End of the V - Hasselblad 503CW discontinued

As much as I probably knew this day would come, I am disappointed that it finally has, the distinguished Hasselblad V series camera is now no longer being made.  I have owned 3 V series in my time, two 500C's and a 500C/M.  They are all the same camera, though the later 500C/M had an interchangable mirror, and confusingly, so did later 500C's of which one of mine could do.  Two of them had the 80mm f2.8 standard lens, one had a 150mm f4 portrait lens, and I also had a 50mm f4 wide angle, which was the later CF FLE model.

The 500C is a completely manual camera, that requires you to think.  It is almost completely useless as a street camera, as it is too bulky and not 'quick on its feet' like a Leica M is.  However, when you get it right, the results are incredible.  Those huge negatives are just magic and capture so much detail from those great Carl Zeiss lenses.  V series, I'll miss you.

Sony NEX 5n with Sigma 19mm f2.8

Ancient Film

About 4 or 5 years ago I found a photo store in Newmarket selling off some bits and pieces for Hasselblad.  I ended up purchasing an older Carl Zeiss 150mm f4 portrait lens and an extra film back.  We then got talking and the owner decided to throw some film at me.  “Here’s some 120 Kodak T-MAX.  Its over 20 years old, but it’s been in the freezer the whole time.  It should be fine.”  That raised some questions about what else was in the freezer, but I left that alone and considered myself fortunate that someone had just thrown 25 rolls of film at me.

One of the films was used on a walk around in the Spadina and King area in downtown Toronto.  The shots worked out well and the film turned out superbly.  These shots were enlarged and now hang in the stairway of our house.