Worth going for CFV50? Or new HD4 instead?

[saxo]

Hello,

I'm a newbe here and like to ask the experts some questions. I would appreciate, if you could share your experience.

1) I own a Hasselblad 2000 and a 203FE with 40 CFE IF, 60CF, 120 CFE, 250CF. I'm thinking about a 180 CFE. But the important question is whether a CFV 50 makes sense to me, or a change of the system, maybe H-system. I'm mainly using the Hassi for landscape and portrait.

2) In addition I often carry it in a rucksack, walking and climbing in the mountains. I like the build quality of the camera and the lenses. They are tough. I wonder whether the quality of the H system is good enough for this kind of photography.

Thanks a lot for any kind of advice!

Martin

[Greg]

In my opinion the H lenses are up to it.  However, sometimes you have a routine and have become used to your equipment.  For that reason the CFV 50 may make sense.  Especially so given your genre of photography as you have explained.  The auto focus for me is a big plus, though, and true focus is the icing on the cake.  I started out with the CFV16 and it worked very well for me and almost matched my shooting needs that I had developed with the 500 C/M that I had used for years.  But the upgrade offered by Hasselblad enticed me to trade up to the 60 and I love it.  Given a lot of my work is handheld it really makes more sense for me to have the 60, but I long for a CFV 50 which I cannot really justify at this point.  I guess the bottom line for my post is to tell you that you really can't go wrong with either choice.  And the sensor size on the 50 is physically larger and closer to 4.5X6 than the H4D40.  The real problem for you is that you have to rotate the camera to get a portrait view of the subject.  Finally it does not hurt that you have a full compliment of lenses already.

Greg  

[saxo]

Yes, you are right Greg, portrait is a problem with the cfv

All would be solved by a square format sensor of at least 50x50mm.

Why did I choose Hasselblad years ago?
Because of the splendid design, the build quality and especially the freedom the square format gave me. I could decide later on if I wonna go for landscape or protrait format or even stay at square format. Meanwhile many of my prints are square format. For book covers, calenders etc. where text has to placed in addition, square format is ideal. And the square format fits perfectly the image of the lens.

Leica has stayed to the M-system, 24x36mm Leica format, with great success. In medium format the 4,5x6 seems to be the end of the range. I believe a relaunche of a digital Hasselblad (like the 200er series, for automatic exposure), sqaure format sensor, 50x50mm or greater, the traditional cube design with a waist level finder would be a success.

Just my two cents.

Martin

[NickT]

I shot V system (6X6) for 20 years before moving to H system and haven't regretted the move. I loved my V system but I don't think it's up to the demands of digital. The H system AF is certainly better than my eyes and the lenses out perform the Zeiss ones. I do appreciate that you have an investment in V bodies and glass, maybe using the CF lense adaptor on an H body would be a good choice to smooth the transition?

Nick-T

[desertdiver]

I have been using the V-system and FCW2003 for almost two decades and decided to switch to the H-system back in the film era. Used the CF-lenses via adapter, added a P20 and later a P30+. Figured out that most of the lenses were no longer on par for the smaller pixels. Sold of all my old Hassi/Zeiss gear and built up an HC lens collection. Two years back I sold the Phase backs and moved on to an H4D50, which 'should' be now the final end destination ;-). The system is much more comfortable to use than all my previous equipment. While using the back on a Linhof camera as well (powered by image bank, MacBook or Quantum battery), I have to admit that a CFV-50 would be a bit more handy in this setup due to its integrated battery.

P.S. the look of the images taken with Zeiss glass is definitely different to the HC lens captures, which I missed for a while 

Cheers, Udo

[JV]

Two years back I sold the Phase backs and moved on to an H4D50, which 'should' be now the final end destination ;-).

Udo,

Slightly off topic but how did you find the move from P30+ to H4D-50?  

I am currently shooting H1/P30+ and thinking about upgrading to the H4D-40.

Thanks, Joris.

[desertdiver]

Joris,

I felt and still feel some kind of relieve. Why?

1) Now I do get sharp images.
2) The sensor rendering is much more to my liking. I find color rendering and white balancing are steps ahead of the H1/P30 combo. The interaction between back and Phocus software seems to be much better than P30/C1 combo.
3) I do like detail rendering of Phocus software better than that of C1 (I have been using C1 since version 3)
4) Making use of HTS1.5's potential (DAC correction) is possible only with complete Hasselblad combo, i.e. lens+body+back
5) and there is another point related to the P30+: it disappointed me from the first day compared to results captured with the P20. But that's just me.

Cheers, Udo

P.S. The only thing I do miss from time to time is its long time exposure capabilities (up to one hour)

Two years back I sold the Phase backs and moved on to an H4D50, which 'should' be now the final end destination ;-).

Udo,

Slightly off topic but how did you find the move from P30+ to H4D-50?  

I am currently shooting H1/P30+ and thinking about upgrading to the H4D-40.

Thanks, Joris.

[saxo]

I have been using the V-system and FCW2003 for almost two decades and decided to switch to the H-system back in the film era. Used the CF-lenses via adapter, added a P20 and later a P30+. Figured out that most of the lenses were no longer on par for the smaller pixels. Sold of all my old Hassi/Zeiss gear and built up an HC lens collection. Two years back I sold the Phase backs and moved on to an H4D50, which 'should' be now the final end destination ;-). The system is much more comfortable to use than all my previous equipment. While using the back on a Linhof camera as well (powered by image bank, MacBook or Quantum battery), I have to admit that a CFV-50 would be a bit more handy in this setup due to its integrated battery.

P.S. the look of the images taken with Zeiss glass is definitely different to the HC lens captures, which I missed for a while 

Hi Udo,

thanks for sharing your experience! Do you get any focus confirmation when adapting Zeiss lenses to the H-body? I assume the finder of the H-system is not made for manual focusing.

My impression is, that the Zeiss lenses are capable to deliver great results with film, even with the high resolution Rollei ATP 1.1 film (successor of the Kodak TEchnical Pan) or SPUR Othopan. They give a resolution of up to 600lp/mm, which is clearly above lens diffraction. Zeiss achieved up to 200lp/mm with Hasselblad lenses. Comparable results to 65MPx sensors have been reported. I have no own experience, but these reports gives me hope for good results in terms of resolution combined with the lovely look made by Zeiss lenses.

Cheers
Martin

[desertdiver]

Hi Martin,

yes, there is focus confirmation in the H-viewfinder. I recommend downloading the CF-adapter's manual at Hasselblad's website under download/manual/H-system. So you'll get a full picture of its capabilities.

Cheers,
Udo

[Tinker]

I'm a bit late in joining in on this discussion, so for what it's worth...
I used to shoot 35 DSLR till about a year ago when I suddenly felt the urge to go 'back' to 6*6 which I also did when at school a life time ago.
I started with a second hand H1 with Imacon back but couldn't get used to carrying a camera and a (small) mainframe to store the pics.
After some serious discussions with the wife, I sold the H1 plus lenses and went for the CFV50 in combination with a 503CW.
In short: I wish I'd done this years ago! It brought back everything that I now remember from the time I had a Zenza Bronica. Whenever I go out on a shooting, I usually return with only a handful of pics, but compared to everything else I tried over the years, this combination give me so much satisfaction, both in quality as well as in working out in the field !
Re your question: Quality wise you probably can't go wrong with either option; it's really down to what you expect and the usage you have in mind. Bear in mind that an H is a different experience than a 5xx; not only the because of the tech specs / options, but especiallly the feel / emotion in working is totally different.
Hope this helps,
Erik