Joining the Hasselblad family

Childhood inspiration

Bright cloudy sky over the mountainous rainforest in Taiwan — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Hasselblad 500 CM*

Growing up, I watched my father go everywhere with his Rollei 35 T. So many photos of me growing up, of our vacations and travels, all meticulously organized in photo albums, were taken with this camera. An astonishing little camera with its first version introduced in 1966 by Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke. This 35mm scale focus viewfinder camera was the world’s smallest full-frame 35mm film camera made at that time.

I now have my father’s prized Rollei camera in my collection, but more about that in a later blog post.

However, the camera that really caught my fancy was my father’s Zenza Bronica S or S2. My father, nor I, can remember if it was an S or S2. After all, the last time I was running around with that camera pretending to be I do not know what, I was maybe 12 or so, in our house on the shores of Zugersee in Switzerland.

Much to my chagrin, my dear father at some point parted with this gem and sold it. I would very much have loved to have that camera in my collection as well.

But oh well!

That waist-level viewfinder

The waist-level viewfinder was the big draw for me. I was fascinated, dare I say enthralled by it. Something about how it worked. Something about how the world looked through it. Let alone the mind-bending way it would portray everything as a mirror image. To a 7 or 8-year-old kid, this perspective was just the bee’s knees. Back then I had no clue why mirror reflex cameras did this.

I just loved running around the house and our backyard with the camera, most of the time preferably while my father was out, I was worried he might get mad. I thought this was a massively fancy, and probably terribly expensive camera.

Old brick three-story building with red and white awning with a young lady standing in front — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Hasselblad 500 CM*

Growing up around a hobby photographer, who I dare say had a great eye for composition and subjects, must have rubbed off on me. Over the years I would always dabble in this art form until a few decades later I finally really dedicated my time to the subject and eventually became a professional photographer.

Rediscovering film

By then the age of film cameras had come to pass. However, my fascination with waist-level viewfinders never left me. As I mentioned in my blog Rediscovering the Magic and Joy of Shooting Film:

‘There is something magical about waist-level viewfinders for me. They draw me in, and just make me giddy and excited.’

I always wished there was something like it in the digital world. Technically, once manufacturers added the fold-out, and later the articulated screens, at the back of cameras, there was something similar. But it was not the same.

Water lilies on a pond with a strange lopsided building in the background in Taiwan — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Hasselblad 500 CM*

I can’t quite put my finger on what was missing when using the digital screens on the back of the cameras. It was not the missing mirror image portrayal, though that was definitely missing too. Maybe, the hood that would pop up on the old cameras? Or is it that digital just lacks that visceral raw feel that a manual camera gives you? Probably!

You can imagine the joy, that excitedness, that I had felt as a kid when bought my RB67 a few years ago and was shooting through a waist-level viewfinder. Between you and me, I just want to look through the viewfinder, don’t even need to take a picture.

Once you go there is no coming back

Needless to say, buy one film camera, and you want more.

You guessed it, I started to collect film cameras. Not just any, I wanted fully working ones, I want to be able to shoot with them. I made the choice that I would start by concentrating on the greats, those cameras that were, still are, revered. Nikon FM2, F3, Pentax K1000, Mamiya RB67 and so forth. I am happy to say my collection is slowly growing.

There is one legendary camera every film camera gearhead wants. A compact medium format camera that was, is, completely modular. Not just the lens, everything, the winding crank, the viewfinder, and the magazine are all exchangeable during normal use. The brand name is universally known to photographers and most non-photographers too. It was even the official camera of NASA for Apollo missions 8,9,10, and 11.

Street vendor in Ho Chi Minh City selling his ice cream from the back of a scooter — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Hasselblad 500 CM*

That one camera

I am sure most of you have already figured out which camera I am talking about. None other than the:

Hasselblad 500 V-mount series cameras.

I have dreamt of owning one. Well, this year I finally decided to make this dream come true. I turned half a century old this summer and thought I deserved to treat myself for my birthday.

So, I went on a hunt.

Over the years I have come to realize that one of the most reliable places to look for used, in amazing condition, film cameras is the Japanese market. Granted they might not always have the lowest price, but so far, I have not been misled by any of these sellers.

I found one, in great condition, acceptable price, and a special edition to boot. Here it is:

Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Canon EOS R5

Hasselblad 500C/M 10 Year Special Edition №070

Joy of ownership

I couldn’t be happier. And OMG I love this little camera. The look. The feel of it. There is a “je ne sais quoi” to it that is so hard to describe.

This giddy feeling overcomes me when the camera is resting in the palm of my hand, and I focus my attention on what is filling the waist-level viewfinder. Everything is cooler when seen this way.

This 500 CM just feels timeless. The quality of my, by now, 42-year-old camera still feels as solid as when it left Hasselblad’s factory in Sweden. Oh that shutter, talk about a sound that sounds, well, reassuring. Try as I might to find a more appropriate word than that, it is the best way to explain this wonderful sound. There is just something amazing about that sound. I love it!

moody yet beautiful young woman leaning against a window contemplating things — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Hasselblad 500 CM*

Using this camera leaves no doubt in your mind why so many professional photographers swore, and still do, by this camera. You can rely on it. It always delivers.

Travel? Yes, please

People always tell me that this is a studio camera, but I don’t agree. Having traveled with a Mamiya RB67 this is so much easier and lighter. Though, who I am to go by, the weight of a camera has never been a deciding factor for me whether I pack it with or not.

My experience

I am not going to bore you with a ton of details about this camera, so many others have written about all of those. Suffice it to say, this modular camera is a dependable, no-frills, pure mechanical camera. No battery or other electronics built in. Just len, mirror body, film back, viewfinder, and winder. And off you go shooting. I use the newer wind-on leaver instead of the older knob style, just enjoy the action of winding the camera ‘up’ (lol).

Entrance to a temple in the hills around Taipei Taiwan — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Hasselblad 500 CM*

Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Hasselblad 500 CM

That detachable film back with its protective dark slide is such a nifty thing to have. I highly suggest having at least two A12 backs. Load each with a different film, and you can swap films anytime. I usually have one with B&W and the other with color. Like that, I can switch depending on what I think works better for what I am shooting.

This is only the beginning

This is only the beginning of my journey with my Hasselblad 500 CM, but I can tell you I am already in love.

Still getting used to the 6 x 6 square format, having shot mostly 2 x 3 and 6 x 7, I find myself often missing the extra width (or height). At least I do not have to worry about switching between portrait and landscape orientation…well…you know…since it is a square picture.

And the Carl Zeiss lenses are a dream. Legendary comes to mind. Their sharpness and character are immaculate and pleasing.

Pretty young lady standing outside of a store window reading something on her phone — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Hasselblad 500 CM*

Photo by Robert Schall Photography shot on Hasselblad 500 CM

Dream come true

From the moment I have gotten this camera, from the first release of its shutter, I have been chomping at the bit, to be able to go shoot with it. It now has a permanent spot in my camera bag whether I am traveling or just running around my city and shooting.

With the exception of the photos of my Hasselblad 500 CM, all the images in this article were shot with my Hasselblad.

This blod entry was first published by Full Frame publication on Medium.com here: Making a Dream Come True

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Making a Dream Come True