Fun with the Hasselblad 907x

[rayyen]

Finally, my wait come to an end.
907 work like magic, but I spent a weekend with the CVFII50C on my 501c, took me some time to figure out the connection. Seems hard to get capture right, not always a photo capture with my 501c. I also having trouble opening those files captured in Lightroom. I don't know why...

 

[Godfrey]

Nice photos! And good luck with your 907x SE!

I'm not sure why you're having trouble getting exposures with the 501c and CFVII 50c back, though. I wonder what's different about the 501c body vs my 500CM bodies ... I just stick the back on and go shooting, get exposures every time ... unless it's a problem with your specific 501c body.

Did you look at which body the back is set to when you fit it to the 501c? Perhaps there's something off kilter in the back's configuration.

One thing that's become plain to me: My lovely old Planar 80/2.8 T* and Distagon 50/4 T* are simply not so stunningly sharp when wide open as the XCD 21mm lens is. After many experiments and focusing trials, I've come to realize that for the kind of sharpness I get out of the XCD 21mm at f/4, I need to stop down either of those two lenses about two stops at least (f/5.6 and f/8 respectively), at least in the near focusing range. The focus is right on the money, they're just not as sharp wide open.

I'm going to take a walk with the 500CM+CFVII 50c+Planar 80mm tomorrow ...

G

 

[tcdeveau]

Good to know, thanks!
I realize I was thinking more about the touch-screen interface. Is that the same on the CFV 50c as it is on the CFVII 50c?

G

No, the interface in the CFV50c is not the same as the CFVII 50c. The CFV50c is based on the interface of the H5D - there is no touch functionality and the screen is lower resolution I believe as well.

For me, the biggest differences between the CFV50c and CFVII50c are the improved live view and internal battery of the CFVII, in addition to the electronic shutter.

 

[JohnBrew]

Having owned a CFV50c, I would say it was the beta version and now Hasselblad has released the fully sorted production one. Without the battery hanging off the bottom it is now a svelte combination with any camera body.

 

[andrearch]

I use the CFV II 50c also with a Tech Camera (Silvestri Bicam III) and I find the electronic shutter very useful because you can use times not selectable in the prontor or copal. I also used the previous version of the back, but the liveview was much, much lower. Unfortunately I discovered a bug in Phocus that does not allow the use of scene calibration (lcc) which I hope Hasselblad will solve quickly, otherwise I can't work.

 

[tcdeveau]

Unfortunately I discovered a bug in Phocus that does not allow the use of scene calibration (lcc) which I hope Hasselblad will solve quickly, otherwise I can't work.

Uhhhhh that's not good. My interest in the CFVII is tech cam use so I hope that's something they can patch up quick. I haven't tried using scene calibration with the latest version of Phocus (3.5 maybe?) so maybe I should give it a try and see what happens.

 

[Godfrey]

Uhhhhh that's not good. My interest in the CFVII is tech cam use so I hope that's something they can patch up quick. I haven't tried using scene calibration with the latest version of Phocus (3.5 maybe?) so maybe I should give it a try and see what happens.

Pardon my ignorance ... What is "scene calibration"? or "lcc"? When is it useful?
I haven't heard of that before.

G

 

[tcdeveau]

Pardon my ignorance ... What is "scene calibration"? or "lcc"? When is it useful?
I haven't heard of that before.

G

Not sure how precise my language is, but it's useful for color cast and light falloff corrections, particularly for shots utilizing movements on tech cams. Removes color casts and normalizes light intensity.

Here's a scene calibration tutorial from HB that probably explains it better than I can:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7iggTakk-M

 

[sog1927]

Good to know, thanks!
I realize I was thinking more about the touch-screen interface. Is that the same on the CFV 50c as it is on the CFVII 50c?

G

Oh, sorry - it's completely different.

 

[TopgunCameras1]

Arctic Valley, Alaska.

Shot with

907x CFV II 50c + 80mm F1.9 / 21mm F4.0

Snow in May is pretty normal in Alaska. Slopes are empty due to the Pandemic. Stay strong everyone !

Some things I learned about the camera on the hike.

1. It does not do well with the cold. The Touch Screen froze a few times under windy and cold conditions. Everything else was functional. Once I turned it off and turned it on everything was fine.

2. In under sunny and snowy conditions the reflection from the snow made the LCD very hard to see. I'll be trying out a viewfinder for the LCD. It's like a LOUPE for Large Format but for digital I guess haha.

3. AutoFocus is pretty reliable. Since I was not able to manual focus I had to rely on Auto Focus most of the time.

4. I don't know why but the files were imported upside down. It was a quick fix in phocus / capture one but I'll be tackling that problem today.

 

[budfox]

Just got the camera...Beautiful!!

I put it on the 500CM, pretty good integration - it recognized the 500CM body automatically. Here is a quick snap from the backyard, using 500CM body, 80 2.8 lens and the CFV-II-50C back...

Thanks for great info on this still very rare beast. Can you advise, when the camera is attached to a 500 system camera, do the V lenses use their own leaf shutters, or does the camera revert to electronic shutter only?

many thanks

 

[Godfrey]

Thanks for great info on this still very rare beast. Can you advise, when the camera is attached to a 500 system camera, do the V lenses use their own leaf shutters, or does the camera revert to electronic shutter only?

The CFVII 50c back fitted to a 500CM defaults to that mode: you use the 500CM as you always would after setting the ISO on the back, and the 500CM's lens controls the exposure.

G

 

[phOtOny teXas]

907X - XCD 65mm
Still stuck indoors, this is all I got, Still Life:loco:





New Light by tOny endieveri, on Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

I pulled out my dedicated 6x6 pinhole camera the other day, the "ReallySoSubtle 6x6", and discovered I had a few exposures left on the roll*of Ilford HP5 that I had put into it last year. Hmmm... I should use that up!

I used the 907x fitted with the Fotodiox Pro R to X mount adapter and the Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm + Macro Adapter-R to capture the negatives. Aside from the mostly ridiculous nature of the endeavor (after all, pinhole images are never "high resolution" and a 50Mpixel capture is mostly a laugh), it did a good job.

Couch & Lamp - Santa Clara 2020


Bed & Bears - Santa Clara 2020


Tall Palms - San Jose 2020


Bicycle & Cafe - San Jose 2020


Appropriate Distance - San Jose 2020​

One thing that I don't understand, though: When I have a mount adapter for either Leica M or Leica R lenses on the camera, and the camera is oriented straight down on the copy stand, the operation of the touch screen becomes flakey. Eventually the touch screen controls in the LCD freeze and I have to power off and restart to regain operation. This doesn't happen when I'm using the XCD21 lens, and it doesn't happen when I'm using the back on the 500CM in Live View/Electronic shutter mode. I'm a little perplexed by why this would be happening.

Has anyone else see this kind of behavior?

G

 

[phOtOny teXas]

907X - XCD 65mm
A bit different, this Covid Devil came out in a recent painting.





The Devil of COVID-19 by tOny endieveri, on Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

The XCD 45mm f/4 P lens I ordered was delivered yesterday.

"Hey! Don't call me Stubby!"​

It's a darn nice lens, light and sharp. I'm having a ball just putzing around with it and learning it. Autofocusing is fast enough for me and it has an excellent feel in manual focus as well. As expected, it has a very similar field of view to the Planar 80mm on the 500CM with an A12 back ... a very useful normal lens.

Hasselblad doesn't offer a lens hood for the 45P, which I think is just wrong, so I've ordered a B+W metal hood for wide lenses—suitable for 28-45mm on FF sensor—in 62mm thread. This table compares the AoV range that the hood was designed for and the H, V, and D AoV values for the Planar 80 on 6x6 and the 45P on 33x33 and 33x44 formats.

​

The hood should suit this lens nicely.

G

 

[jotloob]

The XCD 45mm f/4 P lens I ordered was delivered yesterday.

"Hey! Don't call me Stubby!"​

It's a darn nice lens, light and sharp. I'm having a ball just putzing around with it and learning it. Autofocusing is fast enough for me and it has an excellent feel in manual focus as well. As expected, it has a very similar field of view to the Planar 80mm on the 500CM with an A12 back ... a very useful normal lens.

Hasselblad doesn't offer a lens hood for the 45P, which I think is just wrong, so I've ordered a B+W metal hood for wide lenses—suitable for 28-45mm on FF sensor—in 62mm thread. This table compares the AoV range that the hood was designed for and the H, V, and D AoV values for the Planar 80 on 6x6 and the 45P on 33x33 and 33x44 formats.

View attachment 149217​

The hood should suit this lens nicely.

G

I am very much surprised , that HB does not deliver a lens hood with that 45P .
Not even a recommendation ? ? ? Very strange .:banghead:

 

[Godfrey]

I am very much surprised , that HB does not deliver a lens hood with that 45P .
Not even a recommendation ? ? ? Very strange .:banghead:

They haven't discontinued the XCD 45mm f/3.5, which takes their standard bayonet-mount lens hood. I suspect the P lens was designed for compactness (and certainly lower cost) and it was deemed that the users for it would likely not bother with a lens hood. I don't think it actually needs one, but I like having a lens hood as a matter of protection for the front element of the lens, as well as whatever contrast gain/flare reduction it might afford for when I'm carrying the camera in casual shooting situations.

It's amusing because they did include a superb leather lens pouch with the 45P, which has to cost as much as a lens hood to manufacture! LOL!

Going for a walk with Stubby now...

G

 

[B L]

They haven't discontinued the XCD 45mm f/3.5, which takes their standard bayonet-mount lens hood. I suspect the P lens was designed for compactness (and certainly lower cost) and it was deemed that the users for it would likely not bother with a lens hood. I don't think it actually needs one, but I like having a lens hood as a matter of protection for the front element of the lens, as well as whatever contrast gain/flare reduction it might afford for when I'm carrying the camera in casual shooting situations.

It's amusing because they did include a superb leather lens pouch with the 45P, which has to cost as much as a lens hood to manufacture! LOL!

Going for a walk with Stubby now...

G

I saw internet image of 907X with an optical viewfinder but I dont understand where it goes as the body doesnt have a (cold-hot) shoe.
Godfrey, I think the viewfibder will complete 907X as a new incarnation of SuperWide. I have no idea of viewfinder's angle of coverage.

 

[Godfrey]

I saw internet image of 907X with an optical viewfinder but I dont understand where it goes as the body doesnt have a (cold-hot) shoe.
Godfrey, I think the viewfibder will complete 907X as a new incarnation of SuperWide. I have no idea of viewfinder's angle of coverage.

If I recall the prototype illustration correctly, there was an accessory shoe mount that connected to the camera where the "Hasselblad" nameplate is normally. Looking at the actual camera, I suspect the viewfinder plate is a piece of aluminum or brass that is shaped like a wide rectangular block with a beveled edge on the front, and slides forward out of the camera ... I haven't tried. Once you have that in place, you could put any optical viewfinder accessory you wanted into position there; the one in the illustration is mated with a 45mm lens so presumably it is a viewfinder for that lens, that is a viewfinder with an approximate 55° diagonal angle of view (for the square crop).

​

That same illustration shows the proposed accessory grip, for which the connections and locating dowel hole exist on the bottom of the 907x body.

These are useful accessories for eye level shooting and transform the 907x from being a primarily waistlevel/tripod camera in its un-accessorized format to an eye-level camera that's also handy to roll over on its side for portrait orientation shooting with the full format. Once Hasselblad offers them, I might buy them ... but honestly, I don't really need them for much of my photography.

G