The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Hasselblad X1D

Paratom

Well-known member
About the words from the french CEO.
While I agree there might be a lot of strange things written on the internet I do not think it is a good idea to believe one can avoid this. I am sure the try to do so will end up in more negative things written. IMO it is much better to focus on the product and a good and open communication with existing and potential customers.

ABout the Camera: For the prive of the lenses compared to Leica and other MF lenses (Pentax for example) I am really looking forward to read/see how those lenses deliver in terms of optics/IQ/reliability. If they are really good this would be a very competitive price IMO.

I dont understand why they would not put the best available viewfinder in this camera, because-IMO- besides lens and sensor the viewfinder seems the most important part of a camera IMO.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Hi Vivek

I cannot keep myself from feeling that snobbish approach of Blad that burnt them with the Lunacy mental attack.
Somehow, the ghost is not yet back to the bottle. Unless they get rid of it, it will be hard for them.

Greetings from Germany
Stefan
Hasselblad has always sold to both groups, professionals/enthusiasts and snobbish amateurs, except for the period between the discontinuation of the V-Series and this camera. The H-series never appealed to snobs. Too bulky, too ugly. There was actually a press release a few years ago where they expressed the intention of getting back into the advanced amateur market. "Handmade in Sweden"? I would be able to live with that :)
 

Nick-T

New member
I dont understand why they would not put the best available viewfinder in this camera, because-IMO- besides lens and sensor the viewfinder seems the most important part of a camera IMO.
I think they make these decisions so that people on the internet can tell them how stupid they are.
 

Chris Giles

New member
As a wedding and portrait photographer I find the X1D to be very interesting and tempting. The Nikon TTL compatible flash system is a biggie (for me), as are the dual card slots and the leaf shutter lenses. I tend not to "spray and pray" so 2 fps seems okay to me. The 45mm lens, a 30mm lens, a 120mm macro, and maybe something longer would be perfect.


Any other wedding photographers out there? Your honest opinion is always appreciated. :)

Rick
Wedding photographer checking in.

I shoot around 50 weddings a year, currently with a dual 5DSr setup. I loved using my old 645z for them but the screw based AF as well as the shutter noise killed it for me. I was still using it for portraits and formals though but carrying two systems everywhere was a pain.

The X1D excites me and I would love to try it out in practical use. If a hassy rep is reading and wants to loan me one or two with each lens for a wedding I'll be happy to use it for a written review.

What I dislike most using the Canon's (VS MF) is the 2:3 format, I'm not a fan and I wish they would extend their crop overlay in the viewfinder to cover the 6x4.5 frame as I'd be much happier with my compositions.

I can see myself buying the X1D, a 100mm 2.2 and 80mm 2.8 will be lovely on it - AF speed and speed to preview an image shortly after taken as well as buffer size is a very important factor for me. Shooting 8 shots on a 645z and waiting 14 seconds to see the first image was not acceptable when shooting a wedding. We shoot moments and need it to be responsive. But it will be a step up from the 645z - That much I'm sure with a decent colour profile in Lightroom too.

This could be the Achilles heel of the X1D but it's something no-one has spoken about. I can see it being the issue with a sensor readout or 2.5 frames per second.

We'll have to wait and see.

Right now the competition is the Canon 5DSr, it's a simply wonderful camera to use and shoot producing superb files on great glass. It's not medium format but it's 3 times as affordable and has a lot more features. Just that nothing can beat the look of a larger sensor.
 

Stan ROX

Member
I followed some of your messages, have read some whining of whatever topic. Just to mention a few:

Will the camera have a future as they rely on Sony sensor?
Hasselblad never manufactured their own sensors. So what?

What about the Autofokus?
Hasselblad has Truefocus technology mucho better than other brands - why worry?

What fileformat will they use?
Who cares? DNG is not better than 3FF.

But the sensor is not "true medium format"?
Go, live with it.

From my point of view, this is a very potent camera. Having access to the older HC lenses is great. Remember when Leica brought the S2? Everybody whined about the small sensor, but hey - it's still way bigger than funny 35 mm frame. Same is true for the X1D.

Its three times cheaper than the H6D. Why do you complain about the price? Wanna have some rubbish for 400 bucks? Go get yourself a "prosumer" camera with a shitty zoom lens 16-500mm.

To me, this camera looks awesome.

S.
 

tjv

Active member
Man, I wanna know how the EVF rates and what the focusing is like. Not that I have a lot (or any) money floating around, but my inclination is to charge one to the credit card and find out for myself...
 

Stefan Steib

Active member
Stefan seems to have an axe to grind... Attacking Hasselblad on a LL thread saying they are faking their MTFs...

Again.. Under a previous CEO HB made a really badly managed attempt to leverage the brand (Good idea/awful execution). Now there is a new CEO (Great guy) and massive investment in R&D. The H6D is awesome and the X1D is also awesome. Go Hasselblad.
Not faking - but simply not telling all the facts (no core specs of the MTFs - at all - like contrast ratio and linepairs/mm ?). Or as Churchill said:
I only believe the statistics, I have faked myself.

Regards
Stefan
 

fotografz

Well-known member
What the hell are you folks smoking?:loco:

Anyway, back to reality.

As I see this new camera as applied to what and how I now shoot photos:

PROS:

I do not recall any AF issues with the H4D I used, so I doubt this new camera has worse AF than that … and it may be better/faster with the smaller lenses made for it. I do wonder why H did not implement True Focus on this camera which I found to be a tremendous proprietary advantage over all other MF type cameras, and many smaller formats. Actual AF performance TBD.

The balance between size and handling seem to have been well integrated, which is being confirmed by those who've actually handled the camera.

Dual SDs is a key advantage for anyone shooting fleeting subjects. Losing a wedding card is a lot different from losing a vacation card. Both are horrible, but you aren't getting sued by your family for lost vacation snaps. BTW, SD cards are much harder to recover than CFs, so a SD failure is more likely to stay a failure. I worry a bit about this every time I shoot a wedding with the Sony A7R-II. I'm working without a net.

Uses HC and HCD lenses. Recent updates to many Hasselblad lenses have made them more than competitive; the HC-50/3.5-II is second to none IMHO. I hope the HC adapter allows use of the HC extension tubes … even better, the HTS unit for DOF control with the 100/2.2 for table-top product photography.

LS to 1/2000. I know from experience that I can live with this because the H4D I used topped out at 1/800 and I only occasionally had an issue with it. The lack of mirror slap, and of Sony type shutter shock, is a nice benefit of LS only. I'd hazard a guess that this camera is quiet. I could easily see Hasselblad implementing an e-shutter in future when technology allows it. IMO, no focal plane shutter was the right decision for the longer term future of the system because of that.

Higher ISO capability compared to my S-006. Not that big of a deal based on how I shoot, but this new camera could take over S duties AND Sony A7R-II duties with one system.


CONS:

If I understand correctly, this camera does NOT have a PC port. As insignificant as this seems, no PC port conjures up some issues for me. 1) How does one implement 1/2000 sync without the ability to hard-wire from camera to strobe? The Profoto AIR Transmitter tops out at 1/1000 when set to speed mode. (I'm not talking about Hyper-Sync at 1/2000). 2) If I am using a Nikon speed-light in the hot-shoe for TTL fill, how do I trigger my Profoto and Hensel (w.AIR) off-camera strobes?

BTW, no PC port is second only to the cluster-fukc menu when it comes to things I hate about my Sony A7R-II.

NO IS. Actually, with LS lenses this is less of an issue … but a moveable sensor could mean auto sensor cleaning which is a bigger deal with these MF sized cameras.


UNKNOWNS:

For me, the biggest unknown about this new camera is the color rendering and sense of depth in the files. The H cameras I once shot with were great for this using Hasselblad's color engine and profiles … especially when processed in Phocus. That is another thing I subjectively do not like about my Sony A7R-II, and the main reason I haven't really aesthetically connected with anything Sony since the much loved A900.

- Marc
 

Chris Giles

New member
Not faking - but simply not telling all the facts (no core specs of the MTFs - at all - like contrast ratio and linepairs/mm ?). Or as Churchill said:
I only believe the statistics, I have faked myself.

Regards
Stefan
Agreed. The goodness of this camera is speculative. Sure, it's got a great sensor, manual controls and dual SD card slots, etc. We know what it's got.

But we don't know what it's actually like. How it performs, it's speed and accuracy and how elegant it is in use are what will make it a great camera and these things we don't know as yet.

Let's not go down the Sony hype route so soon.
 

jotloob

Subscriber Member
I followed some of your messages, have read some whining of whatever topic. Just to mention a few:


Hasselblad never manufactured their own sensors. So what?


Hasselblad has Truefocus technology mucho better than other brands - why worry?


Who cares? DNG is not better than 3FF.


Go, live with it.

From my point of view, this is a very potent camera. Having access to the older HC lenses is great. Remember when Leica brought the S2? Everybody whined about the small sensor, but hey - it's still way bigger than funny 35 mm frame. Same is true for the X1D.

Its three times cheaper than the H6D. Why do you complain about the price? Wanna have some rubbish for 400 bucks? Go get yourself a "prosumer" camera with a shitty zoom lens 16-500mm.

To me, this camera looks awesome.

S.
Stan
I can only agree with all points of your post . Very well said .:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:
 

craigosh

Member
I like the look of the camera but it was dissapointing to see no fps in the body, though I can see why they didn't.
What would be really cool to see from them now, would be something like a flexbody or hts that can take the H lenses and have electronic control combined with movements. Assuming some have large enough image circles.

At the moment I'm likely to go the Actus/A7rii route. But it's going to be an interesting photokina this year, so I'm going to hold off any big purchase till then.
 
Last edited:
V

Vivek

Guest
I find this prelim analysis far better than all the info on the X1D on the net from HAsselblad or their surrogates.

https://blog.mingthein.com/2016/06/22/announcing-the-hasselblad-x1d-50c/

Stan ROX: the question about the auto focus was about the new CDAF (as opposed to the PDAF in earlier hasselblad cameras except the Lunar). Truefocus plays a computational part in conjunction with the PDAF module to improve the accuracy. There is no information how that would improve the speed in the new X1D or why it should make it "better" than anyone else'.
 

Swissblad

Well-known member
Have to agree with Ming's appraisal.... thanks for posting.

This looks like one very interesting camera.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
I cannot keep myself from feeling that snobbish approach of Blad that burnt them with the Lunacy mental attack.
Somehow, the ghost is not yet back to the bottle. Unless they get rid of it, it will be hard for them.

Greetings from Germany
Stefan
Personally, I think the "ghost buster", was the management shake-up and swift return to their core product with the H6 and CMOS backs. This camera just further confirms that course correction.

Hasselblad, and companies like them with a long history, build up a lot of good-will with their consumers over decades. In marketing circles it is referred to as a "Bank". H went nuts for a time, and their consumers crucified them for it. But it didn't bust the bank. Hassey served me well for many, many years, and I despised the Lunacy detour … however, would jump right back in with a camera like this if I had the real need, and an emotional dose of "Wants and Gimmes".

- Marc
 

Stefan Steib

Active member
I just wonder - somehow there are many little points that make me unhappy:
take the video ad. Showing swedish light, landscape and the history of Hasselblad. Well um, we´ve seen that before ?
The camera is only happening at the very end of it and not in use, just in closeups and very abstract ?
They say 3 professionals have tested the camera during the last months and given feedback. Can I hear and see that instead please ?
I want to see it out at shooting, doing handling and workflow and some stuff from the postproduction ?

I´m sorry , but isn´t this what we all want to see, not this marketing gibberish ?
 

drevil

Well-known member
Staff member
Game changer? I think not!

no efcs, no fps.....no support for 3rd party lenses.

Hasselblad could have make THE start for a new era, well they missed....for now.

I am not saying I was in the boat for one, but this is truly not for me.
Still waiting for photokina 2016 and what it might bring.
 

Stan ROX

Member
I just wonder - somehow there are many little points that make me unhappy:
take the video ad. Showing swedish light, landscape and the history of Hasselblad. Well um, we´ve seen that before ?
The camera is only happening at the very end of it and not in use, just in closeups and very abstract ?
They say 3 professionals have tested the camera during the last months and given feedback. Can I hear and see that instead please ?
I want to see it out at shooting, doing handling and workflow and some stuff from the postproduction ?

I´m sorry , but isn´t this what we all want to see, not this marketing gibberish ?
It was just announced yesterday. Stay cool and request for a demo.

http://www.hasselblad.com/support/enquiries/demo-request
 
Top