xcd 38 experiences, and compared to 30 and 45

[dmecham]

The image I've shown here was taken hand held with X1Dii and 45P lens. I process all my Hasselblad RAW files in Phocus and then any other work in Photoshop with TIFF files. I've loved the 28P on this body. I replaced my 30mm Hasselblad XCD lens with it after extensive testing of both lenses. As close in performance of any lenses I've ever tested. The big advantage with the 28P is it's about half the size of the 30mm, much faster and quieter and less than half the price. It's no wonder the 28P is back ordered everywhere. The color with the 28P is consistent with my other XCD lenses. I do stress that many of the optical corrections are performed in Phocus so by converting Raw files in any other software results may vary. Considering Phocus is a free download is an easy solution. Here's an example of a 28P image.

 

[Ai_Print]

My understanding from my local dealer is that the glass elements are made by Nittoh. They are then sent to Hasselblad for the rest of the build. All hand made. This is why they say made in Sweden. I also own the 45P as well as the 65mm and 28P. All outstanding performers and the 45P is as sharp as my 65 or 28P.

I also own the 28P, 45P and 65mm 2.8 and they are fantastic on the X2D. But the 38V and 55V I bought and tried for over a week last Fall were just plain poor in the corners, never got anywhere near as sharp as the other three at any aperture so I returned them for a refund, still have the darn 72mm filters that I otherwise have no use for.

I honestly think Hasselblad is having very difficult QA issues with these new lenses so that is why they are so slow to be re-stocked. If I could get the pair of 38V and 55V to be at least as sharp overall as my pretty much perfect 45P, I would really like using them but given the price of them, I am not sure I want to risk it again. The 65 however clunky to use, it so off the charts good for landscape work that I can not imagine the IQ from either of the new V lenses would come close to beating it so regardless, it stays for sure.

 

[dmecham]

Yes I agree that the 65mm is a bit of a beast compared to the 45P and 28P. But image quality is stellar. I love using the 65mm for stiching images but if there is ever a smaller and more compact version made that is equal to the current 65mm image quality I'd make the change. change.

 

[dmecham]

I've found no color cast using the 28P on my X1Dii. I've included results from a test I made with the 28P shot at F4. Processed using Phocus 2. As you can see the correction couldn't be better. Perfectly even and perfectly neutral color over entire frame.

 

[FloatingLens]

I've found no color cast using the 28P on my X1Dii. I've included results from a test I made with the 28P shot at F4. Processed using Phocus 2. As you can see the correction couldn't be better. Perfectly even and perfectly neutral color over entire frame.

Not sure how you perceive it, but the left uncorrected frame exhibits a red shift on the right hand edge. Maybe it is a bit less pronounced than in my sample.

 

[FloatingLens]

That said, I believe the auto-correction profile for the 28P in Phocus 3.8 got a bit better but not perfect with respect to color. Judging from an attempt with an old .fff file and the 3.8 lens correction it’s not completely neutral in my case, meaning still only a Scene calibration can remove the cast fully.

Note: the cast occurs at f4.

 

[nazdravanul]

I went against the trend, here: sold my 38v for a 30 and 45 - both original 3.5 xcd lenses. While I was happy with the 38v, I found the FL limiting, at times - I find the 30 & 45 much more useful. While the 38 was very good stopped down, the 30 is much better in the corners, wide open, and sometimes I need that capability for night shots. Also, ergonomically, I found out I prefer the simplicity of the XCD lenses. On the V I kept engaging the MF ring by mistake, effectively blocking my rear focus button - in the middle of the shot I had to stop, fix and start over. Minor annoyance, but it kept happening - on the simpler XCD lenses my workflow is clear and uninterrupted.
Optically I’m also happier with the classical XCD lenses - they do seem a bit punchier and more consistent in performance across f-stops and focusing distances.
The only optical gripes I had with the 38v were : 1. poor corners up unti f5.6 2. flare resistance which was really poor.
That being said, if I could carry / shoot only 2 lenses, those would clearly be 38v and 90v. But I need more FL options than that, so the 38 had to go - if they’re going to get cheaper, in the future, I will consider buying one again. For now, the 30 + 45 deliver much better optical (and financial ) value, for me.

 

[FloatingLens]

For now, the 30 + 45 deliver much better optical (and financial ) value, for me.

I second that. Went the same route.

 

[dmecham]

Not sure how you perceive it, but the left uncorrected frame exhibits a red shift on the right hand edge. Maybe it is a bit less pronounced than in my sample.

Yes the uncorrected sample does show a color shift. The corrected version may appear to not be quite neutral in color but that must be from this site. When I open the corrected version in PS using the densitometer tool all areas of the image are RGB 189. No change over the entire format.

 

[dmecham]

That said, I believe the auto-correction profile for the 28P in Phocus 3.8 got a bit better but not perfect with respect to color. Judging from an attempt with an old .fff file and the 3.8 lens correction it’s not completely neutral in my case, meaning still only a Scene calibration can remove the cast fully.

Note: the cast occurs at f4.

I used Phocus 2 for this test. No Scene Calibration was used.