Almost exactly 6 months ago, I bought myself a gift for my 25th birthday - a classic Hasselblad I named “Haso”. While owning something for the sake of owning it seems (and is) materialistic, it was one of my dreams for a long long time that I was finally able to make come true, thanks to Ward and Adrian of the amazing Camera Museum in London. Here are some thoughts, tips and tricks, and finally warnings that nobody told me about before getting into the Hasselblad system.

(Unsurprisingly) it is expensive!

First, let’s get this out of the way: Hassys go for A LOT of money these days. I’ve accidentally found an amazing deal on my 500cm, but even thinking about expanding the system is out of most budgets. New back? 200 pounds. 120mm lens? 700. 40mm FLE? At least a 1000. There are definitely some bargains out there (555elx, 150mm C-series lens), but overall, it’s not necessarily a best “bang-for-the-buck” medium format system.

You also have to factor in the price of film. While Ilford keeps prices reasonable (not inexpensive though) and developing yourself is quite accessible, a roll of Portra 400 in retail is going to be at least 8 pounds. If you think about it, with developing (and scanning, if you don’t do it yourself), that’s more than 1 GBP per shot. I guess that next time when you shoot, you have to be very certain you want to take that shot.

Paradox of choice

One of the first “accessories” to get for any V-System Hasselblad is a spare back, as 1) they are the most common (some would argue the only) point of failure, and 2) because they allow you to unleash the modularity of this particular medium format system. Want to shoot something in color, but still have a few shot left on the B&W? Just swap the back. Light is getting dim? Simply swap the 100ASA film for the 3200ASA one. The possibilities are endless (as long as you have enough backs, that is).

But ironically, these possibilities tend to mess with my shooting style. While I often have an idea of what I want and plan to shoot only one of them primarily, there is often that nagging of “maybe this would look better on colour/B&W/panchromatic film”. Or, even worse, when you take a photo and can’t really decide whether you like it better on colour or B&W so you end up not posting/printing any of them at all.

Shooting with it makes you think

While there are people who do this, I am 90% certain that you won’t take a Hasselblad out by accident. While I always keep my 35mm film or digital cameras with me, “just in case”, doing this with a Hasselblad would break my back. Whenever I take Haso out, I have a pretty good idea on what I want to shoot. It’s slow to focus, takes some time to wind, and while I love using it, it’s not the most ergonomic camera in the world. Thus when you get it out, you know you’ll need the time to set everything up.

I’ve never experienced before such a long time in between wanting to shoot something and actually taking a shot. Which in many ways is a good thing. Especially given that each one costs 2 pounds.

It doesn’t necessarily “just work”

Yes, it’s a fully mechanical camera, and as such there is nothing that can really go wrong. But having said that, much like a Leica, it’s made to be used. Therefore, cock the shutter a few times every month, go through the shutter speeds/apertures. While it’s possible that the pure mechanics might not need to change for ages, at the very least you’re going to need to get your backs serviced every so often. It’s a 50-100 pound job, so take that into account.

It’s addictive

There are many, many reasons why investing into a film medium format camera in 2020 is a daft idea. However, there is one issue - once you’ve shot with it, and you’ve seen the photos, it’s very, VERY, hard to go back.

First, there is the shooting experience - the only camera I enjoy shooting more than Haso is probably Lea (my 35mm film baby that will get it’s own introductory post). Once you’ve heard the shutter slap, rotated the rewind knob, seen the viewfinder (which is arguably worse on 500cm than any other 50X camera), it is very, very hard to go back.

Then there are the images. The detail and the contrast.

I know that digital images are sharper. And colours are more accurate and generally better. And they have better dynamic range. And yet, even the crappy “digital scans” show levels of micro-contrast and sharpness that I didn’t get in any of my digital files. When I enlarged the negative of the following image to a 11x13 fibre paper, it looked better than any photo I’ve printed in any way, ever.

I’ve been editing images at home and in my room for a while now, and yet, I don’t think Antonija ever stopped to say “This image looks amazing”, until I was editing images shot on Haso.

Ok, so far this post has been completely useless. Is there going to be any real information in here?

Yeah, fine. Here is some condensed info:

1. How to buy a Hasselblad? Check this video.

2. Which Hasselblad to buy? Depends on your budget and preference. I love my 500cm, but 501/3 do have a better viewfinder. I’d say F series cameras are only worth it if you can afford a 120mm f2 (which is around 2-3 grand alone).

3. Where to buy Hasselblad? If you are in/around London, go to the camera museum, and do what I did: spend 3 hours playing with cameras and lenses. Ask many questions.

4. What do I need? At a very minimum, you’d need a body, lens (80mm CF+), and at least two backs (this is what I have). Later on, consider adding another back, 40mm FLE, and 120mm macro (poor man’s version is 150/180mm and extension tube which works great as well).

5. Any additional info? For lenses, look here. In person ask Ward/Adrian, anything else, youtube (and Nico’s Photography channel) is your friend.