The Hasselblad brand has become the Rolls Royce in cameras. Often thought to be German, Hasselblad is in fact Swedish. The classic Hasselblad camera is the 500C, introduced in 1957 - the first in what is known as the V series. It is a medium format single-lens reflex camera, using German-made Carl Zeiss lenses with built-in leaf shutters. The 500 series has long been renowned for its superb optics, sturdiness, reliability, and compact size, and a...
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The Hasselblad brand has become the Rolls Royce in cameras. Often thought to be German, Hasselblad is in fact Swedish. The classic Hasselblad camera is the 500C, introduced in 1957 - the first in what is known as the V series. It is a medium format single-lens reflex camera, using German-made Carl Zeiss lenses with built-in leaf shutters. The 500 series has long been renowned for its superb optics, sturdiness, reliability, and compact size, and a modified 500EL/70 model was used by the astronauts who took part in the Apollo moon landings.
The Hasselblad 500C was one of the first system cameras. Its primary components - lens, prism/viewfinder, cranking knob, and film back - were interchangeable for flexibility. The square 6×6 (56mm x 56mm) format made the most of the lens image circle on the film and allowed more efficient cropping in the darkroom. Using a standard film back, 12 shots could be taken on a standard 120 roll of film, or 16 shots by fitting a 6×4.5 format back.
With the 500 series Hasselblad also demonstrated that a camera can be beautiful. No other design of camera, including later Hasselblads, has achieved such a classic look with its exquisitely composed straights and curves and the elegant counterbalance of dark textured surfaces with bright shining edges.
