The HasselbladFriday, December 22, 2006 | 3:32AM |
The thing about buying a new camera is that it’s important to do some thorough research. Originally, I had decided to buy one of the more modern Hasselblad 503 or 501 series bodies, along with one of the newer lenses. I estimated that I’d need $1200 to cover everything and that I’d hopefully have a metered prism as part of the package as well. The more I researched, I realized that the traditional 500 C/M body with an 80mm CF lens (both manufactured in the late 70s/early 80s) was more than enough camera for me.
After paying less than $800 for the whole outfit, I ended up with enough left over to buy a new, top of the line Sekonic light meter. I haven’t ordered the light meter, but there’s an incredibly cool program from Mamiya that allows students and educators to purchase certain photo equipment for nearly half price. The $700+ meter will now cost just over $400. And I think it’ll be the last light meter I’ll ever need.
I shot three rolls with it the other day, and I have to tell you, it’s a thing of beauty. The images turned out exactly as I had hoped. I have to admit something… I was started to become a little insecure, as I’d been using this old Rolleiflex for the past year or so, and I was 98% sure it had a focusing issue. (It’s a twin lens reflex camera, meaning one lens is for focusing and composing a picture, the other is for actually taking the picture. They have to be perfectly aligned to work right.) Even though I knew that I knew how to focus a camera, and it’s silly for me to think otherwise, I had this nagging thought at the back of my mind that I somehow couldn’t perform the most basic of tasks. The Hasselblad proved that wasn’t the case. Mental block removed!
Comments
Cool man, sounds like a swag setup.
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Justin | Saturday, December 23, 2006 | 9:07AM
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