 Jagadeesh Andrew Owens |
$900 Hasselblad a Good Deal I posted the following question in the film based forum, but I know that many of you shoot this as well as digital, and this forum has more traffic! Please see below and advise: At the lab I use for printing, they've got a Hasselblad camera on consignment for $900. Here are the specs: Hasselblad w/ Prism Finder
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Kerry L. Walker |
If it is in good condition (no brassing, only slight dings or marks) and you can get a guarantee, that should be a fairly good deal. KEH is selling the same camera for a little more with the waist level finder. The prism finder, assuming the meter is in good working order, can add several hundred bucks to the price.
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Michael H. Cothran |
I have owned and used Hasselblads since 1972. At one time just a few short years ago, $900 would be a steal. Not quite so much anymore, as the prices on these prestigeous cameras has dropped drastically. Unfortunately, you don't give enough information to make an accurate assessment, as much depends on the age and condition. I recently purchased a much newer, and very mint, 501CM with an 80mm CF lens, plus a new style A12 back, for $850. I'm not so sure I would pay $900 for an older camera. Speaking of age, 500CM's were made from 1972 until 1994. You can tell the age by the alpha letters used in the serial number. The code is this - VHPICTURES, each letter represents a number from 1 to 0. For example, if your serial number has 'RH', it was made in 1982. These same codes are also used in your film back. Addressing the film back, check the serial numbers for the back AND the insert. They should match. FYI - Backs and inserts were/are hand-calibrated at the factory to provide maximum film flatness. Matching serial numbers verifies that the back and insert were calibrated for each other. Which 80mm lens do you have? The earliest version would be chrome (up to 1973), and is coated, but not multi-coated. Next came the same barrel style, but in a black version. The earliest of these (about 1973) were also not multi-coated, but by 1974, all became multi-coated. If the lens is multi-coated, you will see a red T* engraved on the front of the barrel. In the early 1980's, Zeiss redesigned all their lenses, adding an improved shutter. These lenses were designated as 'CF' lenses, and continued to the late 1990's. The newer the lens, the more desirable it would be.
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Jagadeesh Andrew Owens |
Thanks ya'll! I don't have any more info about the camera, I wrote down what the shop owner told me. I will print this out and take it back up there to check the specifications. But if you think I can do better I'll look around. This camera looks fine, but you can definitely tell it was used. The owner used to have a studio and it was his main camera from what the shop owner said. I'm gonna see if he'll let me take it and run some film through it to test it. Thanks for the help!
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Jagadeesh Andrew Owens |
Took the camera for a test drive and put a roll of film through it! THIS IS NOT THE CAMERA FOR ME!!! Ya'll can have it, the manual film thing, with my best wishes!! It looks like I'll just have to save up thirty thousand dollars for that new Hasselblad 39 MP, some terabyte memory cards, and an apple to handle them!!!! Thanks for all the great advice!!!!
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Slim Brady |
if you like expensive paperweights.
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Slim Brady |
a friend of mine bought one for $600 and the old man said it worked fine. So a couple of weeks later she used it and it kept jamming off and on. She took it back to the guy and he "said, was working fine for me, you must have dropped it". Nobody would give up a good one. She got stuck with a duck. So ask to take some shots with it and then have them developed before you agree.
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Oliver Anderson |
I have a mint condition set of Persimmon Wood Golf Clubs for sale to go with the camera.JK My father just passed in October and he was a very accomplished photographer(He took our Christmas photos each year) Anyways he swore by his Hasselblad and Leica equipment and his photos are amazing, my brother got the camera equipment priced out for the estate and it came to over $40K (should've seen my Mom's face when she heard) the guy said the move to Digital is so strong we'd be lucky to get $20K for it so my brothers using it all. Talk about a Royal Pain to use, but it does take amazing photos.
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Sharon Day |
"Ya'll can have it" I'm sure I don't want it! Thanks anyway :o)!
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Jagadeesh Andrew Owens |
You know, I actually considered buying the damn dinosaur to photograph!! Self portrait: me and the hasselblad, etc. LOL. It was aesthetically beautiful but I just ain't 'bout it!
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Justin G. |
Yeah you're right maybe you don't want it. Afterall MF film (not to mention LF and ULF) take perserverance, dedication, and passion. That's too bad.
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Justin G. |
LOL J/K guys!
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Kerry L. Walker |
Go ahead and buy it Sipho and send it to me. This old dinosaur could give that old dinosaur a good home!
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Slim Brady |
passion? LOL OMGWADMF
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Jagadeesh Andrew Owens |
We must think alike, Brady, because I knew what each of your letters meant!! LOL!!! Instantly!!! LOL!!
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Mark Feldstein |
I'm with Justin on this one. MFF [Medium format FILM] photographers (and LFF shooters too) have perserverence, dedication and passion)unlike digital shooters that have to adapt, improvise and overcome. LOL !!! Not kidding. Mark
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Jagadeesh Andrew Owens |
Hell, Mark, I'm rich! I don't have a problem with the price. I really didn't like the manual part. It was ALL manual!! I have astigmatism in my shootin' eye and can't stand to wear glasses when I shoot, so I really depend on autofocus in a lot of situations (except for macro, when I'm forced to manually focus). I also didn't like the FILM!! That's why I said I'm gonna get a digital Hasselblad. Or maybe a Mamiya.
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Oliver Anderson |
Jesus...if you're sooooo rich just hire someone to carry the equipment, set up the shot so all you do is walk up approve the shot and click the photo off....Kindof like how rich people go hunting and they sit the animal right in front of the hunter. On another note the H2D is great.
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Jagadeesh Andrew Owens |
Great idea Oliver! You may contact my secretary to set up a personal audience with me to discuss this idea further....
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Oliver Anderson |
Yeah...well its Friday and I'm on my 2nd Diet RockStar Energy Drink(sponsor mention) so the ideas are Flowinn...I'll give her a ring...so what does she look like first?
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Kerry L. Walker |
Sipho, your experience with the Hassie sounds like my recent experience fiddlin' with a friend's Rebel XT. Where's the shutter speed dial? Where's the aperature ring? What are all these symbols on this dial for? How do you set this thing? I am sure I could learn to use the thing after reading the manual but just give me any camera at least 20 years old and I can figure it out in a couple of minutes. That's what I like better about my Pentax 645N over my older manual focus 645. They went back to the dials rather than the buttons. I guess I'm just too old!
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Justin G. |
yeah it's not too hard to figure out what those letters mean. so brady where's your work? i'd really like to see some with all that equipment of yours. shoot just a single photo of your last wedding in paris and milan.
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Oliver Anderson |
Justin, hit me with an email, just got the release signed from the latest model.
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