So who buys Hasselblads anyways?

[Iron Flatline]

I was slightly under the impression that Hassys, like Leicas, were more about bragging rights. I thought they had close to the same features as a D3 or a MK III, but that you were paying for the name.

How can a Hasselblad be about bragging rights, if you never see one around?

There are a LOT of Medium Format photographers out there, virtually none of them hobbyists. There's a lot of reason to stay with a system, beginning with an investment in lenses, an existent intuitive understanding of how to use it, workflow, and a relationship with the manufacturer.

Every campaign for perfume, cars, fashion, etc spend hundreds of thousands on the shoot alone - from wardrobe to crew through insurance. A photographer is going to use the gear s/he knows. For example, until recently you needed a dMF to shoot tethered - thus giving the Art Director (and the client) an instant look at the shoot. And should that camera break in the middle of the shoot, Hasselblad (or Sinar or Phase or Leaf or any of the other MF manufacturers) will make damn sure the rep drives a replacement over to your studio AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. (If you're on location in the sticks obviously you'll bring redundant gear.)

If you start thinking of cameras as professional or creative tools rather than what a particular brand says about the owner, you might stop getting a chubby everytime you look at gear magazines.

Just a thought.

 

[Mike_E]

A buddy of mine who is not a pro-photographer, he has a Hasselblad, the photo's he takes are impressive and the quality is remarkable, it's the image details that are mesmerizing. When I asked him if he had thought about going digital he said he could get the digital back (whatever that is) for about 10k (crazy!)....But he said he wouldn't do it because he could spot the difference in image quality and he simply liked film photography as it was a dying artform.

I keep begging him to let me borrow it or let me come over and play, LOL

You could buy a Yashica MAT 124 with a Yashinon lens, shoot it at f/8 or f/16 and get your fix that way. More limited but very hard to tell the difference with what you would be doing. Don't bother with the 124G as the G is the same as the 124 except it has a gold meter contacts (the meter isn't all that anyway) and a plastic winding gear as opposed to a metal one on the 124.


tsaraleksi, 'there is no doubt that there are things about a Leica that a Canon does not replicate'.

Go pick up a [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Canon Canonet GIII QL 17 in good shape. No red dot but try it. [/FONT]

 

[Village Idiot]

48x36mm vs. 25x17mm.

 

[Helen B]

Well lets make up an example.

Client is Vanity Fair , they pay the still shooter 1000.00 per day. They need one new photographer.

That's a bit on the low side. Add a zero and you will be closer.

Best,
Helen

 

[anubis404]

How can a Hasselblad be about bragging rights, if you never see one around?

Isn't an item being rare make it easier to brag about?

If you start thinking of cameras as professional or creative tools rather than what a particular brand says about the owner, you might stop getting a chubby everytime you look at gear magazines.

Just a thought.

How polite of you.

 

[Village Idiot]

Isn't an item being rare make it easier to brag about?




How polite of you.

It's easier to brag about your billboard in Times Square not looking like an add for play-doh and actually looking like a model when you shoot with a large format 50mp digital camera with 32bit a/d conversion vs. a 12mp 1.6x 14 bit DSLR.

 

[Helen B]

When I got my break in fashion photography way back in the 70's we used Nikons and Hasselblads - there was no cachet in those marques, they were just the normal tools of the trade, as Leicas and Nikons were the normal tools of photojournalism and documentary photography. The whole brand porn/envy thing is not common in professional still photography.

Best,
Helen

 

[ksmattfish]

Most of the folks I know that were using medium format film Hassy's have switched to high end Canon and Nikon DSLRs. The people I know who are using medium format digital are using it to replace 4x5.

Hasselblad has a good, long standing reputation among pros, and really there's not a huge variety of medium format digital to choose from.

Is medium format digital way more than many of the jobs it's used on really need? Sure, just like most people don't need SUVs, yet everyone seems to own one.

 

[usayit]

Almost any product with a hefty price tag can be considered a "bragging" rights type of purchase. What you see as a "bragging rights" purchase is completely internalized from you personal point of view.

So Iron's statement

"If you start thinking of cameras as professional or creative tools rather than what a particular brand says about the owner, you might stop getting a chubby everytime you look at gear magazines. "

Is right on the money.


I live in an area that vehicles are considered a big indicator of wealth and status. If someone points out my expensive camera, I usually point out their expensive car.

 

[bhop]

I was shooting the Redbull Drifting championships yesterday and there was a guy next to me with a digital Hassleblad.

 

[anubis404]

Almost any product with a hefty price tag can be considered a "bragging" rights type of purchase. What you see as a "bragging rights" purchase is completely internalized from you personal point of view.

So Iron's statement

"If you start thinking of cameras as professional or creative tools rather than what a particular brand says about the owner, you might stop getting a chubby everytime you look at gear magazines. "

Is right on the money.

I wanted to know if they were even practical for professional use at all (like Leicas). I guess I can thank Iron for his well mannered statement.

 

[table1349]

Dude,

When ever I am on the sidelines shooting a college football game and I pull out this bad boy, the players all know that it is Cover shot time.

You would not believe the work they go to provide that once in a lifetime shot.

 

[Joves]

Well if I won the lottery, then I would buy one. My aunt has some oler Hassys that she has let me use and, I love them.

 

[anubis404]

Dude,

When ever I am on the sidelines shooting a college football game and I pull out this bad boy, the players all know that it is Cover shot time.

You would not believe the work they go to provide that once in a lifetime shot.

Haha. What do they use that lens for, pictures of distant stars :lmao:?

 

[table1349]

Haha. What do they use that lens for, pictures of distant stars :lmao:?

Na, that's a 400mm f2.8L from Canon. The premier sports lens for virtually any field or track event. Sports is my main focus and lives every fall and spring on one of my bodies. It is my walk around lens during that time of the year.