"Hasselblad represents the highest standards of photographic craftsmanship and precision." - B&H
I drool at the thought of picking up my Hasselblad camera (I personally own a 503CX, 1989 http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/4055128421_b7c1c5a3e5.jpg and going out to shoot with it. This is no Digital SLR or 35mm camera; the sheer concept of using such a beast of a camera is exciting and makes my heart beat faster.
As the quote from B&H says, Hassy's have high standards to begin with in the photographic field. But what I love is not only the photos it takes, but also how I use it. I love preparing the camera, loading the film - hearing the film click onto its first frame, and of course my favourite part of the whole process… sliding the notch across so that the focusing hood pops up... 
. Call me a camera nerd for getting all hot and bothered when I get to do this, but I can't help it, I love it!
The Hassy is compact, lightweight and easy-to-use in comparison to some other cameras such as the Mamiya RZ67. The Mamiya, as a case in point, is far heavier and the process of loading the film is not nearly as enjoyable. Some cameras require you to "cock" the shutter. Without being crude, it simply means having to put the shutter back into the starting position after every frame. It's elements such as this mechanism that Hasselblad have refined over the years of production, eliminating any extraneous details and making the photographic process as streamline as possible.
After all that hype, there is just one downfall for me. I have run into times of wanting to use my Hassy quickly, but I've forgotten my light meter. Unfortunately, there is no TTL (through the lens) meter in the camera, so I am either forced to use my external light meter or attach a flash for my particular model. Even after studying 3 years of photography I still feel like a bit of a n00b with a light meter, so that's the only annoying thing about it.
I guess you can tell by my post I love my Hasselblad and I am just waiting for you to all donate to the Sarah Mote Hasselblad Fund to purchase a digital one. Don't worry, It will only set me back about $30,000… on a side note, even if I did have the money, I still wouldn't get this ridiculous Ferrari version:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/746006-REG/Hasselblad_70480512_H4D_40_Ferrari_Limited_Edition.html.
Hope you enjoyed my Hassy spiel. Now I better get designing!
Sarah Mote
These cameras look amazing! I personally don't have that much knowledge in photography but on design alone, I can understand why you're so infatuated.I've got a friend who owns a lomography camera and the photo quality is so different to other cameras; it has this weird, vintage tint-something you would expect after it has been editted. If i can recall, the camera design was pretty unconventional as well. I was just wondering if your camera produces a signature quality of photos? Or are you just in love with the process of taking them?
ReplyDelete-Karen
Ahh I see you have been splashed with the touch of a lomography camera. Indeed fun cameras to play with but something that I haven't wanted to use to shoot with all the time. I like to have some physical control over the creation of my images, rather than just leaving it up to chance of the light and what not.
ReplyDelete-Motey
Untitled (House)
This image above is one of mine, shot on Fuji Pro 160C. The signature quality of a Hassy is square format - but so are many other cameras. The Mamiya I was talking about above is 6x7" so a larger frame and you can actually rotate this on the RZ67. Plus the larger the film the higher the quality image!
I personally normally shoot soft focused images on the ground - this is my signature quality...I have to update my mini blog thing of images Blog
I love the process as much as the quality - and I love using my Pentax ME Super too....but there is just something magical about using a Hassy.