What you might have
Hasselblad is a Swedish camera from Gothenburg. The first civilian model, later called the 1600F, was shown in New York in 1948. The 500C followed in 1957 with the shutter built into each lens, and its successor the 500C/M, from 1970, stayed in production for nearly two decades. A Hasselblad is a system: a body, a lens, a film back and a viewfinder, each sold separately.
Rolleiflex is the twin-lens camera from Franke & Heidecke in Braunschweig, Germany: one lens to look through, one to take the picture. The cheaper sister is the Rolleicord.
What decides the price
- The lenses. For Hasselblad, the Zeiss lenses usually carry more of the value than the body. Clear glass without haze or fungus matters most.
- The shutter. Every speed should fire, from one second to the fastest.
- The film back. Does it transport and stop at each frame? Is the dark slide there?
- The viewfinder. Mirror and focusing screen clean, a prism finder working if there is one.
- For Rolleiflex: the version and the taking lens, and whether the built-in light meter still moves.
Where you can sell it
- A marketplace or a film photography forum. Often the best price per part, but selling a system in pieces takes time.
- A camera dealer. Fast, with a lower price.
- At auction. For rare versions and complete boxed sets.
- Unseend. One estimate for the whole outfit, so you do not have to take it apart and sell every piece yourself.
How it works with us
Photograph the body, every lens against the light, the back and the viewfinder, and any serial numbers. You get an estimate; within the EU we send a free label, from outside the EU we agree the price first and arrange the shipping and customs. We test everything when it arrives. If it is as described we pay; if not, we talk it through or send it all back free. Expensive pieces are always judged by a person.
Before you send it
- Leave the shutter uncocked and the lens caps on.
- Keep the dark slide in the back, and the back on the body.
- Do not try to clean the mirror; it scratches easily.