250mm telephoto lens

[cs_foto]

Hi guys, I think I want to get a longer distance lens, I want to know what are your opinions on whether I should get a 'CF' 250mm 5.6 sonnar or a 'C' 250mm sonnar 5.6?

also what is this 'superachromat' CF version about?

I can get the C for £150 and the CF for £300 as far as i know... all my other lenses are CF so I might want to keep it all in the family

what do you guys think?

also will 250mm be too short? I want real telephoto compression, keeping in mind that i find the 150mm I have to be very short, and almost use it as a standard lens.... maybe 350mm? or 500mm?

 

[wbulte]

I can get the C for £150 and the CF for £300 as far as i know... all my other lenses are CF so I might want to keep it all in the family

what do you guys think?

also will 250mm be too short? I want real telephoto compression, keeping in mind that i find the 150mm I have to be very short, and almost use it as a standard lens.... maybe 350mm? or 500mm?

I bought a beautiful CF250 for a reasonable price. I considered a C250 but decided that the price difference was not worth getting the older version. Image wise there should be no difference, but I like the 'feel' of the CF lenses better.

The 250 is long enough for my taste, but as usual YMMV. I am more a wide angle guy anyway.. A 500 is too impractical to lug around I would say. A 350 is on the edge already in that respect.

All in all a 250 is a nice compromise, you could carry around a 1.4x or 2x converter for the occasion you need something longer. OK.. it does cost you a bit of image quality but the loss of light would probably be more of a burden.

On my recent trip to Cuba I took the CF250, and even used it quite regularly. I did not take the 2x converter (my bag was full with lenses and films .

Wilko

 

[wbulte]

Sample image CF250

Quick & dirty sample image from the CF250. Hopefully gives an impression on the telephoto effect





Wilko




posts merged

 

[simonpg]

The CF 250mm Sonnar is a wonderful lens. I find it long enough to produce nice natural compression of distant landscapes/cityscapes.

It also performs very well with the 1.4Xe producing a 350mm equivalent focal length.

I have no idea if the C version is optically the same and others here will know. If it is and you are prepared to risk low availability of parts (I doubt that this is a serious concern yet at all but at least CF parts like shutter components are available ex-factory and many are shared by the current CFE/CFi versions) then which you select is no real issue. However, when I select lenses, I typically buy the latest version I can afford assuming the condition is good or at least close to mint.

Anyway, others here will advise you accurately about optical comparions and parts issues - my point being that the CF version is wonderful and the focal length is very useful if you like medium telephoto (equivalent angle of view in 135 format is about 150mm - using a factor of 1.67) focal lengths.

And finally, really there is no "bad" Hasselblad lens is there!

When I first used my 250 I posted a thread here - here is the link:
http://www.hasselbladinfo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2078&highlight=250mm

Here are sample images: The church is with the CF 250mm; the night scene is with the CF 250mm and the 1.4Xe. My apologies for the awful digital artifacts in the night shot - but I think you'll get the idea.

 

[glaiben]

I would personally buy the CF version since all of my other lenses are CF and they use the same B60 filter. I don't like using the B50/60 adapter as it precludes the lens hood. Stocking two sets of B50 and B60 filters is too cumbersome (and $$).

 

[polypal]

Making the choice for either B50 or B60 is sensible although I gladly made an exception for the 250 Superachromat C lens with B50!

The 250 is a much underrated lens. Maybe its size has something to do with that.
It is one of the oldest designs for Hasselblad with roots going back to the pre 500 series bodies, 1600F and 1000F.
Glass for a the latest 250CFi will fit the earliest silver C lens.
Proof is the silver lens in the picture. It was converted to T* using lens elements produced for a 250 Cfi.





Left 250 with aperture control, center black T*, right rare silver T*

A pity the 250 SA lens was not at home today.
It would have made this family pic complete

 

[terrydent]

Hi Paul, Does your aperture control lens actually work?

 

[polypal]

Hi Terry,

I think you know me well enough that the answer to this question is yes.
Not only with the 250 but also with the 80, the 100 and the 150 lenses here with aperture control.

Four ELX cameras with those lenses and a change of light give the soft whirring sound of four servo motors trying to keep up with different light levels.

Come and see!

Paul

 

[cs_foto]

Thanks for the comments and the sample images, I love what I've seen...
any experience with this lens in studio or portrait work?

 

[polypal]

Often overlooked are the possibilities to use this lens for portraits.
Of course that also depends on the features of the face being photographed.
Longer lenses do compress the image of the face.
MOD is 2.5 m meaning abit of room is required to do portraits.
By its nature the effect to isolate the background is very good.
Carl Zeiss mentions, portraiture, sports and the theatre as areas where this lens feels at home.
Do not under estimate early silver lenses.
With a decent shade, preferably the pro compendium type with proper mask, that lens will give about the same results as any later CF(i) variant.

A decent silver lens can de found for as little as 250 USD.
An insult for such a beautiful piece of German engineering.
Another C note will secure a T* black C lens.
The optical formula goes back to the first 250 ever made for Hasselblad halfway in the fifties.
If that does not convince you this design is a strike of pure genius nothing will.

Ansel Adams once explained he could not have made certain images if it were not for the 250 Hasselblad lens.
I thought he was referring to " Half Dome " but those photos were made with a view camera.
This brings me to a new subject for a thread in the off topic section.

So wake guys and start chasing the 250 lenses and make the price go up.
This moderator has saved quite a few for difficult times!

 

[simonpg]

Hi Terry,

I think you know me well enough that the answer to this question is yes.
Not only with the 250 but also with the 80, the 100 and the 150 lenses here with aperture control.

Four ELX cameras with those lenses and a change of light give the soft whirring sound of four servo motors trying to keep up with different light levels.

Come and see!

Paul

Good God Paul I had never ever heard of this device! What a brilliant idea (so long as it does work!! ).

Yes, you must do a re-shoot of the 250 family when that SA gets back home!

With regards to cs_photo's question about studio and portrait work, my views are:
1. I have shot portraits with the 250 because it suited either the subject (compression) and/or environment (separation). ANY lens can be useful for portraits - you the shooter decides the type of portrait and selects the lens - there are no "rules".
2. Studio - I am an amateur and only do studio work through my camera club. The main thing I learnt in the first few studio sessions I did (portrait and product) was that you select the gear that fits the image purpose. Then you might need to work out a work-around for various reasons. For me such a situation was shooting panorama portraits with my XPan; another was the 250mm and CW winder making the gear heavy so I needed a tripod but put slippery paper under the legs to allow me some freedom of movement.
But, in the end if the 250 is your preferred focal length for the shot, wherever that may be - studio or field - use it and sort out the logistics to suit!
Like my review comments said, to my eyes the 250mm lens characteristics make it a beautiful lens. And of course optically it is superb!

 

[jotloob]

Here an image of the very first CZ SONNAR 4/250 .
A rather rare lens . Camera is HASSELBLAD 1600F .
Sorry Paul , I know , you are still hunting for one .
And I am still hunting for an SWA

View attachment 1130

 

[polypal]

Good God Paul I had never ever heard of this device! What a brilliant idea (so long as it does work!! ).

Yes, you must do a re-shoot of the 250 family when that SA gets back home!

I will invite the ancestor of the C series 250/5.6 and the youngest generation as well.
It will be a little crowdy as this concerns 6 lenses.

Paul

 

[fotografz]

Zeiss 250

One of my favorite lenses is the Zeiss 250/4FE ... a lens you don't hear about very much, but should, since it is quite the performer.

I tend to use a 180/4 with a 1.4X for the 250/2.6 focal length when needed. The 180 is so sharp that it helps make up for the 1.4X.

 

[polypal]

Here an image of the very first CZ SONNAR 4/250 .
A rather rare lens . Camera is HASSELBLAD 1600F .
Sorry Paul , I know , you are still hunting for one .
And I am still hunting for an SWA

View attachment 1130

Thank you Jürgen for rubbing it in!! :z02_mod_boese:

This is the one lens that is missing in my collection of early Hasselblads.
Early as in pre 500 series.
Another FUC member even had the guts to inform me he found one for about a third of the going rate.

Now you come along and torture me with this excellent specimen.
Worst of all I had your lens in my hands twice.
Once going to the repair shop the second time after it was serviced.
I was tempted to report the lens was missing but we both know there is not much fun let alone luck with that kind of scheme.

The hunt goes on.
BTW what did you do with the list of 8 SWAs I sent you a while ago?


Paul

 

[polypal]

Hi Marc,

You are absolutely right.
The 250/4.0 is an excellent lens and rather scarce as well.
It is quite different from the 250/4.0 for the early Hasselblads like Jürgen showed.
The FE was designed about twenty five years after the 250/5.6 lens.
Last mentioned in the pricelist of 2001 at a modest 8000 euro.
Spoken fast it is not as much as it looks like.

Paul

 

[jotloob]

Thank you Jürgen for rubbing it in!! :z02_mod_boese:
BTW what did you do with the list of 8 SWAs I sent you a while ago?
Paul

Yes Paul , life can be very hard . I know that from SWA experience .

I bought all 8 SWA's from your list , but they all arrived damaged .
So I took them to the local recycling station .

Marc

Yes the FE 4/250 is a very good lens . But , it is a TELE-TESSAR lens with a different lens design than the SONNAR . And it is also quite a bulky cannon . Paul arranged a repair for mine , as the aperture mechanism was faulty .
Now that cannon looks and works as new .

Jürgen

 

[polypal]

Yes Paul , life can be very hard . I know that from SWA experience .

I bought all 8 SWA's from your list , but they all arrived damaged .
So I took them to the local recycling station .

Paul arranged a repair for mine , as the aperture mechanism was faulty .
Now that cannon looks and works as new .

Jürgen

After all I have done for him Jürgen sees fit to upset me time and time again with his 250/4 Sonnar.
I was not surprised all his SWAs turned out to be rubbish.
Straight and immediate punishment, well deserved too.


Paul

 

[terrydent]

Here's my latest (oldest) 250mm...........

 

[jotloob]

Ohhhhh Terry

That SONNAR looks as if it is new .
I envy you for that wonderful cannon .
Oh , I forgot to say , and Paul knows about that , I am an absolute freak of gear , which looks and is mint or even better . I know , that passion is hard to be fullfilled , but patience is the mother of success here .
Jürgen