V PLANAR 80-6 +HASSELBLAD X
Early planar cameras for medium format digital cameras
A review and photo examples of using the HASSELBLAD V PLANAR 80mm 6-element lens with the HASSELBLAD X series.
Table of contents
Gallery
- Sample photos taken with the HASSELBLAD X2D.
Review
1．Overview
The Planar 80mm 6-element lens is an old Hasselblad V-mount lens.
The Hasselblad X-series has a medium format digital sensor of 44mm x 33mm, so a factor of 0.8 is applied, which is equivalent to 64mm in 35mm format.
The aperture is almost evenly spaced from F2.8 to F22 without half stops. It is a C-type lens with no electrical contacts. It has a rotation angle of about 250 degrees from infinity to the shortest distance of 3 feet (0.914 m). The one I own is a silver non-T* type with a preview button, and the serial number indicates that it was manufactured in 1956. The mount surface is engraved with “MADE IN GERMANY WEST FOR HASSELBLAD”.
2．Usability
I don’t have another Planar 80mm, so I haven’t been able to compare the image quality, but I like the soft depiction that comes with an old lens.
The lens itself covers 6×6, so there are no complaints about the peripheral area even on medium-format digital sensors.
Rather, I think it’s wonderful that a 67-year-old lens is still so usable in 2023. It makes me think of lenses as assets.
When using a V lens with a Hasselblad X-series camera, the sensor shutter is used for shooting. Therefore, when shooting with a fast-moving subject or when moving the camera after shooting, an indescribable rolling distortion occurs.
The mount adapter uses the genuine adapter shown below, but since it does not have a mechanism to drive the lens shutter, it is simply a tube that connects the body and the lens.
The focus ring is at the very front, but when you use the mount adapter, it is in a good, easy-to-use position. The aperture preview button is a bit stiff and needs to be handled carefully. It’s nice to have a preview button so you can play around with the mount.
In the comments, we have been advised that “The preview button on old Hasselblad lenses, such as 6-element lenses, will break if it is not operated while attached to a Hasselblad V system body,” so please be careful when operating the preview button with a mount adapter. We cannot guarantee that your valuable lens will not be damaged.
3．Add Info.
The chrome-colored lenses of the HASSELBLAD V-mount C series PLANAR are classified as follows: nonT* from around 1956 to 1961 was a “6-element lens”, nonT* from around 1960 to 1973 was a “7-element lens”, and T* from around 1971 to 1972 was a “7-element lens”. The black C lenses and CF lenses that came after were “7-element lenses”, and the CB lenses returned to the orthodox planar format with 6 elements. It is unclear whether the early 6-element lenses and the CB 6-element lenses have the same configuration.
Specification
| Item | P80 | C-P80 | CB-P80 | CF-P80 | C645-P80 | HC80 |
| focal length(mm) | 80 | ← | ← | ← | ← | ← |
| Maximum aperture | 2.8 | ← | ← | ← | 2 | 2.8 |
| Minimum aperture | 22 | ← | ← | ← | 16 | 32 |
| Lens configuration | 4群6枚 | 5群7枚 | 5群6枚 | 5群7枚 | 5群6枚 | 5群6枚 |
| Leaf blade | 5枚 | ← | ← | ← | ? | ? |
| Minimum distance(m) | 0.914 | 0.9 | ← | ← | 0.7 | ← |
| Lens length(mm) | 52 | 51.7 | 64.7 | 65 | 67 | 84 |
| Lens max diameter(mm) | 76 | 78 | 83.2 | 82.5 | ? | 70 |
| Filter type | B50 | ← | 60 | ← | 72 | 67 |
| Weight(g) | 458 | 465 | 550 | 510 | 524 | 475 |
| Release date | 1956 | ? | ? | ? | 1999 | ? |
Reference links
- ZEISS Discontinued Lenses Datasheet
- Sanyohdo Camera Store’s 6-elements lens web page
- Photo Yodobashi’s 6-elements lens web page
- How to find out when your Hasselblad was made
Update history
- 2025.2.13
- 2024.03.07
- 2023.05.04
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