Hasselblad 503CX Review
A Hasselblad 503cx shown with the Hasselblad Zeiss 80mm f/2.8 CFE lens
Hasselblad 503CX - Five Rolls Later
Reviewing the Iconic Hasselblad
I was curious to see what the iconic Hasselblad 500 Series is all about, so I decided to rent a 503CX for a weekend. The look of medium format 120, 6x6 film has an appeal that is hard to ignore once you have laid eyes on it and come to appreciate it.
My Hasselblad experience to this point has been limited. I have known about Victor Hasselblad’s made-in-Sweden cameras for as long as I can remember, but I only once shot a roll at my good friends Mike and Linda’s wedding about 15 years ago.
I recall the photos being lifelike, and even my full-frame Canon images could not match the quality and feel of the Hasselblad photos.
The Hasselblad 503CX with Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 CFE lens
Hasselblad History
I will not go into detail about the history of the 500 series Hasselblad, but I will mention that the first prototypes were introduced in 1953, and the first 500C was released in 1957. For a fascinating read, check this page from Hasselblad.
The 500 series modular system has proven to have longevity. It is still a highly desired camera among photographers, and you can even get digital backs to fit your old Hasselblad.
The Hasselblad 503CX with Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 CFE lens
My Hasselblad Experience
I picked five different film stocks to try out over the weekend and wanted to take the camera through some of my usual genres, such as street, nature, travel, and portrait photography. I will have a separate post coming up on the two portrait sessions I did.
I also wanted to compare the experience and final results of shooting the Hasselblad and my Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex, a medium-format 120 film twin-lens reflex camera I inherited from my dad.
Getting ready for a weekend with the Hasselblad 503CX with four rolls of 120 film
Getting Ready - What to Bring For a Hasselblad Shoot
The Hasselblad 503CX is a manual camera with no light meter. Shutter speeds and aperture are set on the lens, which features a leaf shutter enabling high-sync-speed shooting with strobes. I packed my Sekonic L-358 light meter and brought my Fujifilm X-Pro2 to meter distant scenes.
For my first street photography session, I decided to bring a monopod in order to reduce camera shake. I also packed a mechanical shutter release cable for the same reason.
A three camera outing with the Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex, Hasselblad 503CX, and Fujifilm X-Pro2
Loading Film - Hasselblad
I turned to YouTube and found a few great tutorials on loading film into the 503CX. It is pretty straightforward. First, move the film spool to the left. Then insert the film and make sure the black side faces the camera. You can either leave the film back on the camera or remove it when inserting the film.
Make sure to keep the dark slide (metal piece) inserted in the film back. Wind the film to the “start” position and close the film back. Then wind the film to frame 1, and you are good to go. Then remove the dark slide, or the shutter won’t trigger.
Street Photography With a Hasselblad 503CX
It was a sunny afternoon, and I decided to load a roll of Fujifilm Provia 100 first. I shot this first roll using the monopod and mechanical shutter release cable, and right away noticed how radically different my approach became. I had to slow down completely for each frame.
Friday afternoon in Vanouver, Hasselblad 503CX, Zeiss 80mm f/2.8 @ f/8, 1/125s, ISO 100
With merely 12 shots per roll, every shot is carefully calculated. The shutter speed and aperture are set manually after metering the light, and manual focus takes a while when you first start out.
The magnifying loupe in the waist-level viewfinder helps achieve accurate focus, but it’s finicky, and I caught myself going back and forth, reading glasses off and on.
The Hasselblad 503CX on a monopod with and mechanical shutter release cable.
I was enjoying the process, but it quickly became cumbersome as I lugged around too much stuff. I was carrying a backpack and navigating the city with the Hasselblad on a monopod. I had the X-Pro2 and the light meter around my neck. The Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex only came out of the bag for a couple of shots.
The Coronavirus situation also meant I was wearing a facemask and my toque and thin gloves due to the crisp fall temperatures. In short, I felt hampered by a lot of stuff.
Ilford HP5 - Hasselblad - Street Photography
I switched to a black-and-white roll of Ilford HP5. I also dropped the monopod and mechanical shutter release cable, as this freed things up just enough that I enjoyed the experience so much more. While I still used my light meter, handholding and using the shutter button felt better to me.
Downtown Vancouver, Hasselblad 503CX, Ilford HP5
I am sure that with practice you can get fantastic street images with a Hasselblad. This was my first run, and having to manually focus and getting used to the fact that you are viewing a mirrored image in the waist-level viewfinder slowed me down considerably.
Slowing down is not necessarily detrimental to the final images, as more time and consideration go into an image before the shutter is released. But it was a drastic change from my usual approach with a digital mirrorless Fujifilm X-Pro2.
I took two photos of a similar scene. The first photo with the Hasselblad and the following with my Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex. The Zeiss Ikon photos are slightly cropped due to a persisting issue where the frames are overlapping.
Hasselblad 503CX and Hasselblad Zeiss Planer 80mm f/2.8 CLE
Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex with Zeiss Zess-Opton Tessar 75mm f/3.5
The images look surprisingly similar even when zooming in on a larger version. I had perhaps expected the Hasselblad to perform even better. Both photos were taken with a Zeiss lens, albeit in vastly different decades.
The Hasselblad Zeiss is from the early 21st century, and the Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex is from the late fifties. Let me know in the comments if you see a noticeable difference.
Kodak Portra 160 in The Park
Waking up to sunny skies this time of year is a treat, especially when you have a camera to test. We did a quick loop around Stanley Park and this time packed the tripod for a few selected spots along the seawall. Due to the amount of equipment we were bringing, we took the car.
The approach, again, was completely different from how I would usually cover this area of Vancouver. I most often cycle or walk with my Fujifilm X-Pro2 loosely hanging around my neck and maybe a second lens and a Manfrotto mini-tripod in a jacket pocket or small backpack.
The Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex came along again for a few comparison shots. I was running Ilford HP5 in the Zeiss Ikon, so it's not a fair comparison, but I thought I would share anyway. The first two shots are Hasselblad, then Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex.
Ilford Delta 100 and Hasselblad 503CX
The last roll was black-and-white Ilford Delta 100, shot in part for portraits I took with my son along the Fraser River.
The portraits and results from the fifth roll, a Kodak Tri-X 400, are coming up in a future post. The Ilford Delta 100 has a fine grain, is very sharp, and the photos below were all handheld, as I had plenty of light.
Hasselblad 503CX - Conclusion
The Hasselblad 503CX I shot over the weekend is a later model produced from 1988 to 2004, meaning it is a more refined and reliable camera than my Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex from the late fifties. It also means it is one of the more expensive 500 series cameras if you are looking to buy a used Hasselblad.
After a quick search on eBay, I found the following average prices for a Hasselblad with the A12 film back and 80mm f/2.8 lens: 500C - $1,700.00, 500C/M - $2,000.00, and 503CX - $2,200.00. Much will depend on the condition of the camera.
The comparison of the Hasselblad to my Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex is not apples-to-apples, as they are indeed completely different cameras, merely sharing the same 120 film format. If you are looking for a customizable system camera and would like to shoot with a range of lenses, you should look further into Hasselblad.
The Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex is a lighter option: a twin-lens reflex camera with a fixed 75mm f/3.5 lens. My copy still has issues with frames overlapping, and I intend to have it checked out again. I am quite pleased with the image quality from the Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex and will continue to run more film through it to see what I can come up with.
The classic Hasselblad 503CX prism shot, A12 film back, and Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 CFE
Despite my quibbles mentioned above, I really enjoyed the Hasselblad experience and encourage you to try it out if you get a chance. The sound of the camera and the way film is advanced manually is a delight, and I, for one, could do with a bit of slowing down.
At this point, I am not looking to add a Hasselblad to my gear bag, although I wouldn’t mind owning one. I am quite content to explore my options with the Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex, but at the same time realize that if I want to get the shot, something more reliable like a Hasselblad is a great choice.
Luckily, I live in a city where I can rent one, and I would not hesitate to do this again for a special shoot or occasion.
The negatives in this post were copied using a Fujifilm X-Pro2, an AF Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D lens, and Skier Sunray Copybox 3. RAW files were imported to Lightroom and I used the Negative Lab Pro plugin to convert the files.
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