[Leica] Some say Hasselblad must only be used on tripod...

[George Lottermoser]

On Mar 17, 2015, at 12:37 PM, Mark Rabiner wrote:

> A main point is lots of people on chat groups make a big point of declaring
> the limitations of Hassy. They claim you can't use it like a Rolleiflex for
> street work.  Only in the studio. Well we know you can.

Yes. Of course.

You can also use a 4x5 Graflex or 4x5 or 5x7 Technika
or a Bronica, or SL66, or Pentax 6x7 or Mamiya Universal Press
Leica S2 or S, Hasselblad H series, PhaseOne,
and the list could go on and on
for "street work."

Yet Certain Realities Do Exist:
1) Lenses for 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9, 4x5, 5x7 are:
	a) progressively longer focal lengths for any given field of view
	b) with slower apertures
	c) with shallower depth of field
	and
	d) which makes them harder and slower to focus under any conditions.

2) Mirror slap in 120 (or medium format digital) SLR cameras is both vibration prone and loud.

So.
Without doubt locking any camera down on a solid tripod
reducing focus variables of either camera or subject movement
locking the mirror up
and using a cable release
will give you the sharpest possible image.

Now if and when sharpness "is overrated."
well hell sure handhold the sucker.

Anyone who's ever owned and loved a medium format or large format camera has done it.
I have 3 different grips for my Hasselbad 500CM; and used them all depending on the assignment.
Often the best grip is no grip at all.

I pretty much instinctively prerelease the mirror before pressing the between the lens compur shutter;
most… but not all times.

The fact that my Rollei TLR did not have a mirror flopping about
definitely made it a quieter, more vibration free, off tripod, candid tool
than the Hasselblad 500C and CM.
The Rollei crank also advanced the film quicker than the 'blad gearing.
Neither was as fast and accurate to focus as the Mamiya Universal.

Every tool requires practice, experience and technique.

Everyone's mileage will vary… depending on driving technique and set up

Regards,
George Lottermoser 

http://www.imagist.com
http://www.imagist.com/blog
http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist