Actually Using The Hasselblad 500C/M

[Dave Colangelo]

A new job has been consuming pretty much all my time but I did manage to get out and do a bit more shooting this summer. I was messing with some other cameras but the blad was always near by. Not nearly as much as summer's past but some nice shots none the less. I have a roll in it now form a recent event that has a few exposures left then ill get it up.

There is, however a new 500mm adventure brewing....

 

[Dave Colangelo]

I finally developed a roll from a few weeks back that I shot on the 500CM and I am quite pleased all in all. The 12 images are the last 12 in this album but the best one over all was this one,

The most important development as of late has been my home processing. This helped extract the next level of quality from the camera I simply was not getting from the lab. While the lab did great work I am able to simply try more things at home and get far more consistent results. Scanning at home has been both a huge benefit and a bit of a curse. My local lab did a great job keeping everything dust free and doing it quickly. At home I wrestle with dust all the time but have the luxury of scanning at a way higher quality then what my lab delivers.


Dave

 

[jcdeboever]

I finally developed a roll from a few weeks back that I shot on the 500CM and I am quite pleased all in all. The 12 images are the last 12 in this album but the best one over all was this one,

View attachment 150504

The most important development as of late has been my home processing. This helped extract the next level of quality from the camera I simply was not getting from the lab. While the lab did great work I am able to simply try more things at home and get far more consistent results. Scanning at home has been both a huge benefit and a bit of a curse. My local lab did a great job keeping everything dust free and doing it quickly. At home I wrestle with dust all the time but have the luxury of scanning at a way higher quality then what my lab delivers.


Dave

Nice album. I like developing but scanning is a pain for me. What scanner did you end up getting?

 

[TCampbell]

When I worked for a studio doing weddings (~30 years ago) I used a Hasselblad 500 C/M. I really enjoyed working with that camera. But in particular I enjoyed that I could enlarge prints quite aggressively and they'd still look fantastic (as compared to my 35mm SLR where you'd start to notice more softness if enlarging a print too much.)

I noticed you have the focusing lever clamped so the lever is on the left. I put it on the right ... same side as the winder and shutter button. This let me quick-focus the camera with my right index finger & thumb operating the lever... and the 'ring' finger of my right hand was on the shutter button. It made very easy and efficient to focus and shoot -- my left hand was supporting the camera (my camera was on a flash-bracket with the flash about 2' above the lens to avoid red-eye ... which we couldn't digitally fix back on those days.)

The stock winder was swapped for one that had a nicer crank.

We also had the optional 45º pentaprism viewfinder ... which also had a built-in light meter -- rather than the stock finder.

I love the shots and you're showing off the differences between the Ektar (punchy saturated colors) vs. Portra (moderately subdued color). We used to shoot with Kodak VPS (VPS = Vericolor Professional Type S) for the weddings because the moderately subdued/gentle color tones were particularly beautiful for wedding photography. Kodak no longer makes VPS... Portra is about as close as you can get to it.)

As for developing your own B&W... I would encourage that. It can be difficult to learn to load the first roll of film in a dark bag and you can't see how you're doing. The tip I was given back when I learned ... just waste a roll on purpose. Take a roll you don't plan to shoot, and learn to wind it onto the spool in good lighting so you can see what you're doing. Practice that a few times. Then take the same roll and put it in the dark-bag and practice it a few more times so you get the feel for it without having to see it (and knowing you can open the bag if you're not sure it's working right).

After just a handful of practice runs, you'll have the confidence to take an exposed roll (something you care about) and know you can comfortably wind it onto the spool without needing to see it.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Nice album. I like developing but scanning is a pain for me. What scanner did you end up getting?

I ended up going for the V800 and have been super happy I did. Although not all that often I do on occasion shoot 4x5 for a lot of the epson's that have only the center part backlit were not really an option. I had looked at some of the various others that are not flat bed as well but I shoot a bunch of formats so flat bed was the only real option. I also have been asked to help out on a size-able scanning/archival project which led to the purchase in the first place. Most of the more recent stuff I have posted was scanned at home and the results have been really nice. The dust is frustrating but since it costs me nothing but time I dont really mind it, the local labs charge somewhere in the range of $10 a scan for 4x5 negs and about the same for scans of a roll of film (if they do the processing) so its already been well worth it. If you are in the market I highly recomend it.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

I noticed you have the focusing lever clamped so the lever is on the left. I put it on the right ... same side as the winder and shutter button. This let me quick-focus the camera with my right index finger & thumb operating the lever... and the 'ring' finger of my right hand was on the shutter button. It made very easy and efficient to focus and shoot

I have since removed the helper as I found it just got in the way. One of the main problems I always found with it is that the 80mm has about 340 degrees of rotation on the focus ring and if the little handle is not placed in a fairly specific orientation it hits the trigger button on rotation.

The stock winder was swapped for one that had a nicer crank.

I have since put this on as well

We also had the optional 45º pentaprism viewfinder ... which also had a built-in light meter -- rather than the stock finder.

I was lucky to find mine with the metered 45 prism, the un metered 45º and the chimney finder. Generally I keep the waist level on for portability and I really like the chimney finder for landscape work. One thing I dont love about the 45º finders is the lack of magnifier option that the waist level finder has.

As for developing your own B&W... I would encourage that. It can be difficult to learn to load the first roll of film in a dark bag and you can't see how you're doing. The tip I was given back when I learned ... just waste a roll on purpose. Take a roll you don't plan to shoot, and learn to wind it onto the spool in good lighting so you can see what you're doing. Practice that a few times. Then take the same roll and put it in the dark-bag and practice it a few more times so you get the feel for it without having to see it (and knowing you can open the bag if you're not sure it's working right).

After just a handful of practice runs, you'll have the confidence to take an exposed roll (something you care about) and know you can comfortably wind it onto the spool without needing to see it.

I wasted a few blank rolls on loading... As part of this whole endeavor I have also taken to dark room printing (my local lab dumped a lot of stuff and let me have it) so that has been quite a bit of fun as well. I have been sticking mostly to the ilford stuff and really been happy with the results but I would like to mess around with some of the other chemistry and film options. I have done a bit of Rodinal work with a buddy locally and have liked it as well. Eventually Ill get around to trying some of the kodak stuff more seriously.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

So its been a while since i have done anything substantive with the 'blad. The bad weather and my new job has kept me busy and inside. I picked up a studio strobe to start messing around with portraiture but like much of my gear its gotten a bit of use and is just hanging out right now. I have a trip coming up and the 'blad is coming with me! so it will be getting some use quite soon. On any note I was on mousing through the bay the other night looking for backs (and losing out to people on "lot of hasselblad items") but I was able to spend a whooping $7 combined on two pretty neat additions to the collection

The 4th addition is even signed by Ernst him self,

Regards
Dave

 

[ac12]

I wish I could get out with mine half as much as you did.
Too many distractions.

At least you did not make the mistake that I did.
I sent a roll in, and when it came back, it was BLANK.
The shop owner and I puzzled over it for a long time. The only thing we could think of was that, I must have loaded the film 'backwards,' with the PAPER toward the lens, not the film. IOW, I loaded the insert like it was a TLR. duh . . . . RTFM and pay attention !
I learned my lesson and did not make that mistake again.

What developing reel/tank are you using?
I use a 40 year old Nikkor stainless steel reel/tank.
The first time I loaded 120, I was in a photo store and the manager gave me a dummy roll to try. And I 'got it' on the first try
All those YEARS of loading 35mm film onto ss reels came back in a flash.
I did not have the film flexing problem that some people complain about with 120 film, with that dummy roll nor Ilford Delta 100 that I use.

BTW, I LIKE your case. It is very well organized. I should do something similar, maybe using a garage sale 4" briefcase or an overnighter as a base.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

What developing reel/tank are you using?

I use a few different ones. I have a stainless steel nikkor tank and real as well, that gets the least use as I dont love how you need to curl the film a bit to get it into the initial clip I have accidentally kinked the film in the process at least once doing this. For the most part I use a paterson tank with the large fin style reel. They make two reels and one has substantially larger feeder fins which I find really helps with the 120 rolls. You can see the difference here.

As for the case it is an original hasselblad one and the compartments fit the V series stuff nicely. Heres a pretty cheap one for sale on the bay if you want a bit more space this one is almost identical to the one I have and is even less than I paid for mine. Interestingly I have seen a lot of cases out there for sale and they all seem to be arranged differently, I cant find much documentation on them either which makes them a kinda cool, unique accessory. Fair warning on the cases, they are made of wood and very heavy, I use it primarily for storage of the camera at home, when I move it around its in a well padded bag of some sort.

 

[ac12]

Dave,
I do NOT use the clip in the middle of the reel.
In my experience, with 35mm film, the clip creates more problems than it fixes.
With the clip, the film has to be absolutely centered when you clip it. If the film is not properly centered, the film will start to wind crooked and you will kink the edge of the film.
I slide the film into the middle of the 4 center wires where the clip is, and just hold it there with one finger as I start to turn the reel. This way the film is free to self-center, and does not kink. It takes a little practice to get it.

WOOD. You are right, it would be heavy. I think I will pass, instead try to make one out of a lighter fiberglass briefcase or over-nighter suitcase. But the pre-made dividers are nice.

 

[Ysarex]

Dave,
I do NOT use the clip in the middle of the reel.
In my experience, with 35mm film, the clip creates more problems than it fixes.
With the clip, the film has to be absolutely centered when you clip it. If the film is not properly centered, the film will start to wind crooked and you will kink the edge of the film.
I slide the film into the middle of the 4 center wires where the clip is, and just hold it there with one finger as I start to turn the reel. This way the film is free to self-center, and does not kink. It takes a little practice to get it.

WOOD. You are right, it would be heavy. I think I will pass, instead try to make one out of a lighter fiberglass briefcase or over-nighter suitcase. But the pre-made dividers are nice.

Buy it once, get it right, problem solved: Hewes 35mm reel

Joe

 

[ac12]

Hewes idea is good, but did not exist back in the 1970s, as far as I know. Had it been there, I might have used it for 35mm film. Instead I bought Honeywell/Nikkor tanks and reels.
As I understand, the Hewes clip hooks into the sprocket holes of 35mm film, so that would not work for 120 film, which has no sprocket holes. In fact the Hewes 120 reel uses a spring clip similar to the type that creates kinking problems on 35mm reels, if the film is not centered properly.
Hewes 120 Stainless Steel Developing Reel HW120 B&H Photo Video

 

[AlanKlein]

Nice shots including the scans. How do you like the ball head. I use a pan tilt head with my RB67 so you can pan it without it slipping off the axis and going un-level. Do you find that happening with the ball head?

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Nice shots including the scans. How do you like the ball head. I use a pan tilt head with my RB67 so you can pan it without it slipping off the axis and going un-level. Do you find that happening with the ball head?

I quite like the ball head, my current one is perhaps a bit small for the 'blad and Im looking to upgrade but on any note. I dont find a lot of axis issues, generally speaking running anything but the 80mm on the 'Blad system makes it a bit forward heavy so the only direction the camera is really gonna slip is forward. My ball head is a bit undersized for a system camera and I know a properly sized one would solve the small slipping issues I have. Since its my go-to tripod I really like ball heads for wildlife stuff (usually a tele on a nikon D3300) as you can adjust the drag to the point where it will hold the camera when you take pressure off but still allow a lot of movement. I have shot with tilt/pan heads for video stuff before and I'd say they are just different. The really nice thing is you can make all your adjustments just by easing the tension I find this prevents the fidgeting I once did on a tilt/pan style head. Also most ball heads have a pan on the base so you can flat pan once you adjust your horizon which is pretty nice.

 

[AlanKlein]

Interesting. I might look into them. Thanks.