Hasselblad lens question

Shootsyou

Shootsyou

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Ivor
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I've got a Hasselblad 500 C/M with an old 150mm Sonnar lens & hood on it, which is what the 500 came with. I'd like an 80mm lens for the camera and there's no shortage of them around, although I prefer the look of the black lenses of the silver ones. I know that shouldn't really be important.

I'm a bit confused with the choices to be honest.
There's un-coated, single, and double coated etc. 'T' 'T*' 'CF' Proctor shutters in some & not others.

In layman's terms, can someone please advise on how to sort the wheat from the chaff, and if any should be steered away from? I'd be very grateful for views of folks who've used these various lenses & any differences they've noticed.
 
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TBH although there are obviously variations in quality I'm not sure there's much chaff in the haselblad line up.
 
RaglanSurf said:
TBH although there are obviously variations in quality I'm not sure there's much chaff in the haselblad line up.
Click to expand...

Never forget this with any medium format systems. It's very easy to read lots of hearsay on Internet fora, and endless personal opinions bounded around, but for the most part there aren't too many dud lenses.

I use an 80mm C lens, so that's a single coated lens. It performs very well, possibly better than the Planar on a Rolleiflex (but they have a different look anyway). According to the Internet, parts can be difficult to obtain (Newton Ellis serviced mine just fine) and single coating means it's more likely to suffer in direct light (it seems to be just as rubbish as multicoated lenses).

The 80mm, in any guise, will allow you to probably get much more out of your Hassy. The 150mm is a great focal length, but it definitely isn't a general purpose lens.
 
RaglanSurf said:
TBH although there are obviously variations in quality I'm not sure there's much chaff in the haselblad line up.
Click to expand...

So each improvement is an improvement on a lens that was already spot on? The CF lenses seem to command quite a premium. Does the quality of them stand above the other 80's, in line with the extra £££'s the CF's fetch?

Choosing between Prontor shutter & non prontor, which is the better system?
 
I suppose as with most things, it comes down to condition meets fair and sensible price tag for whichever particular model of lens.

I think I'm just a bit bewildered with the different specs for the same 80mm length & varying prices.
 
There is a useful lens guide here.
 
That's a lot of help wickerman, thank you. Just skimmed over it & will study more intently later tonight. Thanks again.
 
Ivor,
In layman's terms!
The CF lens is better built, easier to focus due to a better focusing ring, more user friendly when changing the apertures and shutter speeds and optically better but only to the trained eye. If there's not much difference in price go for the CF lens(y)
 
As long as you don't get an F lens it'll work. The optics across all the T* lenses are the same afaik, the main differences are compatibility with the F series cameras, build quality, reliability, parts etc. If you can afford the CF lenses go for them they're lovely, but the C T* coated lenses are still very nice.

You can get focus handles for the C lenses too, which makes focusing a dream - they're horrible to focus without one though.

T* = Zeiss' top coating, making them some of the nicest lenses you can get hold of.


For a 500 C/M, a standard 80mm C T* would fit the bill perfectly.
 
Thanks for all the advice & tips it's really helped get a better idea of what's what. The CF's on the back burner now after blasting the budget on a digital camera this morning.

Will I face the gallows for such depravity? :exit:
 
Shootsyou said:
Thanks for all the advice & tips it's really helped get a better idea of what's what. The CF's on the back burner now after blasting the budget on a digital camera this morning.

Will I face the gallows for such depravity? :exit:
Click to expand...

Not at all. You need a digital camera to take decent photos of your new film kit for the "I've got a new toy" thread :)
 
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