Hasselblad SWC vs. Mamiya 7 with 43mm lens – A Personal Wide-Angle Medium Format Showdown

A few years ago I came to own both a Hasselblad SWC and a Mamiya 7 with a 43mm lens. Both cameras are medium format cameras with very wide-angle lenses. I have long tried to maintain a minimalistic camera collection so I knew in the long run I would only keep one of the two cameras. Spoiler: I come to a very decisive conclusion that I suspect many will not agree with. But, these are my opinions based largely on photos from a few years back.

The Hasselblad has a fixed 38mm f4.5 lens and shoots a 6×6 format allowing for 12 shots per roll. It takes standard Hasselblad film backs and uses a very simple zone focus. For the uninitiated, this means guessing the subject distance and dialling in the focus based on the scale on the lens. I find this to be generally pretty accurate, but it often leaves me crossing my fingers and shooting at f/11 or smaller apertures in hopes focus will be good enough. The camera is simple but durable, and perhaps most important has one and only one good lens. On the downside I had owned it for nearly 4 years and I knew I only took it out on rare occasions over the past year or more. When I did take it out I was generally happy with the results but did get some very out of focus shots.

Here is a selection of images from the Hasselblad:

The Mamiya 7 on the other hand does have interchangeable lenses, but at the time all I had was the 43mm lens. An 80mm or 65mm were on my wish list but some research has made me question this thought as the 80mms seem to suffer from issues such as balsam separation and internal cables breaking. The camera has a nice selection of features including a light meter, standard rangefinder focusing and an automatic shutter mode. The Mamiya 7 shoots on a 6×7 format at 10 shots per roll in a standard internal spool-to-spool system. There are no options for alternate backs or alternate formats saving the vary rare 35mm adapter kit which creates double wide panoramas. While intriguing I don’t have one and doubt I ever will.

While the two cameras have some major features in common such as, film format and wide lenses, they have a lot of differences in usability. I have had issues with getting both cameras to get the prescribed number of shots per roll, often falling a shot short on both cameras on more than one occasion. In time, I remedied this with some experience. While I can firmly say I prefer the 6×7 format of the Mamiya, and really want to try other lenses, research has made me question the quality of the lenses. Many 80mm seem to suffer form haze and separation. My initial kit had an 80mm that was extremely hazy. Sadly it was not saveable and had to be cast aside.

Below is a selection of images from the Mamiya 7 and the 43mm lens:

My final choice

I have read many accounts online from other Mamiya users that suggest the cameras are fragile and the 150mm and 210mm lenses are lacklustre at best and very hard to properly focus. On the other hand, the Mamiya’s viewfinder seems more accurate in almost every instance and I really appreciate the rangefinder as focus is often a big concern of mine when shooting on older manual cameras.

In the end I made a decision as to which camera I will keep, and it was the Mamiya 7 which soon gained the 65mm lens as a companion. The Hasselblad was a solid reliable no thrills camera, but many of the “thrills” are things I, and I suspect many others would deem valuable or at least useful.

It is true that in the realm of modern medium format where a roll of film amounts to just a hand full of images the two bonus images granted by the SWC are a much appreciated advantage. But in the end the versatility of the Mamiya 7 and the option for more than one lens won me over. The rangefinder was also a serious advantage that I don’t think I could get by with out.

Ultimately, I think it is fair to say that both cameras have their limits, and both will have fans and detractors. I am just glad I had the chance to use both even if for a limited time.

Share this post: