Zeiss Distagon CF 50mm f/4

Wide AngleMount: Hasselblad V50mmf/4 – f/22
Introduced: 1982

Carl Zeiss Distagon CF 50mm f/4 is the standard wide-angle lens for the Hasselblad V system — equivalent to roughly a 28mm field of view in 35mm terms on 6×6 cm format. The Distagon retrofocus design provides the back-focus distance the Hasselblad V SLR mirror requires, while delivering Carl Zeiss optical quality at a wide focal length.

Key features

  • Hasselblad V bayonet — fits all V-series bodies (500C/M, 503CW, 553ELX, etc.)
  • Compur leaf shutter built into lens — 1s to 1/500, X-sync at all speeds
  • CF designation — Carl Zeiss with Flocking + improved lens-shutter interconnect (1982+); compatible with all V bodies
  • Bay 60 filter mount — Hasselblad's bayonet filter system
  • 8-element/7-group retrofocus formula with T* multi-coating
  • T multi-coating* — the Carl Zeiss reference high-contrast coating
  • Manual aperture + manual focus

Use case + rendering

The 50mm CF is the landscape + interior + environmental-portrait Hasselblad lens. Sharp by f/8, very sharp by f/11; wide-open performance is good but improves visibly stopped down — typical Distagon behavior. The leaf shutter syncs flash at any speed up to 1/500, which is a fundamental advantage in mixed-light and studio work versus focal-plane-shutter medium-format cameras.

Compatible bodies

Related lenses