Swifty, manual focus is very easy, infact it can be easier than auto focus. if you want really hight quality build
lenses, then you are stuck with manual focus. the Hassy 500 is THE hasselblad to get...it's what made them famous. the 645 is a beautiful piece of kit, and the a 2/80mm in medium format is crazy stuff. I have been very tempted in the past, and I know that Camera Exchange has one at the moment. the only problem is if the camera fails, you have no factory support. if you are doing it for fun, then the risk may be worth it, but hardly appealing if you are working with the camera. a hassy is a different beast to the contax and its design encourages you to slow down. they require more concentration, and it is not difficult to jam a hasselblad if you don't follow the correct procedure when using them. this may be appealing if you want to take your time with manual focus. also the hassy has been around for fifty years so parts and trained techs are in abundance. alot of wedding photogs are using the contax in the US because of its speed and size. tough choice. one other thing, the hassy uses german made zeiss
lenses, and the contax uses japanese made
lenses, for what it is worth. swifty, have you considered a rolleiflex...that will likely be my next medium format purchase, and although expensive, they are truly well made pieces of kit, up their with leica in their build quality. you will be able to hand hold the tlr's at slower
shutter speed than the two slr's listed above. and whilst rollei have just shut their factory, their tlr's have been around much longer than even the hassy's, so repair is no issue, and like the 'blad's, there is no electronics to fail.
remember, with a proper
lens that has distance scales and
dof markings Swifty, you don't even need to focus through a the viewfinder, just use zone focus.
all the best with your new endevour.