When I read the first couple of messages this morning, the same points that Richard and Elliot made concerning the classic quality of the V series and the Leica rangefinders also came to mind. Whether specialist repair persons will be available 25 years down the road for 'Blads as they are for 60+ year old Leicas is, however, another story. One would hope so ... but then, that will depend on the availability of parts.
At present any unofficial statements re. an imminent cashiering of the V series by Hasselblad needs to be taken with a few (possibly many) grains of salt. Admittedly, the fact that 503 bodies are still being given away to fuel sales of the V96C digital back does suggest that Hasselblad may be clearing excess 503 inventory. That isn't an uncommon business practice in general, and doesn't necessarily preclude further production runs.
Conversely, given the 'Blad/Imacon merger, it is understandable that emphasis would be given to their digital products. Within that context, the continuation of the V series may well depend on just how well their V96C digital back has been selling. If corresponding sales have been soft, that may well be sufficient reason for Hasselblad to discontinue the V series. An even greater potential concern is that if V96C sales have been poor, Hasselblad may decide not to develop future digital backs for existing 5XX cameras. And if so, Hasselblad may be further disinclined to ensure a supply of V series parts apart from what would be sufficient to support its warranty obligations -- it wouldn't be in their best interest to support a platform that, by being able to accept alternate digital backs (e.g., Phase One), siphons sales away from the H series.
Of course that is all conjecture; my belief is that it would be premature to be overly concerned about Hasselblad not continuing their support of the V series. Though sales of film-based cameras have softened significantly in Europe and North America, this isn't necessarily the case in Asia. My understanding is that sales of V series cameras are strong in China, and in general the Chinese market for photographic materials is growing and remains fairly traditional -- one just has to look at the expanding choice of LF and speciality MF cameras coming out of China to realize that. I am fairly certain that Japanese companies -- especially Fuji -- are similarly aware, particularly since traditional film-based photography remains strong in their own domestic market despite the inroads made by digital imaging. Given its affiliation with Fuji, it it likely that Hasselblad is similarly aware that the global market for film will remain viable for some time to come.
For the sake of the V series, one just has to hope that Hasselblad did not cede the film-imaging market to Fuji as the price for their co-development of the H series. If one considers Fuji/Hasselblad as a conglomerate, they offer the most comprehensive range of general photographic materials and equipment available from any single manufacturing entity. Any overlaps in products have generally been smoothed-out by the discontinuation of redundant camera models. Fuji definitely is focused toward film -- to the point that it may well become, by default, the sole major manufacturer of photographic film. Hasselblad, in turn, provides complementary digital-imaging capabilities through its Imacon products. In fact, if it weren't for its acquisition of Imacon, Hasselblad's primary contribution to the partnership would be the cachet inherent to the classic respectibility of its name. If Hasselblad were solely on its own, it wouldn't make sense for it to continue the V series for that line no longer fits the direction the company has taken. Whether Fuji wishes the V series to continue may well depend upon whether the H series has come to be accepted, if ever possible, as sharing the pedigree of its predecessor despite the disassociation from Zeiss.
And that is the kicker: it may well be that for the H series to be accepted fully on its own merits, it may need to be disassociated from its predecessor. One way to do so would be for Hasselblad to bring the V series to a close; another way would be to subtly discrediting it by marketing the 503CW in an exorbitant manner similar to Leica's a-la-carte strategy
