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I guess I have changed direction once again. Ok maybe I have not changed that much. As some of you know, I purchased a Bronica ETRsi and also a Hasselblad ELX. After sending the ELX to my Tech, and finding out both the lens and back was going to require several hundred dollars of service I returned it under my 14 day exchange policy. This put me back to square one with my choice of Hasselblad. During this time I kept reading and spent a little time shooting the Bronica. This allowed me to revisit my developing techniques and find out what it was like to shoot this camera and if the Bronica line offered me what I wanted or thought I needed. The final answer to this was no. So I put the Bronica ETRsi up for sale and now I am waiting for the buyers money order to arrive in the mail.
During this process I was still looking to replace the Hasselblad ELX. I was strongly advised that a later model Hasselblad 500 C/M with a waist level and NC-2 45 degree prism would suit me well. In the opinion of several I spoke with, it was suggested that the ELX while suited well for studio work, the weight and shape of the camera itself would make it more difficult to handle in the field.
A very good deal on a later model 500 C/M came up and I jumped on it. While waiting, I kept reading everything I could on this model. Along the way I discovered the Hasselblad 201F series. I started doing a comparison between the two models. I came to understand that there was a lot less of these sold because they were part of the more expensive Hasselblad 200 series of cameras. Here is was I discovered when comparing the two.
The 201F camera feature TTL/OTF like the ELX does. The 500 C/M does not. The 200 series of camera's have a focal plane shutter for Hasselblads line of shutterless lenses as well as the ability to use leaf shutter lenses. From my understanding, the 500 C/M camera, like all 500 series line camera's can only use leaf shutter lenses. The advantage here goes to the 201F and 200 series camera's because Hasselblad made a series of faster shutterless lenses. They include the 50 F2.8, 110 F2.0, 150 F 2.8, and a few others. To me this is very significant because it allows me the ability to shoot in lower light settings.
Another difference between the two 201F and 500 C/M is that there is a longer mirror in the 201F. From my understanding the shorter mirror in the 500 C/M has caused an annoying vignetting problem for many photographers when using longer focal length lens. This problem was solved in the 201F. There are also several other cameras in the Hasselblad line with longer mirrors as well. A couple of them are the 553 ELX and the 501 C/M. There are several more but I am not going to list them all here. The 201F also offers instant return on the mirror and the 500 C/M does not.
Ok, I know what some of you are probably saying. The 201F has an electronic shutter and uses a battery for the focal plane shutter. Some see that as a drawback. I would suggest those that do are not familiar with the 201F. If the battery fails in a 201F camera, then the 201F acts exactly like the fully mechanical 501 C/M and will still function. Again, another point for the 201F and its versatility. To me its like having a back up camera with me all the time. The shutter speed on the 500 series is limited to 1/500s because that is the limitation of leaf shutter lenses. The 201F focal plane shutter has a 1/1000s max shutter speed.
Flash sync on the 201F is limited to 1/90s when using the focal plane shutter. When using leaf shutters on the 201F the flash will sync up to 1/500s of the lens which is the max on the leaf shutter lenses. So the 500 C/M or 500 series camera's while different do not gain an advantage here. The ability to use and sync of leaf shutter lenses on the 201F is the same as the 500 C/M. The big difference is that while the 500 series can only sync with flash of the shutter in the leaf lens, the 201F gives you TTL/OTF (Though the lens/Off the film plane) sync, while the 500 C/M does not.
At this point I think I need to mention there are several other models in the 200 series line. One of these is the 203FE which has built in center weighted metering. Another is the 205TCC which has built in spot metering. As far as I know, the 201F can use any metered or non-metered prism that Hasselblad makes. The 203 and 205 need a prism with a cutout at the front to allow the clearance of the electronics and have a select group of prisms that work with those two cameras. The 203 and 205 also have electrical contacts built in so they can communicate with the lens like the FE line of lenses for the metering system coupling. The 201F does not have these contacts.
I did find out that just like the 500 series, you can use a Digital back with the 201F. This is only limited to the use of certain lenses with the 201F body because a cable is required from the lens to the Digital back for the camera and back to function properly.
So this is where I am at now, and I will most likely be putting up my 500 C/M for sale. Its taken a lot of reading and comparison to finally get to this point. Of course my next big step is figuring out which lenses I actually want. I know that if possible, I probably will stay with 2.8 lenses with few exceptions so I can take advantage of all the speed and versatility the 201F has to offer me.
Thanks for reading,
Jason
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Gone out shooting with the new toys yet? Lets see some shots 
Originally Posted by Xia_Ke
