Yes I do own this 50 Megapixel Hasselblad digital back and I will share my first experiences with it right here in this blog.
What I like about the CFV 50c
This should be the least important thing but I love the look of it on a Hasselblad 500 type camera. It is stunning. Compared to all other digital backs like the PhaseOne P- or H-series, the Imacon/Hasselblad Ixpress or Leaf it is by far the most old-style Hasselbladish back.
The 50 Mpixels are more than sufficent in my opinion. I could do well with less like the 16Mpixel Hasselblad Ixpress 96c I also own. My PhaseOne H10 which is just short of 11 Mpixels may be a bit too short on pixels for today’s standard but will still produce usefull images. Today’s 100 Mpixel sensors may give even more detail, but I do not think I will really see the difference. And it is two times the number that my MFT camera’s offer which are in the range of 16-21 Mpixels. Even my older Pen E-P1 with just 12 Mpixel still is capable of producing great images.
The real marvel comes when you see the detail that you can capture with this back and the Hasselbald Carl Zeiss lenses. Due to the large sensor size, measuring 44x33mm, and the 16 bit color space capability this combination delivers stunning images, rich of detail and color. Most sensors only offer 12 bit color space so this back give you 16 times more colors!
Compared with my Ixpress backs the CVF offers better mobility as there is no need to cary a bulky image bank with ytou. The CFV stores the images on a CF card and has it’s own battery. This is a huge advantage in my opinion even though you will get used to carying the image bank with a clip on your belt and the cable to the Hasselblad. The battries that it takes are of a very common type and still easy to get: Sony NP-F type batteries that come in different sizes and capacities. The smallest one, the NP-F550 fits the camera best as it is more or less flush with the bottom of the back, trhe larger ones will protrude. You can get them for a very reaonable price too.
Also, on the ISO part this CFV back outperforms the other old Imacon en PhaseOne backs I have. Th eCVFV can be used from ISO 100 to 6400 while the Ixpress ans H10 only support 50-400 ISO which is often a thing condidering that the Carl Zeiss lenses are not the fastes lenses ever made often starting at just F/4 or f/5.6. Especially on handheld outdoor shootings with a handheld Hasselblad camera a little extra speed is a very much welcome guest. Up to 1600 it does great. Values beyond that I try to avoid (also with my other camera’s). But when needed it is great to have a 3200 and 6400 option at hand.