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The switch...... Hassy to phase one

bahr

New member
Compadre's, it is with great pleasure I can now formally say that I have made the switch from my h4d-50 to the phase one xf and iq350 digital back.

Whilst I was extremely fond of my Hasselblad I was fully aware of the limitations of the system in various areas. Image quality was never the problem (as long as I stayed at ISO 100) however the whole workflow and hardware truly lagged behind. I lost hope with Hasselblad as its been too clear that they are not investing into their own system so why should I continue to invest my time and money into it.

Whether it's the same for everyone or just me who has made a change like this within the past week, I can say with all honesty that phase one has made this transition a complete joy. Ultra fast delivery through my dealer in dubai, great trade in and all kit and lenses shipped together before some of the global launches.

The only issue I now face is the insane heat and humidity and I will not be taking this outdoors until I've conquered the learning curve.

Total kit came down to XF camera, iq350 back, 28mm LS, 40-80mm LS, 75-150 LS and 80mm LS. The tech cam will only be a rental for the next while as I will not be spending for quite some time. :)
 

jerome_m

Member
If you could post your opinion on P1 lenses, when you have more experience of the differences, that would be great. Personally, I find the H lenses fantastic, and I am staying in the system for that reason.
 

tjv

Active member
What exactly did you find lackign in the H system? I've just bought a Credo 60, but pre XF launch I have always thought the H system superior (except the backs user interface).
 

bahr

New member
In all honesty I think Hasselblad lenses are fantastic. I had the 28mm, 35-90 and 150n. The 150n almost made my eyeballs bleed with how sharp it is and rendered beautifully around f4. The other two are also great. I was originally always considering the hassy camera but with phase back if I was to trade but when the xf was released it really looked like a fresh camera from the ground up. Not a regurgitation of the Mamiya afd.

Just want to say before I continue that I'm not hating on Blad. I'm thankful for Hasselblad being my main kit for the past 4 years and the system is good regarding lenses and camera.

Loved the hassy camera and I was always lucky, in all my time with it there were zero repairs, mechanical problems or breakdowns in shoots. However, phocus sucks along with the entire architecture of the digital back. I shoot tethered a lot, mainly due to the awkwardness of the system. The screen since h4d release has been practically useless to me except for the histogram. User interface was almost like it worked against me and the support was almost non-existent (at least in the UAE). I'm original from Scotland and still there was almost no real support.

As far as p1 lenses go I was quite shocked at the quality. I found the 75-150 LS to be sharper than my 150n prime and the 40-80 LS much sharper and snappier than the 35-90mm.

Quick XF comments from limited experience (tinkering in the studio and testing lenses)

Wow.... Awesome user interface, Iq back has seemed to have taken away the need for my laptop and tethering. Lenses are great in terms of build and rendering as well.
 

triangle

Member
My experience has been very similar (H5D40 to IQ260). The SK lenses are superior to the Hassy lenses I had, the Phase workflow is more effective, Capture One is in a different league from Phocus and the Phase screen and UI is useful, unlike the Hassy, which was woeful.

I took some great stuff with the Hassy and I loved that camera but, like you, it always felt like I was having to overcome the camera's limitations to get those shots. Now, with the Phase, the camera actually seems to help me get the shot I want. I've been really impressed by both systems but, for me, the Phase is a much better solution.
 

jerome_m

Member
How can you say at the same time:

The 150n almost made my eyeballs bleed with how sharp it is and rendered beautifully around f4.
I found the 75-150 LS to be sharper than my 150n prime
Sharper than sharp does not exist. Either a lens is sharp or it isn't and then you see optical artefacts like fuzzy corners, smearing, chromatic aberrations, etc...

Are you sure that the different default software processing between the two cameras is not misleading you?
 

bahr

New member
At Jerome. Good question, I had my doubts with regards to default sharpening settings on both systems as I can be quite misleading with different software. With the help of some other photographers I found it wasn't a settings issue and came down to the raw sharpness of the lenses. Again, I really enjoyed the hassy lens but for a zoom stopped down a little, it gave me a more impressive result. I would like to say though that both lenses showed almost no smearing, fuzzy corners and occasionally with extremely back-lit situations a little chroma-aberrations.

I've had quite a lot of time testing the 75-150 from p1 and what was once super sharp imo just had the benchmark raised. I'm extremely gentle with image sharpening and just found that for a zoom it was extremely impressive. Perhaps sharpening is more of a personally judged thing. On hassy I wouldn't push phocus sharpening any more than 150-200. Didn't really have to and on capture one I've been taking the default down quite a bit.
 

bahr

New member
At triangle.... That's exactly it. Last system I used that felt like a partnership for the greater glory to me was Nikon and with the hassy i felt it was a challenging marriage (in terms of workflow and tech cam use)

Who knows maybe in a few weeks I'll be stressing about an issue or two with the p1 but I had a lot of time on it before the purchase (not with xf camera but with df+ and h4x through some other photogs) and its light years ahead as a system. :)
 

dasjak

New member
Compadre's, it is with great pleasure I can now formally say that I have made the switch from my h4d-50 to the phase one xf and iq350 digital back.

Whilst I was extremely fond of my Hasselblad I was fully aware of the limitations of the system in various areas. Image quality was never the problem (as long as I stayed at ISO 100) however the whole workflow and hardware truly lagged behind. I lost hope with Hasselblad as its been too clear that they are not investing into their own system so why should I continue to invest my time and money into it.

Whether it's the same for everyone or just me who has made a change like this within the past week, I can say with all honesty that phase one has made this transition a complete joy. Ultra fast delivery through my dealer in dubai, great trade in and all kit and lenses shipped together before some of the global launches.

The only issue I now face is the insane heat and humidity and I will not be taking this outdoors until I've conquered the learning curve.

Total kit came down to XF camera, iq350 back, 28mm LS, 40-80mm LS, 75-150 LS and 80mm LS. The tech cam will only be a rental for the next while as I will not be spending for quite some time. :)
I too am thinking about switching form my H5D50c over to the XF. I am curious if you got a trade in option from Phase One and furthermore, what amount of discount did you get?
Thanks for your answers!

Cheers
 

triangle

Member
I too am thinking about switching form my H5D50c over to the XF. I am curious if you got a trade in option from Phase One and furthermore, what amount of discount did you get?
Thanks for your answers!

Cheers
I organised a trade via my PhaseOne dealer. I traded the H5D40 back and body as well as the 50-110mm lens (I sold the 24mm lens privately). The trade value exceeded what i had originally paid for the Hasselblad gear. They were very accommodating.
 
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