Shooting on a long exposure with a Hasselblad 503. How do i do it?

Deano

Deano

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Lets just say that i want to shoot a shot at 9 seconds. Now i presume that these are the orange numbers on the lens? How do i get them to move around to line up with the f number which i want so that i can take the shot as they seem to be kind of 'locked' :thinking: Any advice gratefully received.
 
Deano said:
Lets just say that i want to shoot a shot at 9 seconds. Now i presume that these are the orange numbers on the lens? How do i get them to move around to line up with the f number which i want so that i can take the shot as they seem to be kind of 'locked' :thinking: Any advice gratefully received.
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One of the nice things about Hasselblad lenses is that you can lock the shutter and aperture rings together so that you rotate both together to maintain a given EV while changing the aperture /shutter speed combination.

You need to unlock this button by either pressing it, or perhaps pressing and sliding it- it varies with different lenses - and then you can rotate the aperture and shutter speed rings independently of each other.

It's highly unlikely that your blad will do shutter speeds as long as 9 seconds. Usually you'd have to use the 'B' setting and use your wristwatch.

The number '9' you're looking at is probably on the EV (exposure value) scale on the lens.The scale usally runs from about EV 3 to EV 21.
 
Just to clarify that - the EV numbers will never line up with the apertures no matter what you do. It's just a scale which tells you the EV for a given shutter speed and aperture combination.
 
Don't forget to press the mirror up button after composing your photograph. One thing that Hasselblad removed from the 503CW was the "T" setting (that was on the 500C/M) on the shutter release button which was beneficial for this type of photograph
 
Ok thats made it clear to me now. Regarding the 'mirror up' button......where is that located? I understand now that if i wanted a 9 second exposure would be to set the shutter speed setting to B. Then i would just use a cable release and time the exposure on a stopwatch or something similar.
Where does the mirror lock-up button fit into all this? sorry if i seem a bit...:thinking:
 
No probs Deano.

Yes - use a tripod and cable release - set the shutter on 'B'.

The problem with a blad is that that big mirror makes a huge whack when it goes up and at the same time the double blinds open in the back of the camera so there's a lot of potential for camera shake with long exposures.

To overcome this - lock up the mirror before you press the shutter. On your blad you'll see a little black tapered plastic switch just under the winding knob. Slide it up towards the the top of the camera and you'll hear a whack as the mirror goes up. When you press the shutter now you'll just hear a little click as it opens and another as it closes.

Obviously - do your focusing before you lock the mirror up.
 
Aaah.....i see now. Now just a bit more of advice please regarding getting a light meter reading. Normally if i am taking a photo of say a persons face i hold my meter close to their face and get the reading that way. But what about if i want to take a picture of say a building which is in the distance. What method should i use there?
 
CT said:
When you press the shutter now you'll just hear a little click as it opens and another as it closes.
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Actually mate, that's not quite right...sorry. You'l hear just a click from the shutter as it opens, another quick when it closes, but you'll also hear the mirror come back down too. You have to relock the mirror up for each exposure.
 
Deano said:
Aaah.....i see now. Now just a bit more of advice please regarding getting a light meter reading. Normally if i am taking a photo of say a persons face i hold my meter close to their face and get the reading that way. But what about if i want to take a picture of say a building which is in the distance. What method should i use there?
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Personally I'd take an incident light reading pointing back at the camera position as long as I was standing in the same light falling on the distant building.

Or you could use a metered head - I could do you one at a good price. ;)
 
Well i did have a metered head but could not get on with it. It had like the red light which lit up inside but it was all over the place. I have heard that the PME-45 is the one to go for but they are expensive...Which one do you have?
 
Well I have the PME 45 which I picked up for a great price, but I was very lucky - they are horrendously expensive!

The other one I have is the PME-3 which sounds like the one you had Deano. It actually gives an LED readout in the viewfinder of an EV number. Once you dial in the EV number on your blad lens. you automatically set the aperture and shutter speed correctly for that meter reading.

Using EV readings is probably the quickest and easiest way to meter with a blad and the PME-3 is noted for being accurate. The PME-3 I have is very near mint and boxed. I'll also throw in the proper matte screen for which the meter is calibrated. Let me know anyway if you're interested, or anyone else for that matter. I keep meaning to stick it on fleabay.
 
CT said:
Actually mate, that's not quite right...sorry. You'l hear just a click from the shutter as it opens, another quick when it closes, but you'll also hear the mirror come back down too. You have to relock the mirror up for each exposure.
Click to expand...

The mirror only comes back down when you wind on.

It's the blinds at the back that you'll hear come down after the shutter button /cable release is let go.

The old "T" button on the C/M prevented this from happening if you wanted to do a long exposure but didn't want to hold the button or cable release until after your exposure
 
chivers67 said:
The mirror only comes back down when you wind on.

It's the blinds at the back that you'll hear come down after the shutter button /cable release is let go.
Click to expand...

Aaaagh.... busted! Quite right of course!
[/quote]

The old "T" button on the C/M prevented this from happening if you wanted to do a long exposure but didn't want to hold the button or cable release until after your exposure [/QUOTE]

Easily overcome though with a mechanical locking cable release, which is what I use with my 501CM
 
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