Customer Reviews

The Hasselblad Manual, Fourth Edition: A Comprehensive Guide to the System

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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If you are interested in owning, collecting, operating Hasselblad cameras, then you really need to have a copy of this! To my knowledge, Ernst Wildi is one of the most respected authorities in medium format photography and one of the gurus in Hasselblad history. Just about everything one needs to know about using any "Hassy" or "'blad", new or old, is in this book. It includes how-to on accessories, lenses, film backs - you name it! This makes a great reference. Wildi's style is easy to read, intelligent but not arrogant, and mostly done from the perspective of a teacher or coach. Wildi is an excellent photographer, by the way! So, curl up in your easy chair with your beautiful Hasselblad in your lap, and read about its pedigree and how you can make beautiful pictures!

This is a fine book and worth reading for the Hasselblad owner, at least once. The author makes an effort to cover every aspect of using a Hasselblad. In general, the author achieves success.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the macro photography guide. Here the author describes, in a clear and concise way, the details of what extension tube and/or closeup filter has what effect on the subject field width and exposure compensation. This alone makes owning this book a good idea as a reference for the serious professional.

One aspect of using the Hasselblad I was not able to fully grasp from the book was how to unload a film back. I guess the author just assumes you know what to do, as he never gives instructions as to how many turns on the film back crank you must make to fully bring the trailer onto the takeup reel. Myself, I thought three or four turns was enough, foolishly. Having jammed the camera in front of 100 guests at a fashionable Washington DC society wedding taught me otherwise. It was good thing I had a rangefinder from Fuji handy and ready to go, and the job came out well in the end.

Another reviewer says Hasselblads are costly. My experience is that they are a valuable tool in a profitable business; hold their value reasonably well; leak light; break down often; require costly, tentative maintenance and take nice photographs. Get this book if you want to learn about Hasselblad.

I recently purchased a Hasselblad 500CM and wanted to get up to speed with it. While I have a fair amount of experience with film and digital photography, I'm still a novice when it comes to the medium format world. This manual has been a great help. Clear writing, good organization, helpful diagrams. It's an excellent resource, even though it is rather dated (I believe the most current version is the 8th edition, and this is the 4th.) I purposely bought an older edition since the more recent ones devote a significant amount of text to the digital Hasselblads, which for me, remain only a dream (at least for now!).

There is some background material on photography that probably will be old hat to anyone with any degree of experience, but you don't feel like the author is talking down to you even on the basics. Plus, never hurts to go through the fundamentals again.

Highly recommend for anyone with a pre-digital Hasselblad.

A great way to learn about medium format photography is to read this book and then rent a Hasselblad for a weekend.