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Fun with the Hasselblad 907x

Godfrey

Well-known member
907X - XCD 45P - 3 Times:grin:
Godfrey keep the posts coming...
I agree the 45P is a great walk around lens. I will soon start experimenting more with my Leica, X-pan and Canon FD Glass...
{snip}
Like that photo, Tony. :)

I was experimenting with M mount lenses a bit more again yesterday; some of my observations: The Color Skopar 28mm and Summilux 35 v2 vignette fairly strongly even in the corners of the cropped square field of view, the Summicron 50 (current formulation) covers square nicely, and Summarit 75mm seem to cover the full format pretty well. Ran out of time to test the M-Rokkor 90 and Color Skopar 50mm; I had already tried the Pentax-L 43mm (does pretty well on the cropped square) and the Hektor 135mm (does astonishingly well on the cropped square, with a little bit of corner darkening).

Have to play with more of my R lenses next... :D

A lot of this is an academic exercise. I know that my Hasselblad V system lenses will more than cover the format and generally do a superior job ... with 50, 80, 120, and 150 mm options there, along with 21 and 45 mm in the XCD line, there's little need to use the Leica lenses. The ones I am most interested in, really, are the ones that provide macro and close up capabilities ... the Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm, Macro-Elmar-R 100mm, the Summicron-R 50mm (although not technically a macro lens, I've found that its performance in the 1:1 and great magnification range is just amazing!) ... because I'll mostly use the XCD and V system lenses for general shooting. The performance of the macro lenses influences which 'next' XCD lens I'll go for ... right now, I'm thinking the XCD 80mm f/1.9 (because I have the Makro-Planar 120mm), but the XCD 120mm f/4 Macro draws me too.

There's no rush, since I don't want to spend the money for a while. Actually, the thing I want for this camera more right now is a combination L-bracket/left-sided grip that's light, compact, and fits tight to the body: I have a feeling that I'll make one.

On to more photographs...

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Using the 907x' back on the 500CM again:


Chair On Sidewalk - Santa Clara 2020


Red Leaf Against Wood Fence - Santa Clara 2020


Angel Contemplating Hand - Santa Clara 2020

Hasselblad 500CM/CFVII 50c + Planar 80mm f/2.8 T*
ISO 100 @ f/5.6

enjoy!
G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Around the condo:


Pineapple


Bialetti


Tomatoes, Pineapple, Reflection


Bicycle with Tire Pump


Chair And Table


Bear on the Table by the Window

All:
Hasselblad 500CM/CVFII 50c + Makro-Planar 120mm f/4
Taken with the standard 500CM viewfinder and lens shutter.

Fun fun fun ... enjoy!

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
The cactus plant that lives on the patio has five blossom buds this year. One of them opened yesterday ... The blossoms are short-lived, usually gone in 24-36 hours, but they make the most of it when they're around.


Cactus Flower #1
Hasselblad 907x + Summicron-R 90mm f/2



Cactus Flower #2
Hasselblad 907x + Summicron-R 90mm f/2

The Leica Summicron-R 90mm f/2 works well on the 907x using the electronic shutter and covers the full 33x44 format pretty well, I saw little to no corner darkening. On another subject that had hard edges in a more contrasty light, I saw that it produces small bit of red-purple fringing that cleaned up easily with the LR Classic defringe tool.

Enjoy!

G
 

elm

Member
Godfrey, lovely photos and thank you for sharing!

Wonder what they would look like with a V + CFV II/50c + 120mm? Also 907x + 21mm up close!
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Godfrey, lovely photos and thank you for sharing!
Wonder what they would look like with a V + CFV II/50c + 120mm? Also 907x + 21mm up close!
Well, I was going to try with the 500CM/CFVII 50c and 120 Macro, but the light shifted from nice, soft morning foggy light to harsh sunlight too quickly for me to get there. Given the quality of the Makro-Planar 120mm f/4, it would likely rival the Summicron-R 90mm. I actually made exposures with the Summicron 90 from f/2 to f/8; turns out f/5.6 and f/8 were pretty much a necessity to obtain barely enough DoF at the distance required to get an acceptably large image on the sensor.

The XCD 21mm is far too wide to get an acceptably large image size. The 21mm lens focuses down to 12" from the sensor plane (about 6" from the front of the lens hood) and covers an area that is about 11x15 inches at that distance; the blossom is a three dimensional structure about 8" across and about 11" deep. The plane disk of the blossom would be little more than half the height of the FoV, I couldn't get enough DoF to cover it entirely, and all of the blossom would be pretty weird looking due to extreme foreshortening. Not to mention that getting down on the ground so I could work the tripod adjustments, focus, and exposure with the required focusing rail would be a significant pain.. :grin: Fun to consider, though likely not the way to go. Even the 45mm was a bit too wide to get what I was looking for.

The working distance and perspective afforded by the Summicron-R 90 are kind of telling me that, once finances permit, an XCD 80mm f/1.9 is likely my next lens. Perhaps next year if money doesn't fall out of the sky at me.

G
 

jng

Well-known member
Nice images, Godfrey! In my experience the 120/4 Makro-Planar works quite nicely with 21, 32 and 55mm extension tubes. CA is either marginal or easily corrected in post when dealing with hard edges. I typically stop down to f/11 and have been known to stack them as the situation warrants. :eek:

Keep 'em coming!

John
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Nice images, Godfrey! In my experience the 120/4 Makro-Planar works quite nicely with 21, 32 and 55mm extension tubes. CA is either marginal or easily corrected in post when dealing with hard edges. I typically stop down to f/11 and have been known to stack them as the situation warrants.

Keep 'em coming!

John
My XV Adapter is at Hasselblad now because the bayonet latch would not engage properly with the 21 and 55 mm extension tubes, or the Distagon 50mm f/4 lens either. Because the bayonet mount wouldn't lock the lens mount, I didn't feel comfortable trying the full lens+extension tubes setup on the XV Adapter with the 907x body, but it works fine on the 500CM body with the CFVII 50c back fitted.

Hopefully Hasselblad will correct the problem (or send me a replacement XV Adapter) within the next week or so.

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Is anyone here waiting for the 907x chrome version ? No rumors for delivery date ?
One or two people (either from this forum or elsewhere) have sent me notes asking about the standard model availability. One told me that a dealer or rep said the 907x Special Edition was sold out and no longer available to order (it was supposed to be a limited run from the get go).

I seem to recall a rumor I heard was that it should be available in March-April 2020, but then the pandemic happened. Somewhere I read another rumor a week ago that earliest expected dates now are end of Summer. But these are all just rumors, no one at Hasselblad is talking out loud.

My advice is to be patient. I think they're very aware how interested the marketplace is, based on my conversations with their service and marketing reps, but they don't want to say a date and then miss it.

G
 

jng

Well-known member
My XV Adapter is at Hasselblad now because the bayonet latch would not engage properly with the 21 and 55 mm extension tubes, or the Distagon 50mm f/4 lens either. Because the bayonet mount wouldn't lock the lens mount, I didn't feel comfortable trying the full lens+extension tubes setup on the XV Adapter with the 907x body, but it works fine on the 500CM body with the CFVII 50c back fitted.

Hopefully Hasselblad will correct the problem (or send me a replacement XV Adapter) within the next week or so.

G
Let us know how it goes with the adjustment. Locking some of my lenses into my XV adapter requires an extra ooomph to get them to lock in - I might get HB to look at mine as well if your experience goes smoothly.

John
 

tcdeveau

Well-known member
Is anyone here waiting for the 907x chrome version ? No rumors for delivery date ?
I was told by my dealer that HB told them the special edition was sold out as well.

I'm interested in the chrome version, but it all depends on pricing and availability....and if they ever get the 35-75mm XCD I ordered last summer to me. I heard a rumor 2-3 months ago that HB may be ready to launch the chrome edition in May but that's not looking terribly likely now.

They were supposed to announce pricing and availability of the chrome standard edition last fall...and now we're dealing with the pandemic. Unless they have a bunch of them assembled and boxed in a warehouse somewhere ready to ship, my guess is it will still be another few months before we see an announcement or any shipments. Of course I'd love to be proven wrong.

As Godfrey said, just hang in there and be patient....sometimes they do countdowns for announcements, sometimes they just slip announcements about new products in emails without warning.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Let us know how it goes with the adjustment. Locking some of my lenses into my XV adapter requires an extra ooomph to get them to lock in - I might get HB to look at mine as well if your experience goes smoothly.

John
I know it arrived there on Friday afternoon, I just received a notice from HB Service that they have it in their queue now. I should hear what their evaluation is in a day or so, I guess.

I tried hard to make it latch with the extension tubes and did some measurement on the latch with both the lens and tubes that didn't work as well as the ones that did. I believe the problem is the position of the bayonet stop on the XV Adapter tube ... it seems to be stopping the rotation of the lens about 0.1mm too soon. And across my four lenses and two extension tubes, 0.15mm seems to be the variation in size of the locking bit on that side of the bayonet mount.

That seems to me like a variance in the assembly of the adapter tube's flange components has pushed it out of spec: I think if the bayonet flange bolts on the adapter were just loosened a tiny bit and retightened after the extension tube I sent along with it is fitted, forcing the flange into the correct position, it would lock properly. But I'd rather let Hasselblad discover that and inform their QA folks about this problem.

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
...The XCD 21mm is far too wide to get an acceptably large image size. The 21mm lens focuses down to 12" from the sensor plane (about 6" from the front of the lens hood) and covers an area that is about 11x15 inches at that distance; the blossom is a three dimensional structure about 8" across and about 11" deep. ...
elm's question provoked me to do a test of the XCD 21mm at minimum focus. So I set the camera up on a tripod at minimum manual focus, looking at my office shelves, and included a tape measure to get a notion of how wide the coverage was. This frame was minimally processed in LR Classic, with the Lens Profile enabled


Hasselblad 907x + XCD 21mm f/4
ISO 200 @ f/8 @ 0.3 sec

Click on image for a half-resolution view.

The critical focus plane was on the eye/nose of the shark, it's just about exactly 6 inches from the front edge of the lens hood. You can see that, even at f/8, there's significant blurring of the Astroboy figure, just 2.5 inches behind the plane of focus. The hula dancer is pretty grimly treated by wide angle distortion all the way at the edge of the FoV there ... :D

And boy, do I need to dust those shelves! :)
 

jotloob

Subscriber Member
Hello Godfrey

I wonder why people who own at least one V-SYSTEM body would buy a V-LENS adapter for the 907x .

CFV II 50c + 907x + V-LENS adapter + lens = CFV II 50 c + 503CW + lens .

I was at this point a couple of times and found , that the adapter is only a tool for people owning V-System lenses but no V-SYSTEM body . This is of course very unlikely .

So I decided against the adapter and will use my beloved V-SYSTEM bodies instead .
The advantage is obvious . For focusing you can use a split screen + focus peaking while in case you use the adapter you only have focus peaking .
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Hello Godfrey

I wonder why people who own at least one V-SYSTEM body would buy a V-LENS adapter for the 907x .

CFV II 50c + 907x + V-LENS adapter + lens = CFV II 50 c + 503CW + lens .

I was at this point a couple of times and found , that the adapter is only a tool for people owning V-System lenses but no V-SYSTEM body . This is of course very unlikely .

So I decided against the adapter and will use my beloved V-SYSTEM bodies instead .
The advantage is obvious . For focusing you can use a split screen + focus peaking while in case you use the adapter you only have focus peaking .
If I may change your formula a little bit:

907x + CFV II 50c + XV Adapter + XH Bracket (Tripod Mount Ring) + V-system lens = 500 body + CFV II 50 c + V-system lens.

I can't answer for "people" but I can answer your implied query for me...

I thought the same way and didn't order the XV Adapter at first. However, what I found after doing extensive experimentation and testing with all my lenses and focusing screens is that the most practical and consistent way for me to obtain critical focus with ANY V-system lens on the SLR bodies is to put the body into 'dumb tube' mode and use the CFVII 50c back's Live View and electronic shutter. At which point, the XV Adapter tube is smaller, lighter, and with the tripod mounting ring becomes a handier piece of equipment to use.

It is not quite so simple as just "switch to the split screen focusing aid". I find I need different screens to aid focusing depending upon which lens I'm using for most consistent results. Also, the standard focusing magnifier in my (older) waist level finder does not provide as good a focusing environment as using the focusing magnifier chimney with the diopter adjustment eye piece ... I get a significant bump in the percentage of accurately focused images, shooting wide open, when I switch to the right focusing screen for the particular lens I'm using AND to the chimney magnifier together. Otherwise, most of the time I find I need to stop down two stops to obtain enough DoF and compensate for focusing inaccuracy.

Once I found out that the XH Bracket is also a perfect match to the XV Adapter*, that becomes a nice part of the system because it puts the tripod foot in a much better location to use with the V-system lenses AND it allows easier use of the CFVII 50c full native format since you can rotate the camera and lens in the tripod adapter for horizontal/vertical format photos as well, without needing an L-bracket.

* Someone here informed me, thank you again! I did actually find the info in one of the Hasselblad instruction manuals too—I think the X1D II manual says that in the accessory section.

That's why I modified your formula a little bit. :D

Having the adapter tube to use with the 907x body allows more consistent use of V-system and XCD series lenses together when shooting. Using the 500CM body with the CFVII 50c back instead of the adapter tube allows more fluid use of both film and digital capture together at the same time when shooting, limited to only V-system lenses. I pick what to carry depending upon what my goal for a particular shooting session might be.

G
 

elm

Member
Thank you Godfrey. I enjoy the photo you took with your 21mm and showing me how close you can get with it. Makes me miss the 903 SWC I sold to get my H3D II/31 years ago.

Many of us who uses Hasselblad cameras treat the equipment as a tool to get/create images. Thank you for sharing how you use your tools and the images you create. I am hoping I can get my hands on a 907x/CFV II 50c also. The 45/4 P makes it quite a nice compact package to travel with (like the SWC or xPan).

Keep sharing your images! Thank you. Be safe and be well!
 

mristuccia

Well-known member
Hi Godfrey,

I remember we discussed time ago about the problem of achieving precise focus with a digital back and the 500 body's focusing screens + lenses.
At that time you were pretty sure to get accurate focusing by using a 500 body and the just ordered CFV-50c II.

Now that you realised how hard it is, please bear with me if I ask again what I've asked at that time: having almost ruled out the 500 body, wouldn't it be easier to get an X1D with the XV adapter? Just asking why I'm considering the two options as well (currently owning of the first version of CFV-50c).

In the meantime, thanks for all your feedbacks about your new digital back.

Best,
Marco

If I may change your formula a little bit:

907x + CFV II 50c + XV Adapter + XH Bracket (Tripod Mount Ring) + V-system lens = 500 body + CFV II 50 c + V-system lens.

I can't answer for "people" but I can answer your implied query for me...

I thought the same way and didn't order the XV Adapter at first. However, what I found after doing extensive experimentation and testing with all my lenses and focusing screens is that the most practical and consistent way for me to obtain critical focus with ANY V-system lens on the SLR bodies is to put the body into 'dumb tube' mode and use the CFVII 50c back's Live View and electronic shutter. At which point, the XV Adapter tube is smaller, lighter, and with the tripod mounting ring becomes a handier piece of equipment to use.

It is not quite so simple as just "switch to the split screen focusing aid". I find I need different screens to aid focusing depending upon which lens I'm using for most consistent results. Also, the standard focusing magnifier in my (older) waist level finder does not provide as good a focusing environment as using the focusing magnifier chimney with the diopter adjustment eye piece ... I get a significant bump in the percentage of accurately focused images, shooting wide open, when I switch to the right focusing screen for the particular lens I'm using AND to the chimney magnifier together. Otherwise, most of the time I find I need to stop down two stops to obtain enough DoF and compensate for focusing inaccuracy.

Once I found out that the XH Bracket is also a perfect match to the XV Adapter*, that becomes a nice part of the system because it puts the tripod foot in a much better location to use with the V-system lenses AND it allows easier use of the CFVII 50c full native format since you can rotate the camera and lens in the tripod adapter for horizontal/vertical format photos as well, without needing an L-bracket.

* Someone here informed me, thank you again! I did actually find the info in one of the Hasselblad instruction manuals too—I think the X1D II manual says that in the accessory section.

That's why I modified your formula a little bit. :D

Having the adapter tube to use with the 907x body allows more consistent use of V-system and XCD series lenses together when shooting. Using the 500CM body with the CFVII 50c back instead of the adapter tube allows more fluid use of both film and digital capture together at the same time when shooting, limited to only V-system lenses. I pick what to carry depending upon what my goal for a particular shooting session might be.

G
 

jng

Well-known member
Having used a digital back extensively on my 501CM as well as the X1D, in my experience the main advantage of using the new CFV50 II on the 50x bodies vs the X1D/907x is the ability to use the leaf shutters. And that incomparable "thwack!" sound of the rear baffle barn doors opening and closing. Otherwise accurate focusing can be a real pain, especially in dim light, at least for my aging eyes. When bolted to a tripod and shooting subjects for which the electronic shutter is appropriate, IMHO the X1D/907x configuration is frankly the better (and saner) option. YMMV, of course.

John
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Hi Godfrey,

I remember we discussed time ago about the problem of achieving precise focus with a digital back and the 500 body's focusing screens + lenses.
At that time you were pretty sure to get accurate focusing by using a 500 body and the just ordered CFV-50c II.

Now that you realised how hard it is, please bear with me if I ask again what I've asked at that time: having almost ruled out the 500 body, wouldn't it be easier to get an X1D with the XV adapter? Just asking why I'm considering the two options as well (currently owning of the first version of CFV-50c).

In the meantime, thanks for all your feedbacks about your new digital back.

Best,
Marco
Marco,

I can get very accurate focus with the 500CM and CFVII 50c back. It just takes a bit more effort and is slower than using the CFVII 50c Live View feature. Using the adapter with the 907x body makes more sense to me for a lot of shooting.

I didn't order just a back. I ordered the 907x/CFVII 50c Special Edition, which includes back and body, and I also ordered both the XCD 21mm and XCD 45mm P lenses.

I like the form factor and use dynamics of the 907x since I like to shoot below eye level. That was one of my primary reasons for being more interested in the 907x over the X1D II. Add the fact that I can use the digital back with the 500CM and all my old lenses as well, and it's just a more versatile setup for me.

Of course, there's nothing to say that at some point I won't also purchase an X1D II body to add to the kit. It all depends on what it is I am trying to do photographically. :D

G
 
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