[Leica] Re: Hasselbald vs. Leica <much OT stuff>

[Jim Brick <jimbrick@photoaccess.com>]

At 10:56 PM 4/25/00 -0400, Doug Nygren wrote:
>Someone asked how Hasselblad can have tight quality control and Leica
>can't. My experience does not support this assertion. I prefer Leica to
>Hasselblad and I prefer Rollei to Hasselblad. Leica and Rollei cameras
>are easier to use, and I prefer the quality of the lenses I have with my
>Leica and Rollei to those I've tried with the Hasselbald. Being Swedish,
>I regret I have to say this.
>
>doug nygren

Well... as a Hasselblad user since 1961, my experience with Hasselblad is
exemplary. Starting in 1961, I started using Hasselblad in my commercial
photography business. Two 500C bodies, 50, 80, 120, 150, 250 lenses, backs,
bellows, tubes, etc. In fifteen years of hard use, I had not a single
failure or lockup.

I currently have a 503CW and a 203FE, 40CFE, 50CFI, 60CF, 80CFE, 100CFi,
150CFi, 180CFi lenses, A backs, E backs, etc... My daughter is the
recipient of the 503, 50, 80, 150, and A backs, she uses it in photo
school, I use the rest. We trade lenses occasionally depending upon who
needs what.

She has a Leica R7 and several lenses but needed MF for school. I gave her
30 minutes of instruction on the use of the Hasselblad system. She never
looked back. It was a natural fit.

I have never had a piece of Hasselblad equipment fail. I've never had a
piece of Leica equipment fail. Just the vertical RF alignment on my M6's.
Even though the adjustment is lacquered in place by the factory, the
alignment still seems to go out occasionally.

The single thing that causes most Hasselblad problems is that people put
the dark slide in their pocket, then sit on them, which usually bends them.
Using a bent dark slide will damage the foam light trap. Light traps are,
however, very cheap and very easy to install. New Hasselblad backs have
built-in dark slide storage. Lindahl makes a dark slide storage add-on for
older backs. Problem solved.

Jim

PS... <much OT>

Hasselblad has great incentive programs. When I bought the 503CW, they were
offering a free back with each new lens and "free" financing for 12 months.
I bought a 503, four lenses and got four film backs free. That's $3200+ in
backs. The cost of the system is spread over 12 equal payments. When my
daughter needed a MF system for school, Hasselblad was offering $1500
rebate on the 203 & 205 cameras and again, free 12 month financing. So I
got the 203 for myself since I'll never see the 503 again... which is the
way I planned it anyway.

What I paid to go through Brooks Institute of Photography would have bought
a dozen Hasselblad systems. It is a great school, but expensive. My
daughter is going to a Junior College (DeAnza) for two years, followed by a
California state college (San Jose State) for two years majoring in Music
and photography. Her photography instructor is a Brooks graduate and seems
to be teaching the same curriculum only less intense. The main difference
is that Brooks was (when I went through 1960/61) "total immersion" for two
years. You ate, drank, and slept photography. There were a lot of dropouts.
What I'm paying for her education is minuscule compared with the cost of
Brooks, and Brooks doesn't teach music. Juilliard plus Brooks would have
landed me in debtors prison forever! So the price of a Hasselblad 503CW
system is cheap when looking at the big picture.

The rewards are already coming in. From her first MF class portfolio (she
chose trees) of seven Ilford 11x14 FB Warmtone mounted on 16x20 mount
boards (Tri-X @ 200 in XTOL, Neutol +) she sold two of them (one time
publication rights) to a Silicon Valley company for the cover of
promotional material, including a credit line. Not bad for being genuinely
involved in photography for only one year.

Leica should have creative purchase plans. I talked to the Hasselblad rep
and he told me that they got a H-U-G-E amount of new business because of
the "free" 12 month financing. It was supposed to be over September of
1999. It was extended and is still going on. A sure sign of success.

I could babble on for much much more but I'll stop the boredom now.

Thanks,

Jim again