traditional Hasselblad 500 series cameras to that of the X1D for many uses. Simply a personal preference... :)

G
I was just thinking the same when I purchased my CFV-50c.
Now I'm thinking: what is the difference between buying a CFV-50c II + 907x and getting an X1D II + V lens adapter? The only difference is the "replacement" of the the camera body itself. And the X1D II, or even the X1D I, looks to me more meaningful by keeping in mind a vision to move into medium format digital equipment.
So do people care that much having a V camera body rather than an X1D II body in order to "modernise" and make use of all their V system lenses? Particularly when one plans to buy X lenses for the future?
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I was just thinking the same when I purchased my CFV-50c.
Now I'm thinking: what is the difference between buying a CFV-50c II + 907x and getting an X1D II + V lens adapter? The only difference is the "replacement" of the the camera body itself. And the X1D II, or even the X1D I, looks to me more meaningful by keeping in mind a vision to move into medium format digital equipment.
So do people care that much having a V camera body rather than an X1D II body in order to "modernise" and make use of all their V system lenses? Particularly when one plans to buy X lenses for the future?
Well, I like the way my 500CM works, feels in the hand and on the tripod. I have four lenses for it. Buying a CFV back for it gives me most of that same workflow and ergonomics, but takes away my wide angle lens. Presuming that what I want is achieved with the CFV back and my existing lenses, I need another, wider lens. That's where I buy the 907x and 21mm lens, and maybe in the future add more lens options.

The V lens adapter on the X1D nets a completely different camera, with an Eshutter only, and a completely different use model. Is it better or worse? I don't know, but it for sure isn't the same. At this moment, I'd prefer the same... :D

G
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
Well, I like the way my 500CM works, feels in the hand and on the tripod. I have four lenses for it. Buying a CFV back for it gives me most of that same workflow and ergonomics, but takes away my wide angle lens. Presuming that what I want is achieved with the CFV back and my existing lenses, I need another, wider lens. That's where I buy the 907x and 21mm lens, and maybe in the future add more lens options.

The V lens adapter on the X1D nets a completely different camera, with an Eshutter only, and a completely different use model. Is it better or worse? I don't know, but it for sure isn't the same. At this moment, I'd prefer the same... :D

G
I totally agree, Godfrey.

As much as I love the design and quality of the X1D, the form of anything related to the V system ticks the right boxes for me. I have a lot of cameras with the general form of an X1D, and the X1D is awesome.

But the V system is an entirely different experience. If I still had my 503cxi, I would love to pre-order the new back. It ... sigh... is just not meant to be.

IMG_0009.JPG

I could probably get used to the 907, it is cool!... but I really miss the WLF. So I guess both the 907 AND a 503 would hit the sweet spot for me. LOL... so out of reach for me.

Thanks, Dante.:(

Back to my corner...
 
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richardman

Well-known member
But the V system is an entirely different experience. If I still had my 503cxi, I would love to pre-order the new back. It Sigh..,
A 500C/M with lens is only about $1000, there are Leica lens caps that cost more than that, just saying ;-)
 

fotophil

Member
I have had a 50c Back - 503CW combo for several years and really miss the ability to conveniently shoot in the portrait orientation when hand holding the camera. The 500 Series Cameras were designed for square format so landscape vs. portrait orientation was never an issue. Unfortunately, unlike the Phase One Hasseblad V Mount Backs, Hasselblad did not design the back to for both landscape and portrait mountings. For tripod shots a "L" bracket provides the correct camera orientation and the Live View Function permits convenient setup but I have never figured out how to handhold the Hasselblad Camera in the portrait orientation. The second problem with the 50c Back is cable-free operation at low shutter speeds. Even when the back is properly set for exposures longer than 1/8 second I frequently get timing errors if I press the shutter release too quickly. The instruction book and suggests the use of a flash sync cable if there is a timing issue. If the 50c-2 Back probably uses the same system as the original 50c Back, there may be situations where the flash sync cable is necessary.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
The vertical orientation problem isn't an issue for me since, as I've suggested, for me the CFV50cII simply becomes a 33x33 format, 39 Mpixel back. I can live with that.

The sync issue remains to be seen. One can hope that on a substantially revised version of the back like this that such issues have been improved upon.

I remain hopeful and optimistic. No need not to be.. after all, if it doesn't work out, what have I lost? :D

G
 
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