Advice of buying used - H3DII-39 vs H4D31

[iezhy]

Hello all,

its my first post on this forum, so please bear with me for possible layman's questions

at this point I'm thinking of purchasing used digital Hasselblad - either H3DII39 or H4D31 - these are the options affordable with my budget (an standard 80mm lens)
I use to shoot with H4D40 at some point, and expect that H4D31 will be same, just less pixels

H3D39-2 has bigger sensor, but no true focus, also its much older

what would be your advice, considering price would be approx the same?
also, any general hints on buying used hasselblad (probably online, due to my location) would be welcome as well

[DavidH]

The main difference between the 31 and the 39 is the classic battle of resolution versus ISO. The 31 has microlenses and about a extra stop of ISO while the 39 will perform better on large prints. Both the H3DII and H4D have the larger rear displays that earlier models didn't have. The 39 will give a wider angled view with the same lens due to larger sensor size.

If True Focus is an issue for you... you might want the use the "studio" profile on the H3DII and use the "user button" for focus or you can set this within the menu (this button works very well).

With either choice check the body activation count, general condition, CLEAN ALL THE GOLD CONTACTS, and ensure that you are getting the latest firmware or find out how to update on your own (you need to have a Firewire with sufficient power to complete the firmware upgrade i.e the Firewire should have enough power to start up a camera that is powered down). Hasselblad does occasionally update their firmware. without the latest firmware you might have problems with UDMA 7 cards, newer batteries and products.

They are tough cameras (I've used mine at 40 below) but the exterior body finish does scratch... so be careful with them in the camera bag.

[Domip]

Why not a H5D-40? Cheap and up to date(r)...

[iezhy]

The 31 has microlenses and about a extra stop of ISO while the 39 will perform better on large prints.

do microlenses affect image sharpness or only max ISO? I usually shoot at 100, but I'm skill hooked on that razor sharp image at 100% with every single hair clairly distinguishable

If True Focus is an issue for you... you might want the use the "studio" profile on the H3DII and use the "user button" for focus or you can set this within the menu (this button works very well).

I did not know that - will definitely investigate if i get my hands on h3d

Why not a H5D-40? Cheap and up to date(r)...

I'd like to, but its way too big for my budget - from what i saw its 50%-100% more expensive

[DavidH]

My understanding is that the 31mp sensor microlenses improve light gathering ability (i.e. high ISO performance) not sharpness. On the other hand, if 100 ISO is your "home" ISO maybe the 39 is for you as the difference will be visible in your large photos or post crops.

BTW... I use the back button focus (studio mode) most the time on my H4D50 instead of true focus because it's bit faster... as I need every advantage I can get

Lots to think about.

Hope that helps.

David

[iezhy]

BTW... I use the back button focus (studio mode) most the time on my H4D50 instead of true focus because it's bit faster... as I need every advantage I can get

Thanks for the tip. I didnt have a chance to use studio mode, so not sure how it works, but i lived tru focus at it allows to shoot handhelt comfortably - and i prefer handeld as it allows to connect with models better

[DavidH]

With the H3D and H4D bodies you have 4 built in profiles plus 4 spare profiles that you can set yourself. One of those built in settings is "studio". You will see it by quickly pressing the startup button (when the camera is on and awake).  Other built in profile modes include default, full auto, fill flash. The studio mode sets the camera to manual exposure and the auto focus is assigned to a button like the "user" button on the H3D or "AE-L" on the H4D or you can assign to other buttons like mirror up, stop down, etc. on either body.

So studio mode is great for hand held just point the viewfinder AF point at the subjects eyes press the assigned AF button then recompose and take pictures until you or the subject moves then repeat the AF button if necessary. In this mode you can still use True Focus on the H4D if you want.

I like the studio mode so much I created auto exposure mode version and saved it to one of my spare profile settings. Another profile I've saved is for HDR to reduce the number of menu steps.