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Hasselblad CFV Digital Back User report

Thanks Marc and Wilko, appreciate your prompt responses. I have only just secured a 503cx and I am looking at options available to me. I have had a 1DS Mk2 for most of this year and now had added the 503cx. It has created more awareness for me creatively. Looking forward to it so much.
regards
Matt.
 
Giorgio,


Welcome at the forum.

It is important to buy a CFV back or any other digital back for that matter from a company that can offer support in case there is a problem.
Buying local from a knowledgeable supplier can save you much aggrevation if the back does not behave as it should.
Shopping for the best offer does not mean you will buy from people who can help you in case of problems.

Most CFV backs function great from day one.
It is a reality not all CFV backs or other backs do perform that way.

Do not worry about your English its fine. Va bene cosi!

Paul
 
Dear CFV lovers.

I have sold my converted 203FE and CFV gear to a long time internet friend. He is traveling to Michigan from England to retrieve it. I will be providing a day long tutorial for him this Sunday ... and that night I will be parted from this new friend, and a dear gear friend.

I will continue to shoot film with my second 203FE and array of FE optics. This kit is my favorite film camera bar none. The Imacon 949 assures a seamless integration into the digital world.

I currently have CF adapters to enable use of all my Zeiss CFE and CFi lenses on the H3D cameras... so the 500 series optics will not languish in the gear locker. If my Aptus 75s sells I will outfit the 503CW with a 39 meg back, if not I'll have the Aptus mount switched to Hasselblad V.

I will be selling my 40/4 FLE CFi, and 180/4CFi ... and replace them with the 40/4IF and 180/4CFE. Should any of you come across the 40/4 IF or 180CFE please let me know.

Sniff, sniff, boo, hoo ... she was a beauty and never once let me down.



41419.jpg
 
Marc,

Sad news indeed. You recently gave me great advice on a similar decision I was making. I have enjoyed seeing your inspiring pictures taken with this great combo on this page. In the meantime, I'm really getting a kick out of my Contax 645, Phase One P25 and my Zeiss Hasselblad lenses. Very eclectic combination.

Tim
 
Not actually "Sad" Tim.

I operate with 3 other digital backs, and this fourth one, while the most fun, is the least used for my business. It has nothing to do with the performance at all.

So, it's just business.
 
Marc

I like that studio image of your 203FE . What a great camera . You should keep that image for your HASSELBLAD FAMILY ALBUM and give your 203FE warm wave good bye .

Jürgen
 
Under the 2 blue lines on the 203FE there are writing. I suppose that is the writing about the fe convertion ?
Is it possiblie to see it biger ?
 
Hi Mark,

I only meant sad in the sense that you seem so enamored with the camera and have spoken so fondly of it in this forum, and the photographs you have made with it are superb. But I can also see where a professional cannot get emotionally attached to a camera. We are all probably like that with the subject of our dayjobs.

Tim
 
There are other marks on the other sides ?

Nope.

Appreciate that Tim. I actually was "attached" to that camera and back. It is now in the hands of a photographer who will make it the center piece of his professional business. For me it was an extravagance since most of my MF digital work is done with H3Ds.

I also have let go of my SWC, and have put up for sale a chrome Leica MP3 & 50/1.4 ASPH LHSA, a bunch of other Leica M and R optics, a complete Mamiya 645 and Aptus 75s system ... all of which most people would kill to own.

Soon to go is an extensive Mamiya RZ Pro-II system in mint condition, and (snif,snif, boohoo) my beloved Hasselblad "Sunbird Yellow" 501CM. In this time of six figure pricing for a complete professional MF digital system, one cannot afford to be a "Photo Pack Rat" like I have been : -)

It's a move designed to streamline, consolidate ... and fund the future of my professional digital arsenal. Just look at what the price of a Hasselblad Multi-Shot H3D/39-II is and you'll understand.

However, it's not like my lifelong association with Hasselblad & Zeiss legacy products is coming to a close. Two 503CWs and a 203FE with an extensive array of CF & FE lenses are still here. The CFi and CFE lenses play an extended role even with the H3Ds due to the employment of CF adapters.
 
Marc,
what you are doing is very understandable from a business point of view. I know that if I were a professional photographer I wouldn't be able to justify having 6 Hasselblads. But alas, I am not, so I can
happy.gif
and I am sure that multi-shot H3D/39-II is a sweet piece of equipment. Glad to know you are keeping another 203FE and 503CW.
Rafa
 
I hate to reply to my own post but I forgot to ask. Marc, did you use your Mamiya 645 with your Hasselblad FE lenses by any chance? What was your experience with it and with the adapters? I'm not asking so much about the user experience, I know the adapters are dumb and you have to stop down meter, but the experience in terms of issues (lack of focus to infinity, image quality) etc. I am eyeing getting a Mamiya 645 with an Imacon Ixpress 96C back.
Thanks,
Rafa
 
No adapter problems that I encountered ... even with the 110/2 FE wide open close up, or at infinity.

If you get the Imacon 96C look at www.paramountcords.com and get a gold tipped sync cord. I had that 96C back and the sync connection was troublesome sometimes ... my dealer told me that digital backs are even more finicky than strobe sync is.
 
@ Jotloob

Hi, I'm currently researching the possibility of adding the CFV to my bag of tricks. I was particularly impressed with the shot of your "new home" uploaded on the 18th June 2007 8:47pm.

Bloody nerve really, but I was wondering if you could possibly upload a small crop of the grass in the foreground at 100%, I'm just curious as to how well the CFV has handled this.

If any other folk out there have particularly sharp ex&les of grass rendered by the CFV I'd really love to see some crops.

Thanks and best
Keith
 
I thought it might be as well to explain my rather strange request. I'm having a discussion with a couple of photographers using the Canon 1Ds MK11 and the new 1Ds MK111 and both report that neither can resolve individual blades of grass satisfactorily when using wide angle lenses. I'm not about to buy a Canon, far from it, in fact I'll probably be adding a CFV to my bag of tricks in the near future. As part of my work is horticulture/nature I'm obviously rather keen that any system/back I use is very capable of defining blades of grass.

So, I hope you can see that my request is perhaps not quite as strange as it might have appeared.
 
Keith

I am not a 100% familiar with the new forum yet .
I will try to post your desired crop , as soon as I have found out how to do it .

You will possibly not see what you want to see at a 72DPI resolution image .
:)
 
Many thanks jotloob, much appreciated.

If anyone would prefer to email me small crops I'd be delighted to receive them. Just let me know and I'll publish my address here.
 
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