Hasselblad Flexbody

[Deon]

My all time favorite camera, is the Hasselblad FlexbBody. Having spent much of my early years in commercial photography assisting photographers using view cameras (4x5, 4x10, 5x7 and 8x10) in studio and on location. While the Flexbody has nowhere near the function of a view camera it has just enough movements to satisfy most needs with the convenience of medium format (film/digital). The downside to the camera is that especially the wide angle Zeiss lenses, the image circle is small, meaning adding even a small amount of rise or fall to the film plane, you run out of lens real fast. And, it's slow to use. I like slow, as I tend to have a much higher success rate while shooting in slow mode...

Keep everything in focus. Black Rock Desert, Nevada. Hasselblad Flexbody w/ 350mm f=5.6 CF lens (Fuji Velvia).

Or, selective focus. Old Dodge on Christmas Tree Pass, Nevada. Hasselblad Flexbody w/ 180mm f=4.0 CFi lens (Fiji Velvia).

Years ago I owned a Hasselblad Arcbody for this very reason. The Rodenstock glass had plenty of image circle, but also had a lot more contrast and color saturation than the Zeiss lenses, making them stand out from the rest of the system. Also slow to use.

Pogonip near Fallon, Nevada. Hasselblad Arcbody w/45mm f=4.5 lens (Fuji Provia).

Best,

Deon

 

[jotloob]

@Deon
I like all three images . Very well done .
I own almost all HASSELBLAD Type of cameras as a collection , except the FLEX BODY and ARC BODY .
One reason was the small image circle of the HB lenses and therefore I somehow landed with ALPA cameras and Rodenstock lenses .
And I have completely given up using film and work with CFV39 CFV50 and CFV50c .

Please tell me , what is the w/45mm lens you used for your last image ?

 

[Deon]

@Deon
I like all three images . Very well done .
I own almost all HASSELBLAD Type of cameras as a collection , except the FLEX BODY and ARC BODY .
One reason was the small image circle of the HB lenses and therefore I somehow landed with ALPA cameras and Rodenstock lenses .
And I have completely given up using film and work with CFV39 CFV50 and CFV50c .

Please tell me , what is the w/45mm lens you used for your last image ?

That image was the Rodenstock 45mm f=4.5. I also owned the 35mm f=4.5 Rodenstock lens. The 45mm lens was rock and roll, 35mm not so much...

 

[jotloob]

@Deon
Sorry , there was a misunderstanding from my side . I thought the images were all taken with the FLEXBODY .
But it looks as if you own and work with FLEX and ARC - BODY .
From the ARC BODY only about 700 were produced and it is very hard to get a good one with all three available lenses .
Thats what is still missing in my collection .

Please go ahead and show more images . Thank you .

 

[Deon]

For anyone interested in purchasing a Hasselblad Arc or flex body camera, you should bone up on what came with the camera when new. Most dealers on line have parted out the camera so far it will not function as it should. My first FlexBody was purchased new back when they first came out (1996), so I know what they came with out of the box. My current FlexBody was purchased used on eBay five years ago. The cute red cabe release is the first thing to disappear (no big deal), but the correction slides are absolutely necessary and RMfx viewfinder makes life so much easier and that is never with the cameras anymore (they came with it folks!). The camera I found had everything except the cable release and RMfx viewfinder. I later figured out the ground glass adapter was not for the flex, but it works fine. So do your homework before you purchase!

Fandango Pass, California (Modoc National Forest). Hasselblad Flexbody w/ 100mm f=3.5 CF lens (Fuji Velvia)

 

[photoeil]

I have the Flexbody for years now (1996), used it (professionally) mostly for close-up with the S-Planar 120mm which allowed enough movements, particularly that at close-up the image circle is wider than at infinity.
But I was never happy with the Flexbody system when used with wide angles as then the image circle was too small (by far).
So I got a (used-) Silvestri SLV with a Schneider Super-Angulon 47mm and a few Wista roll film backs (6x9 & 6x7). This camera system really good for architecture and landscapes.
I am retired now and don't really need digital anymore, just for a little fun...

PS: when I was still professionally active I had digital Nikons (D850) and PC lenses, of which I happily got rid when retiring a few years ago, now the darkroom is my kingdom (luckily I kept my darkroom in working shape)...

• FUJIFILM - X-Pro3
• 50.0 mm f/2.0
• 50.0 mm
• ƒ/16
• 1/250 sec
• Center-Weighted Average
• Manual exposure
• ISO 100

 

[Deon]

Very nice! I've lusted after those Silvetri cameras, so nice to have glass that can cover what the camera can do. Back in the day I owned a Hasselblad ArcBody with the 35mm, 45mm and 75mm lenses, I liked the camera but the lenses where Rodenstock (much higher contrast) and didn't match the Zeiss glass of the rest of the Hasselblad line, making it more difficult to put together a cohesive body of work.

 

[photoeil]

I think that the Schneider lenses are much closer to the Zeiss's image presentation, but that's a more personal impression.

Here you see about the same setting, Saint Bavo's Abby in Ghent, although taken with a few years difference but it gives you an idea...

First photo taken with the Biogon 38mm, second with the Super-Angulon 47mm, both negatives scanned on an EPSON V750.

• EPSON - Perfection V700/V750

• EPSON - Perfection V700/V750