Hasselblad 555ELD

Hasselblad · Hasselblad V mount · 6×6cm on 120 (12 exposures with the A12 or E12; 220 via the A24/E24) and 6×4.5 via the A16/E16 magazines. The 1999 instruction manual also lists 70mm perforated long rolls and Polaroid film, and the accessory chart shows the A32 for 220 in 6×4.5. · 1998

Also known as: Hasselblad 555ELD · Hasselblad 555 ELD · 555ELD · 555 ELD · Hasselblad 555-ELD · ハッセルブラッド 555ELD · Hasselblad 555ELD body · Hasselblad 555ELD A12 · Hasselblad 555ELD 80mm CFE

Variants & identification

Variant	Mount	Years	Serial ranges	Production
555ELD chrome	Hasselblad V	1998–2006	—	—
555ELD black	Hasselblad V	1998–2006	—	—

Years from Hasselblad Historical's V-system model table (HSTable), agreeing with Hasselblad's 500-series history page, English and German Wikipedia and camera-wiki on 1998–2006; Japanese Wikipedia and camerakaitori.jp start it in 1999.

How to tell them apart (expand)

'555ELD' on the front nameplate; the 553ELX says '553ELX'
Three sockets on the front of the motor housing — the upper 'DIG' (digital) release socket, the lower 'FILM' socket for the release button or FK cord, and the IR Release unit mount between them — where the 553ELX has a single release socket
Electrical databus contacts on the rear body interface for digital backs, the feature Hasselblad Historical records against the model ('Electronic Databus contacts for digital magazines, optional IR receiver')
Five-position mode selector dial on the right side: O, S, RS, A, AS
LOT lever (L lock / O normal / T time) toward the rear of the motor housing
ISO/ASA selector for the TTL/OTF flash system marked 64–4000 (the manual says film sensitivity was 'upgraded to encompass the new film emulsions')
Battery compartment for five AA cells behind the cover on the left of the motor housing, with two-lamp battery check button; shares this with the 553ELX, unlike the 500EL/500EL/M/500ELX with their proprietary cells
Dedicated flash connector and PC socket on the left body side for the SCA 390 adapter, and a 5-pole DIN remote socket at the rear right of the motor housing
Tripod plate with both 1/4in and 3/8in threads and the quick-coupling slide

555ELD chrome:

Satin-chrome trim with black leatherette; '555ELD' on the front nameplate above the lens mount
Hasselblad catalogue number 10277, supplied with the chrome focusing hood 42315 (1999 manual)

555ELD black:

Black-finished body; '555ELD' on the front nameplate
Hasselblad catalogue number 10279, 'supplied as 10277 above, but equipped with black Focusing hood 42323' (1999 manual)

555ELD chrome: The common finish and the one dealers stock (KEH, Kamerastore, Fotohandel Delfshaven all list chrome bodies). The 1999 manual's contents list gives what came in the box: focusing hood 42315, Acute-Matte D screen 42204, carrying strap 46140, front protective cover 51438, Rear cover MultiControl 51070, two fuses 56111, release button 46120 and release cord FK 30 46043. Sold body-only; no factory kit with a lens has been located.
555ELD black: Attested only by the 1999 instruction manual, which lists the black body as a catalogue item beside the chrome one. No black 555ELD has been seen in the dealer stock or sample galleries consulted, and Hasselblad Historical's table says nothing about finishes; the black body was evidently rare. No production split is published.

Serial-range notes

12 + two-letter date code + five digits, e.g. 12EE…, 12SV…, 12SH…: Hasselblad bodies carry a two-letter year code read with VHPICTURES (V=1 H=2 P=3 I=4 C=5 T=6 U=7 R=8 E=9 S=0), preceded from 1990 by a two-digit product prefix that Q.G. de Bakker's page on Hasselblad Historical says is for factory records only. Three 555ELD serials seen in dealer listings — 12EE10090 (Fotohandel Delfshaven), 12SV11184 (RE Camera, Japan) and 12SH12257 (Blue Moon Camera) — read as 1999, 2001 and 2002 and share the prefix 12, so 12 appears to be the 555ELD's product code. Years from 2000 onward decode as 'S?' (S=0) and belong to the twentieth-century-plus-one reading de Bakker describes.

Specifications

Format: 6×6cm on 120 (12 exposures with the A12 or E12; 220 via the A24/E24) and 6×4.5 via the A16/E16 magazines. The 1999 instruction manual also lists 70mm perforated long rolls and Polaroid film, and the accessory chart shows the A32 for 220 in 6×4.5.
Finder: waist-level, interchangeable (prism and meter-prism finders available)
Shutter: none in body — auxiliary rear flaps; exposure by the lens leaf shutter · 1s–1/500 and B, set on the lens (Prontor CF, CFi/CFE, CB or Synchro-Compur C); time exposures via the body's LOT lever with the lens at B · flash sync all speeds (leaf shutter) · no self-timer
Film advance: Built-in electric motor: after each exposure the film is advanced, the shutter cocked and the mirror returned automatically; maximum 1.3 frames/s, about 1 frame/s in the A (continuous) mode. No manual crank on the body; the magazine's own crank is used only to wind off a roll or to reset the magazine indicator
Back: interchangeable magazines — A12, A16, A24, A32, E12, E16, E24, 70mm, Polaroid; Rear cover MultiControl 51070 supplied (grey flash-test panel and four vignetting check holes); digital backs, with or without the databus contacts
Meter: None for ambient light; TTL/OTF flash metering only, centre-weighted, 40mm-diameter measured area, ISO 64–4000, controlling the D-Flash 40 or SCA 300-system units via the SCA 390 adapter — ambient metering needs a PME prism or a hand-held meter
Motor drive: built-in — The motor is integral: 'one-piece cast aluminium alloy shell with permanently attached motor housing in lightweight magnesium' (1999 manual). Five release modes on the selector dial — O (normal), S (single pre-release), RS (repeated pre-release), A (automatic, about 1 frame/s while the release is held) and AS (automatic sequential, pre-released, slightly faster). Powered by five 1.5 V AA cells (LR6/AM-3), alkaline for up to 4000 exposures, NiMH similar, NiCd less than 2000; a 5×20mm 1.6 A slow-blow fuse in the battery compartment. Remote release by FK/SK/LK cords or the IR Remote release unit 46349 (10 m range).
Weight: 1125 g
Dimensions: 120 × 100 × 150 body only (length × width × height); 180 × 100 × 150 with focusing hood, Planar CFE 80 and A12 — 1999 instruction manual mm
Country: Sweden
Accessories: IR Remote release unit 46349 with IR Remote control 44113 — wireless release up to 10 m, plugging into the three front sockets in place of the release button, with a switch selecting the film or digital socket (555ELD only) · Magnifying hood 4×4 DPS 72534 — 5.5× hood for digital backs with sensors up to 40×40mm, dioptre +0.5 to −2.5 · Rear cover MultiControl 51070 — supplied; grey panel for TTL/OTF flash tests and four corner holes for vignetting checks · Release button 46120 and release cord FK 30 46043 (supplied); SK and LK cords for the 5-pole DIN socket; the square release plate 46345 is not to be used · Tripod quick-coupling S 45144 · SCA 390 flash adapter; D-Flash 40; ProFlash 4504 · PM45, PM90, PME45, PME51, PME90 prisms; Acute-Matte D screens 42204 and alternatives · A12, A16, A24, A32, E12, E16, E24, 70mm and Polaroid magazines · Front protective cover 51438; fuses 56111 (5×20mm 1.6 A slow-blow)

Folding focusing hood with a built-in 4.5× magnifier (correction lenses +3 to −4 dioptres available) over an Acute-Matte D screen, which the manual footnotes as 'designed by MINOLTA'. The specification page states 'Full viewfinder image with all lenses and accessories' — the large non-vignetting mirror inherited from the 500ELX of 1984, so the finder cut-off of the manual 500C/M and 503-series bodies before the 503CW does not occur. Interchangeable with the PM/PME 45° and 90° prisms and with the Magnifying hood 4×4 DPS (72534), a 5.5× hood optimised for digital sensors up to 40×40mm.

Figures we worked out rather than found: The product prefix 12 is inferred from three dealer-listed serials (12EE10090, 12SV11184, 12SH12257), not from any published table; the years 1999, 2001 and 2002 are read from the VHPICTURES key · The 553ELX's ISO range for comparison has not been checked against its own manual; the manual's statement that the 555ELD's range was 'upgraded' is taken at face value

Where sources disagree

First

1998 — Hasselblad Historical's V-system table, Hasselblad's 500-series history page, English and German Wikipedia, camera-wiki
1999 — Japanese Wikipedia (citing the Futabasha quarterly Classic Camera No. 5) and the Japanese dealer camerakaitori.jp; the English instruction manual is copyright 1999

Better supported: 1998, on which the maker and the specialist table agree; 1999 may be the Japanese market date or the manual's print date

Weight (grams)

1125 g body only; 2150 g with hood, Planar CFE 80, A12 and batteries — 1999 instruction manual
1036 g — Kamerastore's listing, basis unstated (evidently without batteries, hood or screen)

Better supported: 1125 g, the factory figure

Dimensions (mm)

120 × 100 × 150 mm body only (length × width × height) — 1999 instruction manual, which also gives 180 × 100 × 150 with hood, CFE 80 and A12
142 × 118 × 96 mm — Kamerastore's listing, axes unstated and matching none of the manual's figures

Better supported: the manual's figures

What reviewers say

neoblue, Chanfoo Blog (blog) — First impressions (2007) of a 555ELD with a 16-megapixel Kodak DCS Pro Back after years with a 500C/M: noticeably taller than the 500C/M and, with the back, 'like an old train'; the digital files are smooth and the C Planar renders mildly and sharply, but the verdict is that a Hasselblad is still better shot on 120 film such as Portra 400NC for skin tones and natural light — and that both body and back, ruinous at list price, had become affordable second-hand. via machine translation — corrections welcome

History

Why this camera matters

The last of the motor-driven EL line that began with the 500EL of 1965 and the last new 500-series body Hasselblad designed for film. Hasselblad Historical's model table gives its whole difference from the 553ELX as 'Electronic Databus contacts for digital magazines, optional IR receiver', and its digital-back notes single it out as the one V body whose rear contacts can synchronise a digital back to the release cycle without a sync cable — the reason the D was added to the name. The 1999 manual calls it 'the studio workhorse' and a 'further development of the 553 ELX', with an improved mirror mechanism, extended film-speed range and reduced stray light 'to meet the increased requirement of digital photography'. Production ended in 2006, the year the whole EL line ceased.

The 555ELD closed a line that had run since 1965. The 500EL put an electric motor under the 500C’s mirror box; the 500EL/M gave it the user-changeable screen in 1970, the 500ELX of 1984 added TTL/OTF flash metering and the large non-vignetting mirror, and the 553ELX of 1988 swapped the proprietary cells for five AA batteries and lined the interior with Palpas. Hasselblad Historical’s model table records each step in a line, and for the 555ELD writes: “Electronic Databus contacts for digital magazines, optional IR receiver.” Hasselblad’s own history page says only that “the versions that followed were the 500ELX in 1984, the 553ELX in 1988, and 555ELD in 1998.”

The maker’s fuller account is the instruction manual, copyright 1999, which calls the camera “the studio ‘workhorse’” and “a further development of the 553 ELX”. It lists four changes: an IR remote control facility; a film-speed selector “upgraded to encompass the new film emulsions” (ISO 64–4000); a mirror mechanism improved “for even longer life and reliability”; and stray light “reduced even further to meet the increased requirement of digital photography” — plus “a control connector on the camera body ready to conform with digital backs to provide automatic information transfer”. Japanese Wikipedia, citing the Futabasha quarterly Classic Camera No. 5, adds that the mirror’s support mechanism became “the same as the space specification”, which no English-language source repeats. The manual’s specification page gives the shell as one-piece cast aluminium alloy with a magnesium motor housing, 1.3 frames per second maximum, five AA cells good for up to 4000 exposures, and a body weight of 1125 g — 2150 g with hood, Planar CFE 80, A12 and batteries.

The D in the name is the interface. Hasselblad Historical’s digital notes explain that the 555ELD’s rear contacts “transmit signals to a digital back … to synchronize the back to the camera’s release cycle, removing the need for a cable running from the lens’ flash synchronization contact to the back”, and that backs not built for the contacts work on a 555ELD as on any other V body. The manual shows the practical side: three sockets on the front of the motor housing, an upper “DIG” release that fires the back first and “will not operate” without a ready back, a lower “FILM” release for the button or FK cord, and between them the mount for the IR Release unit 46349, whose own switch chooses which socket it triggers. Backs without the interface use the 5-pole DIN socket at the rear. A 2010 GetDPI thread has the two sides of the argument: one user running a CFV-39 through the body contacts with no sync cord, another pointing out that the CFV triggers mechanically on any V body and that Phase One, Sinar and Leaf backs need a lens-to-back cord elsewhere.

Two finishes existed. The manual catalogues the chrome body as 10277 and a black body as 10279, “supplied as 10277 above, but equipped with black Focusing hood 42323”. Every 555ELD seen in dealer stock and in the Flickr and PHOTOHITO galleries is chrome, and no source consulted describes the model’s finishes, so the black body was evidently uncommon. Dating is by the two-letter VHPICTURES code behind a two-digit prefix; the three serials found — 12EE10090, 12SV11184, 12SH12257 — read 1999, 2001 and 2002 and share the prefix 12, which Q.G. de Bakker’s page says is a product code kept for records only.

Sources agree on the end and differ slightly on the start. Hasselblad Historical, Hasselblad, English and German Wikipedia and camera-wiki give 1998–2006; Japanese Wikipedia and the dealer camerakaitori.jp say 1999, and the manual is dated 1999. Hasselblad Historical has the 553ELX running to 1999, so the two overlapped for a year. Kamerastore’s 1036 g and 142 × 118 × 96 mm match none of the manual’s figures and are recorded as a dispute rather than reconciled.

What remains open: a list price in any currency, which no source consulted gives; whether the body was shown at Photokina 1998 or released quietly; production figures for either finish; whether Nordin’s Compendium records the black body outside the manual; the 553ELX’s ISO range, needed to say how far “upgraded” reaches; and the reviews that could not be retrieved — Photrio’s “info on Hassy 555ELD” thread, Photo.net’s 503CW-versus-555ELD comparison, and Chris Chu’s 2022 video, whose description says he bought his 555ELD for $900 but whose verdict could not be checked.

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This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Photographs

More sample photos elsewhere

These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $1,000 across 9 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-06 (middle half $960–$1,300). First day tracked.

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Hasselblad 500EL 553ELM 555ELD Remote Socket Cover See My Full Store — $21.78 · eBay
Hasselblad 555ELD Medium Format (6x6) Film Camera Body CHROME — $699.95 · eBay
Hasselblad 555 ELD Chrome Body With Waist Level Finder — $959.00 · eBay · likely 555ELD-chrome
Mint Hasselblad 555 ELD 6x6 Chrome Body Film Camera With Body Cap From JAPAN — $979.99 · eBay
[Near Mint Hasselblad 555ELD Acute Matte D 6x6 Film Camera 6944#J0510 — $1,039.99 · eBay
Hasselblad 555 Eld Medium Format Black Camera — $1,100.00 · eBay
Hasselblad 555ELD + A12 #63564 E1 — $1,265.00 · eBay
Hasselblad 555ELD + A12 #63564E1 — $1,435.58 · eBay
Hasselblad 555ELD Camera w/ Kodak DCS Pro Back & Zeiss 150mm f/4 T* Lens — $3,099.99 · eBay
HASSELBLAD 555ELD - Gehäuse Präsentationsbroschüre - Original Hasselblad — €16.50 · eBay
Hasselblad IR Release Unit 555ELD -R1 No.0837 — €189.00 · eBay
Neuwertige Hasselblad 555 ELD 6x6 analoge Chromgehäusekamera mit... — €871.00 · eBay
Seltene schwarze [fast unbenutzte] Hasselblad 555ELD Vergrößerungshaube 6 x 6... — €1,312.47 · eBay
Hasselblad 555 ELD Mittelformatkamera + Acute Matte Gitter/ 555ELD Camera — €1,599.01 · eBay
Mint Hasselblad 555 ELD 6x6 Chrome Body Film Camera With Body Cap From JAPAN — £733.33 · eBay

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Listings updated 2026-09-05. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.