LEICA S with HC f4.5 300mm

A practical telephoto lens, but unfortunately it can’t be used with a teleconverter

A review and photo example of HASSELBLAD HC300mm (orange dot) with Leica S typ007.

Gallery

Review

The Hasselblad HC 300mm F4.5 (hereinafter referred to as HC300) is a valuable telephoto lens for medium format digital cameras. When used with a LEICA S, it becomes a medium telephoto lens with a focal length of 240mm in 35mm format equivalent. However, the only autofocus compatible telephoto lenses that can be used with the LEICA S mount are this lens and the Tele Apotessar 350mm for the CONTAX 645, making it a valuable lens.

The disadvantage of using it with a LEICA S, which is true for all H series lenses, is that the S Adapter H is not compatible with Hasselblad’s teleconverter H Converter X1.7, which would give it a focal length of 400mm in 35mm format equivalent, which is a shame because it would increase the focal length.

In the case of the Tele Apotessar, the teleconverter Mutar x1.4 can be used, so a focal length of about 400mm can be obtained.

The AF operation of the combination of the HC 300 and the LEICA S typ007 is very slow, and even with seagulls and kites, it is difficult because it does not focus instantly but gradually.
It is possible to deal with planes because you know the direction they are coming from, but since the LEICA S itself cannot take continuous shots, you have to time it and shoot in one shot.

Even with the maximum aperture of F4.5, the focus of the 300mm focal length is thin at the maximum aperture, and even if you focus on the eye of a duck, the surrounding area will gradually blur, so there is no doubt that camera shake during shooting will be severe.
Still, the HC300 is about 1kg lighter than the Tele Apotessar, so I feel like holding it in my hand.
The samples are all horizontal, but since I do not have a vertical grip, I do not think I can take stable shots by holding it vertically when using this lens.

I mainly use this lens with X2D because the AF speed is faster with X2D, and the image stabilization works with X2D, and I can use the teleconverter with some restrictions (X2D firmware 3.1.0 does not allow image stabilization when using the teleconverter), so I can achieve a focal length of 510mm.

When using this lens with a Leica S, the only difference between the new model called the Orange Dot and the original is the shutter speed when using the leaf shutter. The Orange Dot has a maximum shutter speed of 1/2000, while the original has a maximum shutter speed of 1/800.

HC300mm lens configuration diagram (taken from the official Hasselblad page)

Tele-apoTessar lens configuration (taken from the official Carl Zeiss page)

Specification and Competitor

Lens name	HC300mm	Tele Apotessar 350mm
Focal length(mm)	292	350
Max apature	4.5	4
Min apature	45	45
Lens construction	7群9枚	8群9枚
Min distance(m)	2.45	1.9
Lens length (mm) Distance from mount surface	198	273
Max diameter(mm)	100	114
Filter size(mm)	95	95
Weight(g)	2120	3610
Release date	Old ver=2002 Orange dot=2018