Info about Hasselblad Photo Equipment
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Here are some observations about my new 203FE, after moving from the 503CX and a compliment of CF lenses. The CF lenses I have are 40mm, 50mm, 80mm, 120mm, 250mm. 1. The battery is the same 6V P28 silver as used in the PME-5 meter finder. Good. 2. The CF lenses can be moved to the F position to operate as dumb, shutterless lenses using the focal plane shutter in the camera. The camera's meter will work but will not give a correct reading unless the lens is manually stopped down with the aperture preset lever on the lens. It seems that one can avoid this by looking at the LCD indicator and noting how may stops the exposure is under or over. If the exposure is over by say 3 stops, just adjust the aperture setting 3 stops from wide open. If the exposure is under, you must change the focal plane shutter speed and try again. 3. I found that the PME-5 compared well to the internal metering system. I did not yet check it for macro correlation. 4. When the CF lenses are set to C (using the lens shutter) the camera's meter is off. So, unless you have a PME-xx finder/meter you will have to shift the lens from C to F then back to C to make a shot--unless you have a separate meter. 5. There is no side rail for a spirit level so using the PC-Mutar may be a challenge. The Mutar does however work with the 203FE when the lens is set to C. Same basic operation as on the 503CX. 6. Flash is not as convenient as on the 503CX. I personally like the ability to quickly adjust the effect of flash by adjusting the ISO setting dial on the camera. The 203FE must be programmed for +3 to -1 EV adjustment. Also, the camera will flash sync up to 1/90 second whereas the CF lenses will sync up to their maximum speed of 1/500 second. 7. I suspect that I will have a complement of CF and FE (older TCC style) lenses. There is no FE 40mm so I will keep the 40mm CF FLE. The 50mm FE is fast but uses a 93mm screw front like the 40mm does. Since I always have a polarizer attached, I think I'll keep my 50mm CF FLE since it uses a $200 Bay 60 polarizer rather than the $500 93mm jobber like the 40mm FLE. I have one for it and I don't want to swap them back and forth. The 80mm lens is fast but moves the front size to Bay 70. The 80, 110, and 250 lenses are all Bay 70. Since my current ProShade is set for Bay 60, I will have to get a new adapter for Bay 70. I rarely use a shade for the 40mm but I do for the 50mm. So I may have to carry two ProShades. I will also have to change all my Bay 60 polarizers for Bay 70 versions. 8. Since the non-E mags default the camera to ISO 100, I am not too bad off since that is what I mostly shoot anyway. If I put Velvia in, I just mentally adjust by 1 stop. If I use NHG, I adjust by 1.5 stops (my personal preference for NHG at ISO 320). So the mags are not a big problem yet. The new E mags are nicer tho since they hold the dark slide and are fatter on the left side so the slide is easier to put back in. 9. When I get my first FE lens, I will report how the automatic features of the camera work for me. So far, I am rather compromised due to a hybrid combination of equipment components. This will change over time. As it turns out, I sold the 203FE because of the cost of converting from a large collection of CF lenses already in my system to FE lenses at greatly higher cost. And the FE lenses will only work on the 200 series bodies. At least the CF lenses will "work" on all bodies. As a result, I have changed my system a little bit. 553ELX is identical to 500ELX with the exception of the Acute Matte focusing screen and the use of AA batteries instead of NiCads. An external motordrive handle is available which can be attached to 200-series cameras and allows auto-bracketing with the 203 and 205 bodies. APCAM makes the 500CMX which is a motor drive handle which works with the 500-series cameras. Tel: 212.732.3828, NY, NY. However,the new 503CW has an optional motor winder handle that includes an infraref remote control. All in all, it is a very nice combination. An exposure meter, prism finder PME, PME-5, PME-51, PME-90 are available and work with all cameras. PME-5 and PME-51 are intended for use with the Acute Matte screen. The PME-90 requires the Acute Matte D screen. You can tell the D from other screens by the presence of two notches close together on one end of the screen's metal frame. The screen is usually mounted such that the notches are in the lower left corner of the finder when looking down into the waist level finder. Mirror lock up is called "pre release" on Hasselblad cameras. All cameras except ELX model use a lever or button near the winder to pre-release. The ELX uses a control dial to pre-release. P28 is a 6 Volt Silver battery about the same diameter as an AA LR6 1.5V cell but about 1/2 the length. Leaf shutter lenses will flash sync to 1/500 second. Focal Plane shutters sync at 1/90 S. C and CF lenses will work with any 200-series camera in lieu of the camera's FP shutter. In this case, the camera's exposure meter (if any) is disabled. This is the most important factor to consider with the 200-series cameras, in my opinion. Using an FE lens, which are shutter-less, the cameras have full function. When using the C or CF lenses in the C mode, the 201 and 205 exposure systems are shut off. You must use some other exposure measurement method. The PME-5 works well in this case, and is a good backup to the internal system. When the CF lenses are set at F, they act just like an FE lens and the camera's internal exposure system functions. The only difference in this case between the CF as an FE and a real FE lens is that the exposure reading must be made with the lens manually stopped-down to the desired setting; second, auto-bracketing cannot be done. If you want the higher speed of a focal plane shutter, the 201 is a good option; but it is one stop speedier than a regular CF lens. The 203 is two stops speedier at 1/2000 S. The 203 also adds an internal exposure meter which is extremely accurate (same as 205). If you are outdoors and are going to be shooting fast film but no flash, get the 501C. If the same condition but with flash, get the 503CX or 503CXi. If the same condition, w/ or w/o flash and need fast shutter, get 201F. If low light, the FE lenses are the fastest and require a 200-series camera. CONCLUSION: The optimum camera combination as I see it is the 201F with a PME-51 finder. Then, one would select a mix of CF and FE lenses for whatever type of work one was doing. The camera allows the easy interchange of either type of lens. If, for some reason, the camera's focal plane shutter failed, a CF lens would still allow a picture to be taken. Furthermore, standard (old) A-12 magazines will work. Full functionality in the 203 and 205 require the E-series magazines (more costly than A-series). This combination also allows full range of flash sync with the CF lenses while supporting a high shutter speed using the camera's focal plane shutter. Feature-for-feature, one is paying twice the price of a 503CX for the existence of a focal plane shutter in choosing the 201F. Keep this in mind when deciding. What am I shooting now? Two identical 503CWs with motor winders and only CF lenses. One body has the PME-90 prism meter while the other has the PME-51. I added the 180CF lens and am very happy with it.
Notes: SS=Shutter Speed (shortest speed) MW=Built-in Motor Winder EM=Built-in Exposure Meter TTL/OTF=Throught the lens/Off the Film automatic flash exposure control Bat=Internal Battery MLU=Mirror Lock Up |
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