I do not get the same negative feeling from the article that others are getting. KR is putting his neck on the line by reporting this. If it happens to be false, KR's credibility would be done. On the other hand if the news is true then it is certainly news worthy for a serious photography information outlet such as LuLa to report it.
As to the manner in which KR wrote the piece. I have no problem with that either:
- "The camera gear I wanted most was Hasselblad."
- "On June 22, 2016, Hasselblad announced an amazing new camera that took the camera industry by storm and confirmed hopes that Perry’s promises would be realized. Hasselblad was back..."
- "Perry, is a brilliant man and really believed in his new products and especially the team that was behind him."
- "Can DJI maintain the iconic tradition and sales of such a mature and recognized brand?"
When I read these sentences, I do not get the sense of hate or P1 bias or whatever.
That's maybe because you are not used to rhetorics? that is the oldest trick in the book: add a couple of positive or praising words before going into destruction mode, so you can:
|1. Manipulate some people into believing you are "just being objective"
2. Get some possible deniability, in case people, are smarter than that and it blows in your face.
This is a classic sample with Steve Jobs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpAfDUst9wA
Notice how all the people of the audience notice that expressions like:"Perry, is
a brilliant man and really believed in his new products and especially the team that was behind him" Are not indicative of good will.
Lets look at the "speculations / affirmations" of the article:
1. Hasselblad Acquired By DJI (maybe they just become majority investors that are not the same)
2. The decision was made simply because Hasselblad was selling a lot of H1 cameras and lenses, but not a lot of digital backs. It bothered them to know that other brands of digital camera backs were sitting on their prized cameras.
3.To top it off, the company had trimmed itself down to a bare bones staff, leaving a relatively small team to work miracles under immense pressure... Sensors had to be manufactured.
4.Hasselblad’s employees are a bit worried, to say the least. It could be that a few of them are no longer with the company or are already looking elsewhere for employment.
5.In all fairness, another Swedish iconic company – Volvo, is now owned by Chinese investors and Volvo’s new models promise really well – if they sell.
Each pseudo positive note is followed by gloomy statements that invalidate it. Notice that these gloomy statements are all, as far as we been told pure speculation. The article does not talk about DJI expertise with electronics, or autofocus, not it mention that if DJI acquired the company Hasselblad will have the resources developed against Fuji.
In fact, there is not a single positive asumtion that remain valid on the article.
Then there is the timing: Just when the X1D is reaching customers and People are talking about the camera LL intervenes with a speculative article and changes the conversation. Do you believe Kevin Raber is not smart enough to calculate this outcome?
Best regards,