3 Frames with the Hasselblad SWC

A little over a year ago I purchased a Hasselblad SWC on a bit of a whim. It’s one of those cameras I’ve always wanted but I wasn’t sure how much I would actually use it and prices for them tend to be on the high end. However one afternoon while browsing around Facebook Marketplace I found a listing for a copy at a price I was willing to pay. It was advertised as a camera that had been well used but was fully functional with clean glass so I jumped at it. COVID was in full swing at the time and I was looking for an excuse to get outside with my camera so ultimately it seemed like fate was falling right at my feet.

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Photographed with a Hasselblad SWC and Kodak Tmax 400 medium format film.

For those who aren’t aware of the Hasselblad SWC, it is basically a traditional Hasselblad built around a fixed and very wide angle lens. The 38mm f/4.5 Biogon to be specific. In the world of medium format that is an incredibly wide focal length. Ken Rockwell has a good overview of the system and goes into more detail about it than I need to so if you are interested in reading up on the technical specks I recommend his page dedicated to the subject.

The example that I purchased is technically a Hasselblad SWC/M with the “M” indicating the camera was “Modified” from its original version. Basically it was modified to fit a Polaroid back which I do not own and will never use. Despite a few upgrades to the viewfinder and coating on the lenses, all Hasselblad SWC cameras are more or less the same in operation and performance.

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Photographed with a Hasselblad SWC and Kodak Tmax 400 medium format film.

The images in this post are all from my very first test roll with the Hasselblad SWC. Clearly I was fascinated with looking up into the trees on my first outing with the camera. I couldn’t help it. The field of view with the Hasselblad SWC is wide. Almost shockingly wide. When you are a photographer that just enjoys looking through a quality viewfinder working with the SWC for the first time is a thrilling experience. The whole world opens up! In fact it is a more than a little intimidating to figure out what to do with all that information that will inevitably be in your frame.

I’ve used a lot of cameras in my life, but the Hasselblad SWC feels like something entirely different, new, and has opened up a lot of creative possibilities I never even considered before. After exposing only a few frames I quickly found myself asking why I waited so long to purchase one.

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Photographed with a Hasselblad SWC and Kodak Tmax 400 medium format film.

I’ve been surprised by the Hasselblad SWC in practice in the sense that it operates a lot like a point and shoot camera. A little bigger and boxer perhaps then most cameras one would use in a point and shoot style You compose your shot through a viewfinder on the top of the camera and focus by guessing the distance. That may sound imprecise and difficult on paper but in the real world it is incredibly easy. The field of view is so wide and the depth of field so long that you have to work pretty hard to get an image out of focus. This is especially true when working outdoors and with a slightly faster film where apertures in the f/8 to f/16 range are the norm. Using the sunny 16 rule for exposure I just point the camera and click and I don’t think all that hard about it. Most of my frames have come out incredible.

The 38mm Biogon is practically distortion free with no vignetting at all. Most extremely wide angle lens I’ve seen and used have darkness and soft corners but not the Biogon. Leave it to Zeiss I suppose to deliver when it comes to lens quality. I’ve posted a few other images on this blog using the SWC with more serious work, but I thought it would be fun to post a few frames from my very first roll. I suppose just looking up at the sky and at nearby tree limps isn’t the most exciting use of the Hasselblad SWC, but hey, you’ve got to test a new camera out on something right?

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Portrait in Natural Light

In my small living space I have a window that faces toward the west. It is by far the biggest window and for a very short window every year there is a period of time when the light coming through it is just stunning for about one hour a day. Depending on the weather this is typically around the end of April through the month of May.

It’s a soft light, yet very bright. It swoops down low toward the horizon and casts long shadows that require only the tiniest bit of diffusion. A sheer curtain is enough to do the trick. There is just enough space to make a nice head and shoulders portrait with the standard 80mm f/2.8 Planar on my Hasselblad 500cm. Most admirably, it is the kind of light were it is really hard to make a bad image when I’m using it.

I made this portrait last may using that lovely evening light coming through my western facing living room window. It was kind of an odd period of time. COVID was in full lockdown mode still, at least around the Portland area, and I had to be careful with who I was choosing to work with. I was incredibly grateful that even in the scariest and weirdest of times I was still able to get work done that I am proud of.

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Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 On The Streets of PDX

I’m incredibly lucky in my life in that I have the ability to walk to work every single day. I rather like this, not just because it saves me money on gas and is great exercise, but it also provides me with the opportunity to make some photographs while I’m traveling to and from the office. It’s nice getting a little creative before starting my day pushing paperwork and it does a lot for my mental well being.

One of the cameras I tend to carry with me often is the Minolta Hi-Matic AF2. I bought it at a thrift store over a decade ago not really expecting to use it much. Sometimes you just never know what is going to become important to you later in life.

The Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 is a bit of an odd bird when it comes to cameras. It’s a 35mm point and shoot camera that more or less does everything for you. Auto-focus. Auto-exposure. Auto-Flast. etc. etc. Strangely however it has a manual film advance lever and you set the film ISO manually on the lens. The camera also talks to you. Sort of. It makes a long continuous beep when you need to activate the flash and it makes short little beeps at you when you are trying to focus too close. If you can’t remember which beep is which, there is a handy cheat sheet printed on the back of the camera body.

Minolta was a weird camera company at times with some rather unconventional design ideas. The Hi-Matic AF2 is a good example of this.

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The lens is a fixed 38mm at f/2.8. It’s decently sharp. Not the sharpest lens I’ve ever seen. Certainly not the worst.

So why do I like using this camera for street photography? Well, there are a couple of reasons:

First, the camera is actually fairly large for a point and shoot 35mm camera. Most people these days are clamoring for tiny 35mm point and shoot cameras that one can fit in their shirt pocket. There is nothing wrong with this, but I often find tiny cameras like this annoying to use. Tiny viewfinders combined with tiny buttons can make for a frustrating experience at times.

The Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 isn’t going to fit in your pocket. But it is light weight and is easy to throw into a backpack. Which is something I have with me anyway when I’m on my way to work along with a laptop, my day planner, and a host of other daily tools. The viewfinder is big and easy to look through and thanks to the manual wind lever, the camera is mercifully free of any loud film advance motors when you are trying to not be noticed.

Perhaps more importantly, and easily my favorite aspect of the Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 is the fact that the lens is threaded for a filter. Even better, the sensor for the auto exposure sits behind the filter thread. That means it is easy to mount color filters to the camera and you don’t have to worry about compensating for exposure. I love this feature. When I’m working with black and white film I will often put a yellow filter over the lens just to increase contrast a little and make my negative punchier. This is usually not possible with point and shoot cameras but for whatever reason Minolta made this a feature on the Hi-Matic AF2. Thanks Minolta!!

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Photographed with a Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

I bought my Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 at a thrift store for a whopping $6.00. Looking around on-line at sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace I notice they tend to be going for about $30 or less. I’d call that a fair price if you plan on actually using the camera. A lot of point and shoot 35mm cameras seem to be commanding higher prices these days and I’m happy to see that the Hi-Matic has been spared that particular fate. This is not a miracle camera after all. It isn’t going to make you a better photographer. It doesn’t have the sharpest lens on the planet. It’s metering is adequate and gets the job done but isn’t always perfect.

I’m personally ok with all of that. In fact, I find the camera enduring because it is perfectly average, which isn’t always a bad thing.

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Water Reflections On Sauvie Island

I suppose it does not make me unique in any way what-so-ever that I’m attracted to reflections.

Mirror images tend to be a common theme in photography. Whether it is making a self-portrait in an actual mirror, or working with the doppelgänger of a human body reflected in the water, my creative instincts kick into over drive when presented with the opportunity to capture it all on film.

This one was surprisingly tough to pull off and most of the exposures on this roll of film where unsuccessful. You’d never know it looking at this photograph, but the water was moving quite swiftly thanks to passing boats and ships on a clear but windy day. On most of the frames the reflection is far too distorted to be at all interesting. But hey, that is why one gets twelve chances on a roll of medium format film. Twelve chances and one is bound to turn out the way you want it to.

That was thankfully the case in this situation.

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In The Studio With The Hasselblad

I had been hoping the last few weeks to get outdoors for some photographs but the weather has not been cooperating. Not really much of a surprise considering it is currently December. Sometimes I get lucky with warm-ish weather this time of year but alas, that wasn’t in the cards. It’s been windy, cold, and there have been a few dustings of snow.

So when I scheduled a session with Vivian Cove we were destined to do some work in the studio. Even with a roof over our heads and a heater blasting in the space the conditions were still a tad on the cold side, but we made the best of it.

In all honesty, I would say I’m a photographer who has never been completely comfortable in the studio. I really couldn’t point to a reason why. Maybe because it gives me too much time to think? That is a possibility. I tend to work best when I have to think fast and keep one eye over my shoulder. For me the studio just means too many decisions, too much time, too much comfort.

Or maybe I’m just nuts.

This image was made using the Hasselblad 500cm on a tripod with a single strobe line on the right side of the frame.

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