Hasselblad 503CWD (2006)
The 503CWD was Hasselblad's farewell to the 500-series, produced in 2006 to mark the centenary of founder Victor Hasselblad's birth. Hasselblad made 500 numbered cameras, each engraved with his signature, and they launched at around $14,000. It paired the classic 503CW body with a 16-megapixel digital back - a 36.7 x 36.7 mm sensor - and shipped with a Carl Zeiss Planar CFE 2.8/80 mm lens. Engadget (2006) called it "may well be the most beautiful digital camera ever made."
The Gliding Mirror System (GMS) keeps the viewfinder image fully visible with virtually all Hasselblad C lenses. The back can come off and fit onto any V System camera or view camera through the film magazine interface plate, with a flash sync connection triggering capture. Images are saved in Hasselblad's 3FR raw format, with export to 3F, DNG, TIFF, or JPEG. Storage options included CF cards, the Imagebank, or tethered operation. The display is a 2.2-inch OLED with 24-bit color, and output is FireWire 800.
Reviews were warm. ePHOTOzine (2006) described it as a "truly professional tool" with good value, built to Hasselblad's exacting standards. Photo Review called it "the perfect marriage of advanced digital technology and a classic Hasselblad workhorse." The body is a one-piece cast aluminum alloy design, fully mechanical, and the camera was noted for its 12 stops of dynamic range. One owner, posting after buying one, said their first print left them "absolutely floored" by the colors and resolution.
Surviving documentation is decent but scattered. The user manual covers the 503CW, 503CWD, CFV, CFVII, and CFV-3 together, which suggests the digital back was the core differentiator. No dimensions or weight are recorded in the sources available, and current market values are not well documented beyond occasional eBay listings.
- 16 MP sensor, 36.7 x 36.7 mm
- Carl Zeiss Planar CFE 2.8/80 mm lens
- 2.2" OLED display, 24-bit color
- FireWire 800 output
- Limited edition of 500, numbered and signed
- Original price: ~$14,000
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