My Flexbody has just returned from America where it went for surgery. The Shutter cocking mechanism was getting stiff and finally jammed and it turned out that it needed a shutter rod replacement. Hasselblad service in New Jersey did a great job with minimal wait times and the patient looks and functions like new. Hasselblad still has parts and service for the flexbody even though its short production run stopped in 2003.
I didn’t realize how much I would miss this camera while it was away. I really enjoy using view camera style movements like tilts when shooting landscapes and the flexbody is the only camera I have which lets me do this AND use a digital back. It’s also superb for macro style closeups because it has adjustable bellows. I can really get in close with the 50mm CF lens.
While the camera was off for surgery, I happened to be visiting APUG.org, the Analog Photography Users Group website. This is a great site that I visit on a regular basis. It caters to film photographer Luddites and covers everything analog from cameras to darkrooms. My usual visit is to check out the large format and the medium format threads, and then have a look at the For Sale listings (of course). Lo and behold, a Hasselblad 250mm lens was offered for sale. I already have three Hasselblad lenses in the standard medium format setup; the 50mm wide angle, the 80mm normal, and the 150mm tele or portrait lens. I’ve always found the 150 to be a bit short and had been thinking about a longer lens.
Hasselblad lenses for the 500 series, or “V” cameras, come in various flavors but all of them are made in Germany by Carl Zeiss with leaf shutters in the lens. The early lenses are cool looking satin chrome, very retro. These early “C” lenses are single coated and equipped with Synchro-Compur shutters. Then came the identical “C” T* lenses which are multicoated. All the lenses after this have Prontor shutters and starting in the 1970s they are all finished in black. After the C lenses came the improved CF lens. My 50mm, 80mm, and 150mm are all CF T* lenses. Next came the CFE (E for electronic) lenses which have electronic contacts that can be used in the 200 series cameras but of course also work in the ‘V’ series cameras which don’t have batteries. Then came the CFI, for ‘improved’. Got that?
So, the 250mm lens comes in two choices, the Sonnar and the Superachromat. The Superachromat is one of the finest lenses ever made on earth and on the used market is priced accordingly (in the thousands). So what I got was the original “C” chrome 250 mm Sonnar f5.6 lens. These lenses are quite a bit cheaper than the later lenses because they are more prone to flare and the mechanical shutters are at least 35 years old. They are also fantastic value. Every Hasselblad lens, including the 250mm Sonnar, is a spectacular performer. Some are better optically than others, of course, but all Carl Zeiss medium format glass is superb with a creamy, contrasty, sharp look that is legendary. So, for a crazy cheap price, I have another sensational lens. Life is good.
But, life is never easy. All of my other Hasselblad lenses use bay 60 filters. The 250mm is different, it uses bay 50 filters. Bay stands for bayonet. Except for haze filters, graduated ND rectangular filters and polarizers, I have standardized all my filters at 77mm. I use step up rings and the Lee filter system http://www.leefilters.com/index.php/camera-directory/camera-dir-list/category/professional-kit for the filters and the Lee lens hood. This setup covers my medium format lenses and my large format lenses. So I just needed to buy a used Lee filter bay 50 ring and a bay 50 haze filter from our favorite auction site. Now everything fits together.
I haven’t used this new lens on the Flexbody yet, and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a bit of a beast but isn’t too big or too heavy. Carl Zeiss also made 350mm and 500mm lenses, and those look to be a real handful. They’re big and heavy and a bit pricey. I think keeping everything rock solid for sharp focus will be a difficult proposition with the 350mm and longer lenses. An alternative to those longer lenses would be the Hasselblad 2x Mutar. This little beauty is also made by Carl Zeiss and doubles the focal length of any lens with very little optical compromise. Unfortunately, an old Mutar will cost more than my newly acquired 250mm C. I’m in no rush, I know there will be lots of opportunities to use the 250 C and if I find I need a 500mm lens, I will probably look for a Mutar instead.