Since the release of the Hasselblad CFV 39 back I’ve wondered how it would feel and function. Yesterday Steve Goldsmith, from Calumet, kindly drove 2/3rds of the way, through rain and beastly road construction traffic. A big thank you goes out to Steve. We met in Racine and put the back on my old CM and made a few shots with each of my lenses:
40 mm, (click images for larger view)
80 mm
and 150 mm.
(ISO 400)
(ISO 100)
A very interesting experience from the start right through to post processing. Drop in the supplied ground glass with crop indication. Attach the CFV back; just as simple as switching a film back. No cords or electronic connections. Very cool. Buttons and menus are clear and quick.
The view screen had plastic on it and the images looked horrible (hopefully better without the plastic).
Viewing angle is extremely critical on this view screen. Shooting is exactly like using a film back; including the cranking after each frame – which really felt wonderfully nostalgic. Pre-release of mirror and shutter release all work just as it did in the good old days.
Back at the computer: The large 45 MB RAW files take significantly longer to load into Lightroom; when compared to DMR, 5D and M8 files. The files look quite impressive at ISO 100. At ISO 400 a fine grain “noise” begins to emerge in shadows; however with a very tight film grain look. Exporting from these large files also takes a lot more time. In other words big sensors need big computers and hard drives.