Hasselblad 500EL EDC
The sources available to the Archive say little about the Hasselblad 500EL EDC. Here is what the record shows. EDC stands for Electric Data Camera. It was a modified Hasselblad 500EL medium format camera built for the Apollo lunar missions (1969-1972). One Polish photography site called it "the first camera on the Moon."
The Apollo missions mostly used Hasselblad 500EL and 500EL/M cameras in the EDC configuration. They were loaded with Zeiss film and modified to work in vacuum and at the extreme temperatures of the lunar surface. Twelve of these cameras were left on the Moon. Only one unit came back to Earth in good condition. It came from the Apollo 15 mission and sold at auction for $910,000.
The record on this model is otherwise thin. The sources examined don't document production years for the EDC itself, original pricing, or full technical specifications. What is clear is that the EDC was a standard medium-format body pressed into service where no commercial camera had gone before.
Known facts, briefly:
- Medium format camera, modified for lunar use
- EDC designation: Electric Data Camera
- Used on Apollo missions, 1969–1972
- Modified for vacuum operation and extreme temperatures
- Loaded with Zeiss film
- 12 units left on the Moon; 1 returned to Earth
- The returned Apollo 15 unit sold at auction for $910,000
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