Richard, the food at Don's is best followed by an anti-acid ... but it's fun enjoying a sunny day while scarfing burgers, fries and a Cherry Coke in car with some Rock 'n Roll on the radio.
Wilko, I personally find the 200 and 500 systems each have their own charms.
The 500 series is what I grew up with, and now have two 503CWs and a SWC ... which I have total faith in when using them to shoot wedding work. There is something about a totally mechanical camera that does that. Also, I like the ergonomics of the CW winder over the one for the 200 series cameras.
Over the years, I have collected just about the entire lens range for the 500 series from the fisheye through 300. I sold my 250/5.6 SA which was a mistake I will correct someday, and I've never really been interested in the 500. As prices became favorable, I have upgraded these lenses to the CFE and CFi versions if available. I'd like to eventually see the difference in practical terms from the latest 40 verses the CFE/FLE version I have now. And if I can ever find the Schneider zoom in excellent condition I'd give that a try.
One other thing that keeps all the 500 series lenses of value is that I can use all the lenses on the H3D/39 with Hasselblad's ingenious CF adapter... and the CFE versions are automatically recognized by the camera body (the CF and CFi versions have to be manually entered into the menu). 200 series lenses don't work on that system.
I'm newer to the 200 series, only having shot with a 203FE for a couple of years. Love it. Love the speedy lenses, especially the 50/2.8 and 110/2. The only lens I'm not crazy about is the Fuji zoom. It's okay, and has helped at weddings from time to time, but lacks that look of the Zeiss primes. A few months ago I stumbled across a brand new 203FE for $1,500. and snapped it up at warp speed. Sent the other 203 to Hasselblad for an overhaul, and to be converted to use the CFV digital back.
Of possible interest to Zeiss lovers of the FE lens series is that I use them on a Mamiya 645 AFD II body sporting an Aptus 75 digital back !!! Bet they'd sell more of those bodies if that V lens to Mamiya 645 adapter were common knowledge. The bonus is that the Mamiya provides AF confirmation in the viewfinder when using the manual focus Zeiss glass. A real aid when using the 50/2.8 in lower light, or seeking that critical focus with the 110/2 @ f/2. I used a similar adapter on a Contax 645 before selling that system.
I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about the Hasselblad system going back to it's origins as are some of the Guru's here, but I do know how to squeeze more out of the gear now and going forward into the future : -)
The dream team just for me personally, (instead of business): all three of the new silver satin Zeiss ZV-Classics on the Hasselblad signature limited addition CFV camera, 2 film backs, tucked into a nice bag with my Chrome Leica MP3 along with a few classic M lenses ... sigh.
