Hasselblad 500C

The Hasselblad 500C is a medium-format single-lens reflex film camera manufactured by Victor Hasselblad AB in Gothenburg, Sweden. Characterised by its modular construction, the camera was built around interchangeable film magazines and lenses with internal leaf shutters. It served as a central model in Hasselblad's classic line of analogue cameras, replacing earlier models that had established the company's civilian camera operations.

Hasselblad transitioned into civilian camera production following the Second World War, moving away from wartime military reconnaissance equipment. The firm initially introduced the 1600 F in 1948 and the revised 1000 F in 1953, both of which utilised focal-plane shutters. Because these focal-plane mechanisms proved difficult to keep accurate in service, the camera was superseded by the 500C, which relocated the shutter mechanism entirely into the lens assembly. This transition was accompanied by dedicated lens series developed primarily by Carl Zeiss AG, commencing with the C-series in 1957.

The 500C is a single-lens reflex body that employs a mirror to permit viewing and composition through the taking lens, conventionally paired with a waist-level viewfinder. It exposes standard 120 roll film in a square 6 by 6 centimetre format (with actual frame dimensions of 56.5 by 56.5 millimetres), an arrangement designed to eliminate the necessity of turning the camera on its side. Operating within the V-system platform, the body couples to detachable film backs and accepts interchangeable optics featuring built-in leaf shutters, such as Zeiss C lenses with Compur shutters in matt chrome or black finishes, as well as subsequent CF lenses with Prontor shutters.