Hasselblad "Game Changer"

[Mike Farley]

Hasselblad is announcing a new camera on 22 June and claiming that it will be a game changer. That probably means it will not be another blinged up obsolete Sony camera, which was not a Stellar period for the company and could even be considered Lunar-cy. Enough of the bad puns, PetaPixel reckons that it will be a 50 MP mirrorless camera with a sensor larger than full frame which is compatible with the company's existing medium format lenses. If that is correct, it would compete with the Leica S, although that is a DSLR of course. The mirrorless Leica SL is another potential target and Hasselblad could be entering the market at a lower price point than its current models. Hasselblad ambassador Ming Thein says that the announcement is "twice as interesting as you think". Game changer or not, if it is Hasselbald then it is likely to be wallet emptying.

http://petapixel.com/2016/06/18/new-has ... ing-think/

[Mike Farley]

Today's the day. I know you all can barely contain your excitement, but you are going to have to wait.

We'll know at around lunchtime.

[Mike Farley]

So now we know. The rumours were correct and it is the world's first mirrorless medium format camera, with a 50 MP sensor. If this comparison is anything to go by, it is surprisingly compact.

X1D.jpg (14.93 KiB) Viewed 3534 times

A body and lens will set you back around £9k. And for that reason I am out.

[Mike Farley]

For anyone with a few grand sizzling away in their pocket, or who is just curious, Ming Thein has a first look at the X1D.

https://blog.mingthein.com/2016/06/22/a ... more-13215

[GrahamL]

Does sound a wonderful camera, assuming you have £10,000 plus to spend.

Wex have just published this review from the Swedish launch:
http://www.wexphotographic.com/blog/hasselblad-x1d-announced-the-worlds-first-mirrorless-digital-medium-format-camera?cm_mmc=exacttarget-_-marketing-_-lm_3577148-_-http%3a%2f%2fwww.wexphotographic.com%2fblog%2fhasselblad-x1d-announced-the-worlds-first-mirrorless-digital-medium-format-camera&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_medium=3577148&utm_campaign=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wexphotographic.com%2fblog%2fhasselblad-x1d-announced-the-worlds-first-mirrorless-digital-medium-format-camera

What next? Will Nikon or Canon respond to this intrusion? Fuji is already rumoured to be on this path.

Graham

[Mike Farley]

Does sound a wonderful camera, assuming you have £10,000 plus to spend.

What next? Will Nikon or Canon respond to this intrusion? Fuji is already rumoured to be on this path.
Graham

Kirk Tuck has written a less than optimistic view about the X1D's prospects on his Visual Science blog. The most obvious issue for Hasselblad is the resolution available from top end full frame cameras which match the X1D, give or take, and at a much lower cost with a greater choice of lenses. Many of those who would have used film Haselblads in the past are more likely to go that route simply because the price of entry is much lower. Not to mention that in some respects the gear is more capable. He agrees that the X1D has some benefits such as smoother transition from the in focus and out of focus areas, although having a sensor smaller than 6 x 6 film limits what is possible. But the biggest problem for Tuck? That sensor in the X1D is not square.

http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.co.uk/ ... -results=5

Whether other manufacturers will follow suit is moot, in my view. Most people can get by with smaller sensors and fewer megapixels, which means that there is a limited market unless the price can be made much more attractive than anything currently available. It's fascinating to see what will happen, though, especially with Photokina coming up.

[Mike Farley]

According to this article on PetaPixel, the new Hasselblad is not as expensive as you think.

http://petapixel.com/2016/06/28/interes ... lblad-x1d/

[Mike Farley]

PetaPixel seems confident that Fuji will introduce a medium format camera and a much lower price than the X1D.

http://petapixel.com/2016/06/30/fuji-re ... er-report/

If correct, it looks as though it will use Sony's 50 MP sensor which has already turned up in a number of cameras. Will it be modified to have Fuji's X-Trans colour filter array, I wonder?

[Mike Farley]

A first impressions report from Ming Thein based on prototype bodies and lenses, the former with pre-production firmware. In the article, Thein claims that the sample images can be seen full size and downloaded from flickr, neither of which are working for me. The largest dimension is 2048 and downloading is disabled.

https://blog.mingthein.com/2016/07/06/h ... h-samples/

[Mike Farley]

DPReview has some full size images from a pre=production camera, taken by none other than Wratten lecturer Damien Demolder. They demonstrate the "focus ramp" on the larger sensor, which might be one of the reasons for some people to buy it.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/4962516765 ... on-samples

It also looks as though Ming Thein has now fixed the prolem with his sample shots not being displayed at their original size.