Build Quality Simplicity Lenses Small Size Lightweight

None

This is an excellent camera that is rightly dubbed by Hasselblad as the last first camera you will buy. I got lucky and found a 501CM kit on ebay that was barely used. It came with an 80mm CB lens and A12 back and older 45 degree prism. I never used the prism so I sold it and got another A12 back. Considering the amount and quality of craftmanship that goes into each camera and lens, I think the this camera is worth every penny. Hasselblad quality is second to none. Every piece of accessory or part is of first rate quality. I have used other Japanese made medium format cameras and although they can provide similar results, they are not as well made. Some say Hasselblads jam a lot, I've never had one. Just make sure you the body/lens are cocked before attaching/detaching them and you should have no problems. The simplicity of the camera makes it very easy to use. No buttons or cryptic icons to deal with like Mamiyas have on their cameras. The quality of Zeiss lenses are simply outstanding. Sure Japanese lenses are sharp but I find Hasselblad lenses give a much more realistic contrast rendition. I find Japanese lenses are over saturated and too high contrast. Zeiss lenses are sharp and contrasty with beautiful midtones.

Customer Service

Excellent,in Canada and Sweden

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya 645 Pro, RB67, Mamiya 6, Bronica SQAi

You can count on it working in all type of weather and tempeture conditions.

None

The end reults of images is second to none. The lack of battery power is a plus. The camera does not break down. It also lets your customers know you are very serious about your craft.

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

Pentex 645 and 645N

The optics on this camera system are super! The camera has a nice weight to it, such that it feels "right" in the hand. Also, it has interchangeable backs, so that you can switch from color to B&W while you are taking your pictures. Large number of lenses available.

The image in the view finder is flipped left to right, which takes a little getting used to. This can be overcome by getting a prism, which will correct the image's position so that it matches what you are seeing. The cost of the Hasselblad camera/lenses/gear is expensive, but not out of line with it's competition. However, you can be sure that the Hasselblad equipment in the future will work with your system, so you won't have to re-purchase anything.

For those wondering if medium format is worth it, it is! I've been continually amazed by the quality of my photographs since I jumped from 35mm to medium format. I DID pay alot more to make this jump, but the pictures have been super. The optics are fantastic, the larger negative allows much greater nuances in the B&W values, and the picture quality when you enlarge is second to none.

There are a number of reasons why I chose Hasselblad, and it was not an easy decision. My decision criteria were cost, portability, quality, feel and range of uses. Based on cost, I examined the Pentax. It had great reviews, a large amount of lenses, and was the cheapest of the bunch. I played with it at the camera store and found that it didn't feel right to me; it had a very SLR feel to it. However, it wasn't out of the running.

I then tried the Mamiya RZ-7, which was (at least in my mind) equivalent to the Hasselblad in terms of operation, quality, and range of uses. As soon as I picked it up, I knew this wasn't the camera for me. Boy, was it heavy. I couldn't imagine carrying this around all day; it was definately made for tripod and studio work.

I then tried the Mamiya 7 rangefinder. It is great! It is light, portable, has a wide variety of lenses. It would be absolutely perfect for travel photography.

It was a tough choice, but what won me over to the Hasselblad was the ability to switch backs (because I do shoot color and B&W), it had a nice, even feel in the hand, it wasn't too heavy (it was heavier than the Mamiya 7, but significantly lighter than the Mamiya RB-7), there are tons of lenses available, and financially speaking, it has held it's value over time.

The decision on cost became moot, when the decision came down to the Mamiya 7 kit and the Hasselblad 501CM kit, because they were both approximately the same.

Customer Service

Haven't required it.

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya RZ-7, Mamiya 7, Pentax 645.

Great entry-level medium-format camera. No need to worry about batterylife. The camera is build to last a lifetime (maybe longer). Very expandable and compatibility with other models. The kit comes with a CB-80 mm. lens which may not be as good as the CF-range but for now I haven't been able to spot a difference between the two lenses.

A bit pricy for a mechanical camera, but in the end it's worth it.

A great entry to a huge camera-system. You just know you can rely on the camera.

Customer Service

Spare parts are expensive.

Similar Products Used:

Used a 503CW at school and own a Bronica C-model from 1965 which still works perfect

Lenses ( GREAT ), quiet, very fast ( for a manual ), no batteries ( the prism has for meter but the camera works manually )

None

Great camera, great but unfortunately a little slow lenses for existing light B/W - 20x series has faster lenses but what a price!!

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Rolleiflex 6xxx, twin lenses also Leica M/R, Contax, Canon and Nikon for 35mm

Beautifull pics. In additon to the adavntages mentioned in the previous reviews, I feel the coating in this lenses create an optimum contrast range. I shoot 4x5 also, and even though my LF negs are sharper, the quality of contrast is not as beautiful as the negs from the blad.

none that I have seen so far...

for beautiful easy to print negs....you cant go wrong with this camera.

Customer Service

Ecxellent, I had a film back break on me, I brought it back to the store I bought it, they sent it to Hasselblad, and it was back in 10 working days, functioning perfectly...

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya 7, Rollei 6003,
Pentax

The beautiful 'oldfashioned' mechanics, - like a Morgan car.

Reliable for 30 years!

Tremenously sharp pictures; beats anything your friends or neighbours might come up with.

Fairly simple design.

Camera brand backed up by a small managment owned firm 'fighting like hell' to keep costs down, quality up and keeping up with these chenging times...

Costs 'a lot of money', but is cheap compared to most other cameras i know. - Just check.

Very cheap taken into considderation that it is practically a hand made camera.

Fair and square price policy; you pay the same price all over the world; what it costs.

Light weight; I did not discover this before I ot my EOS# with booster in the house, - this gave my old Hasselblad it's new spring.

Produces fantastic B/W pictues, and slides! Must be seen!

Secondary shutter must be kept open at shutter speed longer than 1/8.

Film magasins starts leaking light after aprox. 30 years of use, - though cheap and fast to remedy.

Dust collects between lense elements after about 25 years. - Does not seem to have little or no effect on picture quality, though.

Acward format when you go into an ordinary photo shop and demands paper copies of your negative film; what you'l get as standard is 9x9 cm. What a flop!

Demands pro-lab-folllow-up which can blow you pictures up to at least 20x20 cm. Then!

No built in light meter.

Several of the older prism meters demands special calibration when shifting lense from 80mm to 250 mm which gives vignetting in the viewfinder on the old 500C/M. Possibly not so on 501C

I visited the factory, the other day. It is located in a small town house down by the Harbour of Gothenburg. Reminds me of being showed around at the Morgan factory at Mavern Link, Britain.

Much handwork, processed slowly, but meticulously and checked at modern digital machines, checking tolerances etc. Quiet. An extraordinary experience!

And the managment; thoughtful, reserved and conservative, but well aware of 'what's happending' on the digital front. Very conserned about 'keeping cost down', through this, making the product available to those who wants and needs it. Far, far from the jittery atmosfare of Canon or Nikon, who seems more conserned about the stock price of their shares. This camera deserves to be bought by us consumers!

Lenses are being produced at Carl Zeiss in Germany, though,- very much in the same line as at the Hasselblad works in Gothenburg.

It was pleasing to see the place where my camera was produced some 30 years ago. Because my example is a 500C/M, - the old version.

This simplest version of the Hasselblad and a hand held light meter is all you need to take sharp pictures. Your friends can come up with whatever it is; Nikon, Minolta or Canon, - you will beat them down in their boots with your crystal sharp, colour balanced, and three times blown up copies.
Mostly this stems from the large negative, but Carl Zeiss makes some of the sharpest lenses that can be bought. Only seldome do Nikon or Canon reach these levels, - and then they cost more than a Hasselblad/Carl Zeiss lense. Most often a lot more. Is Hasselblad expensive? I don't think so. It most likely is dirt cheap.

Typically, a Hasselblad works in all kinds of climate, in all kinds of situations, and produces excellent pictures. It's light weight compared to 'serious pro-cameras' like the Nikon F5 or EOS3/1v. There is ample volume of details in the second hand market; lenses, bellows, prismfinders etc. All rock solid, or reparable for a song.

Cost of paper copies, slides and slides projectors are forbidding, though. When you cross the boarder to 'middle format', you are 'on your own' as a photo consumer. Befriend a owner of a mini-lab with the right frames for you negatives and ask him to put 'a little more effort' in your pictures and it might not be so bad.

Customer Service

Available, fast and relatively inexpensive compared to Nikon, Canon etc.

Similar Products Used:

Mamia 645
Canon, Nikon etc. etc.

Great feel, really light compared to almost any pro level SLR, 35mm or MF, really sharp.

Expensive, I bought a full kit under the student plan, and still spent a lot of cash, lenses jam up some times, not quite as tough as some Mamiya stuff.

I really love this camera, I had to debate a lot between this camera and the Mamiya RZ. The RZ is a great camera too, and really just lost because of the weight and size. It really is twice as big and heavy as this camera. This is actually lighter than my fully setup Nikon F100 by a good bit. I really like that I can just run out with some film and my meter and shoot, not having to worry about anything. Overall though I just really like the way this camera works with me. It's just very well tuned to the way I do things. And with the student plan, even though it's still pricey, I was able to pick up a 501 CM, a PM45, an 80cfe, an A12 back, and a polaroid back, and save around $1200 with the financing charges. Still expensive, but a great deal.

Customer Service

haven't used it yet

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya M645, RZ67, Blad 503CW

Those lovely big 6x6 negatives.
Quality of big enlargements leaps out at you.
The camera is a pleasure to use - it encourages you to get out there and take pictures.
Holds its value. If you decide Hasselblads aren't for you and decide to sell, you're unlikely to lose money on the deal.

Can't get away from the fact that lenses & accessories are frighteningly expensive if purchased new.

This is the first medium format camera I've owned. Having used Bronicas and Mamiyas at college, I decided to go with Hasselblad for a number of reasons. First, as a step up from 35mm, the 645 format didn't excite me - the difference in neg size didn't seem worth the effort. Secondly, I love the square neg. I do a lot of location portraits and the square format works perfectly - plenty of room for environmental features to tell you something about the subject. Also, people are so used to seeing rectangular images from 35mm that you've got their attention right away with a square image.
Third, we get a good student discount on Hasselblads and that made the purchase of my 'camera for life' a little bit less financially damaging. I've added a couple of secondhand lenses and that should keep me going for the forseeable future.

I've been surprised at how compact a moderate sized Hasselblad system can be. I can fit a body, 50mm,80mm and 150mm lenses and a Metz flash into a smallish Billingham bag and I've started to take the camera out with me more and more. It's a mistake to think of Hasselblads as studio only or landscape-with-a-tripod cameras (though they do both very well) as it's perfectly possible to do hand held location and event work. I recently left my Nikon at home and took my 501CM to a political rally I was covering. Instead of the 72 shots or more I would probably have fired off with the 35mm I took two rolls (24 shots) on the Hasselblad. That means that on average I took roughly 3 times as long thinking about each shot and it really does show in the results!! It does take more effort and commitment to get results from the system but it's worth it in the long run. There are still plenty of situations where only my Nikon, with its autofocus, zoom lenses etc. will do the job, but I'm going to continue to try and expand the range of uses for the Hasselblad.
The simplicity of the camera is a big plus for me. No flashing lights in the viewfinder, no need to worry about whether the camera is set to the right mode, no need to agonise over whether to shoot in portrait or landscape format etc. Which leaves more time to think about composition and the right moment to fire the shutter.

Overall, this is not a camera for everybody. But if you're prepared to slow down a bit and think about the basics of exposure and composition, a 501 with a couple of lenses and a handheld meter will deliver results that make the effort all worth while.

Customer Service

Not tried

Similar Products Used:

Bronica ETRSi
Mamiya 645

Solid built, compact size, Zeiss lens, bright viewfinder.

expensive accesories. The camera kit is more reasonable priced.

This is my first Medium format camera, and I love it. I have used 35 mm cameras for
past 10 years, but this camera surprised me the most. It is not a high tech machine like my Nikon or Contax, but strong in basics. The camera provides perfect fundamentals to support your imaginations. slow down, get the best frame of view and make the picture you want. This may not be 100% true, but this camera is for people concentrate on quality of image, it may not satisfy someone shoots action photos only. Price, it is not that bad. Hasselbad people need to be appreciated.

Customer Service

good. I called for some info on the
present promotions. treated nicely

Similar Products Used:

35mm cameras.