500 vs Mamyia 645AFD

[goncaloproenca]

I know this is a Blad forum and I will most likely will get shot and hanged after posting this but...

Well, Im trying to amass as much info I can about the Hasselblad V series as I can and I found some sweet deals on 500 CM, 501CM and 503CW bodies, complete yadadada... All for around 600-700 pounds, nice condition, with WLF, 80mm lens, A12 backs...

And now I got into a Mamyia 645 AFD, complete as well for the same price.

Oh Lord.

Can they stop with the options in MF ?

The Mamyia is a much better camera , I can see, has a lot of features lacking in the Blad : got AF, imprints in the film the exposure values, has metering, etc.

Blad has a couple of advantages : bigger size film ( 6x6 vs 6x4.5 ) which translates to the square format which I'm curious to try out and.... that's it.

Im eager to try the blad, always a dream camera now into reachable position finantially for me to try Medium Format but the Mamyia seems such value for money that is hard to ignore... The only good thing ( or bad ) is that the Mamyia is so dSLR a-like that I rather feel not attracted ( if that makes sense... ) by it, fearing that the "novelty" effect will vanish soon after I get it, something I dont see happening with the Blad.

Can someone shed some light and opinions here ? I understand that the M645AFD is more likely a contestant to a Blad H1 but problem is that costs exactly the same as a 503CW and the H1 is twice its price. So had to ask, sorry

 

[stever]

In the beginning there was only the Hasselblad.

The Hasselblad is a unique camera in that it is a vast improvement over all of its competitors' decendants.

Steve

 

[HSPluta]

I have been making photographs since the 1960's and have worked at one time or another in all of the formats. One of the machines I had for a period of time was an RZ67. It was a fine machine and I made some stunning photographs with it. This time around I wanted a Hasselblad. If I want automation and all the features you describe I would use my Nikons. They do everything you mention and at 12mp the prints up to 14" wide are as good as the prints I can get from just about anywhere else. I can also shoot 100 or more shots in a blink of an eye and am bound to get atr least one that is presentable. Of course if the battery goes low or the microprocessor takes a dump I have an expensive paperweight. Same with the 645.

The 'blad will get me closer to the work I did with large format, it will slow me down and makes me think about the construction of each shot. I will have to decide on the exposure, I will have to set the focus and DOF. ( I know all this as I had a Kiev 88 ). This is the point I am at in my life. The thing about the Hasselblad is that even the old lenses are a no compromise superior mechinism. And the camera itself, well just hold it in your hand, it is a piece of engineering that will long outlast me and will be past down to my grandchildren.

I think each person should experiance all the different tools out there. The automated machine are fantastic to play with but in the end there are those machines that are simply in a class by themselves. And I am glad I lived long enough to finally be able to own one.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!

 

[bensonga]

Welcome to the forum! Glad to see you made it here from GetDPI.

As others have said here and on GetDPI, both the Mamiya 645 and the Hasselblad V-series are good cameras. I owned a Mamiya 645 1000S for quite a few years in the 1990s and got some good photos with it....so to some extent at least, I know of what I speak. There are some very good lenses in the Mamiya line up and I still own a Mamiya twin lens reflex camera....so it's not like I'm supremely biased one way or the other.

I do think that while the Mamiya 645 is a good camera.....the Hasselblad, by virtue of it's design (interchangeable film backs, for example), quality build and Zeiss optics moves into the great and classic camera realm.

If you buy the Hasselbald......I don't think you will regret it. Unless, of course, autofocus lenses are really important to you.....in that case, you should already know the answer to your question.

For me, manual focus and the manual operation of the Hasselblad is all part of the experience I enjoy. I don't need/want an autofocus medium format camera for the kind of photographs I take.....your needs may be different.

Gary

 

[michaelhcothran]

I think you're comparing apples to oranges. The Hasselblad 500 series is a strictly mechanical structure, with a build quality far superior to anything Mamiya makes (although I have used quite a few Mamiya cameras over the past couple of decades, and have enjoyed their electronics). Even the best of Sekor lenses, while excellent, do not have the finess of a Zeiss optic.
If you want all the latest bells & whistles of electronic MF cameras, then the Mamiya 645 AFD is the way to go. For quick auto-everything, don't-have-to-think-too-much shooting, a modern electronic camera fits the bill. And there are certainly times in a photographer's life when this is important. There's a reason why the H1 costs more than the 645 AFD, but between these two systems, I'd opt for the Mamiya, myself.
On the other hand, if you want, or can live with, the steadfast mechanical feel of precision, and can "think" (or at least have time to think) as a photographer, the Hasselblad V camera ( 500 & 200 series) is king of the hill. Other than Leica, very few cameras can match its precision and optics. I must confess that I often wish I had more auto-this and auto-that with the Hasselblad, but after a 38 year romance with the 500CM and 501CM cameras, I would be lost without them.
Mamiya and Hasselblad are different horses for different courses. I've owned both over the years, and have found both to be very useful in certain circumstances. But the Hasselblad has remained in my arsenal since 1972. The Mamiya's, as well as other systems (Fuji, Nikon, etc, have come and gone).
Michael H. Cothran

And as an after-thought, I'll add this - When I shot landscapes with Mamiya's (C330, RZ and RB), no one took notice. However, to this day, each time I set up my Hassy in the field, there are other photographers around who will approach me, admiring the camera, and often engage in "enviable" conversation. No, this doesn't make the images better, nor make me a better photographer, but, in all candor, I certainly get a pleasurable "ego" trip out of it each time. Not to mention, getting to meet lots of other photographers who might not otherwise have stopped to talk.

 

[polypal]

Hasselblad Romance

Thanks Michael for your explanation why Hasselblad cameras have become a part of your photographic life.
It read like a lovestory which in fact it is.
It reminds me of the newly appointed CEO of Hasselblad in Denmark/Sweden.
We can only hope this CEO understands what long lasting relationships many photographers have with the direct descendants of the first Hasselblad camera constructed along the wishes Victor Hasselblad had in the late forties of the last century.

Like you I know how much respect a Hasselblad camera receives whenever I use the Hasselblad in a public place.
That happened to me in the seventies and it still does.
Hasselblad V series cameras are an icon that stands for a professional high quality camera.
Last but not least there is the beautiful range of Carl Zeiss lenses made for Hasselblad since the early fifties.

Even today a V series camera stands for a well designed body that will last many decades in the hands of any amateur or professional user who has the camera serviced every 3-5 years.
One of my oldest V series cameras was made in 1958. It must have made at least 800.000 exposures.
That camera was serviced by Hasselblad after I bought it in 2001.
It is still a very good user although its looks clearly show a hard working life.


Paul