image of original crystal 500C/M courtesy of Leica Classic
Toronto. … with apologies to Ray Chandler and his 1940 dark mystery, “Farewell, My Lovely“. Sometime late in the last century, Hasselblad sold a life size crystal version of its 500C/M model. The crystal model was made in Sweden and its details engraved by a well known engraver. They are still available to day in places like Leica Classic in Europe. A 2/3 size crystal version in a luxury box is also sold by Getty in California.
Hasselblad lived well beyond its originator, Victor Hasselblad (d. 1978) and even today Hasselblad is a maker of extremely expensive high resolution digital cameras.
Many older film designs of Hasselblad cameras are sought after by camera collectors. The medium format SLR camera was originally created by Victor Hasselblad for his personal use. Various models became the work horses of studios and other photography professionals who preferred medium format to the tiny 35mm cameras. As digital took over from film, the owners of Hasselblad realized that digital cameras had to be designed and sold to stave off extinction. But camera collectors with shallow pockets can still own a Hassy – if only the 2/3 crystal variety …
