Ask a Hasselblad user what they like about their system camera and you'll get many answers including image quality, usability, and interchangeability of components.  Ask those same people what they might want to change and you might get the answer that they'd like them a little more compact.  Press them a little more and they might admit to not enjoying changing lenses in the field.  For that, Hasselblad created a camera with all the image quality that Carl Zeiss lenses can deliver in a package small enough to fit into the palm of a hand.

First released in 1954, the Hasselblad SW (Super Wide) cameras gave medium format photographers a tool to make environmental portraits, landscapes and even street photographs with ease.  Unlike the other Hasselblad 6x6cm cameras, the SW branch of the Hasselblad family does not have interchangeable lenses.  Their fixed Carl Zeiss Bigon 38mm f/4.5 (roughly equivalent to a 20mm lens on a 35mmm camera) lenses are mounted to a small body that connects them to standard Hasselblad V-mount film backs.  Without a film back, these cameras look unlike any other Hasselblad on the market.  Attaching a film back, however, restores the look and provides photographers with a well-balanced tool for making stunning wide angle images.

Another feature that set these SW cameras apart from their other 6x6cm counterparts is that the camera is not an SLR, and does not suffer from the "mirror slap" associated with the other V series cameras.  This gives the SW cameras a distinctive (and incredibly subtle) "click" sound unlike any other Hasselblad.  It also means that the SW series is a viewfinder camera only.  Composition is accomplished through an external viewfinder and zone focusing is the main option.  Far from being a limiting factor, however, many photographers find themselves in a position to shoot more freely knowing instinctively what parts of the image will be in focus.  For critical work on a tripod, there is also the option of the removable ground glass back, so that the photographer may focus with a magnifier before replacing the glass with a traditional V-series roll film back.  

The first iteration of the Hasselblad wide camera was the Super Wide in 1954, also known as the SWA (Super Wide Angle).  Other versions of the camera are the SW of 1956 and the SWC (Super Wide Camera) of 1957.  While the SWC had the longest production run with models being made up to 1980, Hasselblad updated the SWC with its CF style lens in 1982 and in 1989 the Hasselblad 903 SWC became the final version of the wide camera.

Using one of these great little cameras is not just unlike using any other any other Hasselblad - it is unlike using any other camera on the market, which is fitting as the images are unlike any other camera's images.  Tracking down any version of the SW series is well worth the search.  Just be prepared for these little gems to steal your heart.

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