‘This could be the one!’ Antonis writes to me in an email with a bidding link on August 2017. My response was negative as usual. ‘I don’t think there is a chance of it staying that low despite it is sold for parts. It is a Hasselblad 500C body with a Carl Zeiss Planar T 2.8/80 C lens!’ But he is gifted in finding these rare occasions and being the person he is the time was just right. You see my birthday was due. He bidded, won, added a back, a non original but perfect operational waist level finder (wlf), a bay50 to 58mm adapter with an nd8 filter, a polariser filter, a set of colour correction Hasselblad filters, arranged service for it with Mr Nikos Pikopoulos our good friend and master technician and only accepted the sum for the body and the lens which was a little over a 10 pack of Kodak Portra 120 film…
When the box arrived, we picked it up and went straight to Mr Nikos.
It only took a few minutes for him to figure out the problem, a small broken part. A few days later I had a 1966 Hasselblad 500C with a 1979 Carl Zeiss Planar C 2.8/80 lens working as it should.
I started using the 500C and felt at ease with it right from the start.
The shape of the camera is one of my favourite in the camera world and I have no issues with it not being an eye level slr.
Antonis knew that’s why he is smiling the way he does up on that b&w photo… he knew I prefer the chrome over the black, an old model over a newer, a winding knob with a lever, a worked body that has not lived on a shelf. I am not on a shelf and I have my marks, so the cameras I use should have their own. Sooner or later I will add them more.
As it goes with every ‘new’ old camera, I got into searching for goodies… I got a second back -an old 1955 made but in working order- an NC2 prism and had my eye on for extra lenses and other stuff…
But I came to my senses and changed course soon… you see I had a russian copy of the Hasselblad 1600F years ago -the Salyut- and had acquired almost every lens there was for it and other goodies such as a 45 degree prism finder, magnifying hood, extension tubes, polaroid back, ground glass back and the only thing I managed was to get less film through it. So I decided to keep the 500C plain and simple. Kept the second film back as a back up and the option to have different types of film on the same occasion and sold the NC2 prism which to me -though useful- makes the camera ugly. I needed a newer type Hasselblad waist level finder not so because the one I had was russian, but mainly as it was the old design when you bring up the magnifying lens to focus it does not fully cover the top and lets light in making it difficult on sunny days. You can call me ‘cheap’ but I will not spend more for a wlf than what I paid for the body and the lens. I searched and settled on one sold for parts that from the description and the photos I was sure I can fix. It needed a small metal to hold the flaps in place when closed and a small metal rod with 2 small springs. I made the small metal part and Mr Nikos re-shaped 2 small springs to fit to a made up rod. Done. A totally user wlf for my 500C.
The only other lens addition is a 1966 Carl Zeiss Distagon C 4/50. I’ve come to prefer normal and wide angle lenses in my photos in general and the particular lens is nice to have.
Also got a tool to unlock the Hasselblad in case it jams (you could free it with a coin but it is not easy to stick your fingers all the way in the body and turn a coin, or you can use a rounded edge knife provided you are near a kitchen). Also I 3d printed a dark slide holder (that a kind person designed and has on the internet for free) to prevent it from bending –glueing one of those rubber dark slide holders on the film back is not an option I like.
Something I really like about my Hassy is that it came from Scotland. Made in Sweden sure, but I bought it from Scotland. Perth to be exact. And to make things greater the Distagon 50mm lens also came from Scotland! Glasgow this time. Mr G sold it to me. He said he did not mind letting it for a lower price to a Greek. He later became a fellow rambler musing along on this blog. Well, that’s his Graeco-Scottish problem… the man even has a hat the same as me!
The Hassy with the 50mm was the only camera with me on my recent trip… in Scotland. I had both film backs with me for the b&w or colour option. Some say the Hassy is a heavy camera for a trip. I disagree. Sure there are lighter ones but also heavier ones. You can take more than one camera with you or you can have only your mobile phone and just snapshot with it. After all, on a vacation trip you take photos to connect with the place you visit and re-live that moment years after by looking at the photos. If you want quality you have to have a good camera with you and you have to like using that camera.
The Hasselblad 500C is a good camera and I like using it.
In his youth he used a Graflex slr, later he made the Hasselblad 6×6 camera. A camera that over the years proved itself and is one of the most iconic cameras ever built. Mr Victor got it right.
Nasos Papathanasiou