Hasselblad 903SWC

I've been eyeballing this camera from afar since i was kid.The price of this camera put it into a love to have when i win the lottery bracket.but lo and behold i got a used one for a few bucks{$450}The wait was worth it-this camera is unreal in its simplicity and razor edged sharpness.my only gripe is that it's a heavy point and shoot camera{lol}-I LOVE this camera--enuf said.

simple,simple,simple

I'm becoming hunched backed with this camera dangling from my neck.

my first 6x6.Have been using wide angles lenses on nikon bodies.

have'nt reached this point yet.

It took some time to get used to guesstimate focusing but it isn't that hard really. I use a Contax G2 (which digitally displays the distance) for closer range shooting and for metering with great results. The Biogon is a great great lens and the vast depth of field is a great bonus. The Mamiya 43mm is actually a tad better (IMO) but the SWC is so much fun to shoot! And I really like the square format! And the optical quality is good enough, I am sure, for the most demanding work.

I am planning on getting the RMfx viewfinder for more accurate framing at close quarters but the camera does work quite well without it.

Though it is expensive for being a camera without a meter and/or a rangefinder I still hold this as a very very nice camera. Value rating is 4, because it´s bloody expensive.
Fun value is 5+ stars.
Lens performance is 4.80 stars (with the Mamiya7 43 being a 4.95 ;-) ) but overall I can't give it more than 4 as it is lacking a meter and rangefinder.

Quite small package

No rangefinder / focus confirmation at close range.
No built in meter.

Mamiya7 43mm lens

Great, but costly.

One can get drunk with a bottle of Chateau Laffite and also on anti freeze but the feeling is very different when doing so. i.e. Mamiya 7II and SWC....so I bought both.....just like a Modena 360 and a Corvette I suppose.....happy shooting. technically this lens is completely distortion free edge to edge...that's all I needed so nothing else to complaint....I know it is expensive but if you shots are sellable it will pay for itself over time.

Sharpness of course easy to use after a short accomdation period excellent built quality

None now with RMfx view finder and ability to use polaroid back and also don't forget a digital back.......think think

All Hasselbald lenses Rollei and Mamiya 7II

Never needed but I find them giving me excellent advise concerning peripherals

OK, I admit it, the new body with the new finder while great is expensive, but you don't have to go that route. Buy any of the SWC/M models with T* (mine is the CF version, but only because I couldn't find a used Compur version) for under $3,000 and trust me you will get used to the external bubble-level.

What you will not get used to is the extraordinary results. Color, B&W, 50 or 3200 ISO, shot from the hip or from the tripod, whatever you do (maybe not standard portrait - I'll give you that) the results will have you lifting your jaw off the floor. The sharpness is just breathtaking, and that nice large negative or transparency (use Velvia and the world will never have looked so good) will have you ordering 16x16 custom enlargements.

Now if I haven't quite convinced you and you are a B&W photographer, you can get a good non-T* outfit for well under $2,000. Many people, even some dealers will tell you that while there is a difference between T* and non-T* it is a difference without consequence. But you know if you are a color user you will always have that nagging doubt in the back of your mind, so spend the extra bucks and sleep easy at night.

A friend of mine is a serious amateur who recently purchased the Contax 645 auto-focus, a bunch of lenses, backs, etc. for around $10,000. After looking at my Velvia transparencies, she is rethinking her decision. She wanted auto-focus, but may now be willing to live without it. She wanted interchangable lenses, but is now willing to live without them. She wanted fancy metering and TTL flash, she is now willing to live without them. She wanted reflex viewing, she... well you get the idea.

Yes this is a camera which makes you think, but you know what, when you think you take better pictures. Gil Ghitelman (a great dealer, although I did not purchase this camera from him) once remarked to me that just like a Rollie TLR a person always regrets selling a SWC. Buy it, use it, you will have no regrets.

Now one final word about the bubble-level. The ergonomics of the new finder are clearly better, try both and compare for yourself. However, part of the beauty of the SWC, in all of its incarnations (see www.gilghitelman.com for a nice history) is the classic quality of its design - just like the Leica. The megaphone finder of the older version is simply more beautiful and quite possibly more durable - metal not plastic.

So, if you want fine photography without a lot of battery-powered automation getting in the way, get the SWC - no regrets.

Simply superb. Compact medium format with the finest ultra wide-angle lens. No distortion, no vignetting, no fuss, no bother. After a while even using the bubble-level becomes natural.

My Leica rangefinders (10 bodies M1-M6, 22 lenses including 3 21mm's) are just gathering dust - who would have thought.

Leicas with 21mm Super-Angulons and Aspheric.

Sticky shutter release but fixed easily and cheaply by Professional Camera Repair in NYC. The real beauty of this camera is that there is so little to go wrong.

If you can justify the expense buy one you won't regret it. If I had to keep just one bit of equipment the 903SWC would be it.

Incredible distortion free slides. However you can induce great special effect and dramatic type shots by tilting and creatively composing your subject, especially people. I use this camera primarily for creative portraits, interiors, and landscapes. Nothing comes close, and it's small and a joy to use.

When you purchase one they don't throw in a nice dinner!

Hassy 40mm

None yet.