Fun with the Hasselblad 907x

[Godfrey]

Well, someone has to start this thread...

Battery 1 is charged. Battery 2 is almost charged. I've done a trivial poke and prod of the various controls and menus. Gods, this is a beautiful piece of equipment!

Hasselblad 907x Special Edition + XCD 21mm f/4​

With the 21mm lens, it's a bit bulky, not overly heavy, and feels just right in my hands on balance and control organization.

Photos from the 907x to follow soon.

G

 

[jng]

Hubba hubba

 

[TheDude]

... this is a beautiful piece of equipment!

Hard not to agree.

Very remarkable how well the CVF-50c II also looks and works on old Hasselblad cameras.

However, the attached anniversary sticker "On the Moon since - 1969- " may invite a few caustic remarks.

 

[anyone]

Pretty camera! Looking forward to seeing pictures taken with it.

 

[Godfrey]

Hard not to agree.

Very remarkable how well the CVF-50c II also looks and works on old Hasselblad cameras.

However, the attached anniversary sticker "On the Moon since - 1969- " may invite a few caustic remarks.

It is lovely.

Anyone who's going to make caustic comments about the commemorative sticker on the camera goes on my ignore list. I'm an ex-NASA person, I don't even want to see such dunderheads.

G

 

[phOtOny teXas]

Godfrey thats a fine looking Weapon
Mine arrives Monday and first thing I will do is go shoot at NASA down the street...:toocool:

 

[darr]

Congratulations Godfrey!
Looking forward to your posts regarding this setup.

Best to you,
Darr

PS: I like your special edition; it is totally Hasselblad style.

 

[f8orbust]

This is such a great piece of kit from H/B.

 

[tjv]

Looks beautiful, but how does it work?!

We know the image quality will be great with same proven sensor and basic innards as the X1d et al. I'm interested in AF accuracy (I've read many reports of late about the X1d II AF being something of a lottery in some situations,) and ease of use / haptics.

I know many people will use this handheld with the screen flipped back, so I also wonder about how visible it is in bright light etc.

Questions, questions, questions...

 

[Hausen]

I think I have convinced my wife. Will be ordering Monday. Looks gorgeous. perfect kit with my XCD21 and with my ACTUS G.

 

[mristuccia]

Great looking and non-mainstream. That's what I like the most.
Regarding the quality there's nothing to fear, that sensor is great even nowadays, we already know it very well.

Being an owner of the CFV I 50c I'm happy for you and all the future owners of the II version.

Congrats! :clap:

 

[Pelorus]

Godfrey, I'm sure that you are a nice chap, very kind, a wonderful photographer...but there is something deeply unsettling about this thread

I do not need another camera
I do not need another camera
I do not need.....

:facesmack:

Well, someone has to start this thread...

Battery 1 is charged. Battery 2 is almost charged. I've done a trivial poke and prod of the various controls and menus. Gods, this is a beautiful piece of equipment!

Hasselblad 907x Special Edition + XCD 21mm f/4​

With the 21mm lens, it's a bit bulky, not overly heavy, and feels just right in my hands on balance and control organization.

Photos from the 907x to follow soon.

G

 

[Godfrey]

Godfrey, I'm sure that you are a nice chap, very kind, a wonderful photographer...but there is something deeply unsettling about this thread

I do not need another camera
I do not need another camera
I do not need.....

:facesmack:

I didn't either. But ... to heck with it. "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess."

ANYWAY, I've been so busy this week dealing with another matter (completely unrelated to photography) that I've only barely begun to study and understand this camera. I'm experimenting first with just the setup as you see it above plus a tripod.

While I love shooting the SWC (same form factor, same FoV, etc) hand held, I also tend to use these types of cameras on a tripod the majority of the time. A pair of PD anchor buttons on the neck strap lugs lets me use the both the PD neck straps and their wrist strap as apropos, and remove either for use on the tripod.

I found that I have a Benro camera plate that is just about the same size and length as the Acratech plates I have on my 500CM bodies. Its thin rubber feet compress perfectly when fitted and hold it to the body securely, without any twisting or damage. It juts forward of the body by a quarter of an inch as I fit it, and snaps onto my A-S quick-release tripod clamp, the RRS lever lock clamp, and Peak Design travel tripod head's clamp securely (I removed one of the anti-slide lock screws in the PD tripod head to accommodate it, just like I do with the other Hassies). I could probably use the PD plate on all three of the above and not have to remove the anti-slide screw; haven't tried that yet (it's on another camera at present and I don't feel like taking it off there; need to get a second one) but it would be thinner and less obtrusive. The Benro plate blocks removing and interchanging the back so it isn't quite ideal ... the 907x body is so short that I don't think there's any plate that isn't going to be the same yet gives good purchase on the body and clamp. The securing bolt on this plate is 4mm hex, same as the larger of the two hex keys in the PD tripod tool, so removing and replacing the plate is not something terribly inconvenient.

Beyond that, I'm still learning and experimenting. I might carry the camera on my Saturday morning walk today, presuming it's not raining out...

G

 

[biglouis]

Absolutely, drop-dead, gorgeous. Enjoy and I too will be very interested to see the resulting photographs.

LouisB

 

[Pelorus]

:ROTFL:

Thank you Joe, I needed your post, I'll be chuckling all day!!

"Need"?!! "Need"?!! Mike, be forewarned. Using the word "need" can result in your being banned from Dante's Inferno. We don't utter that word here. Our spouses or partners may use that word, especially when new shiny objects enter the house, but they are to be ignored or distracted. Just sayin'. :ROTFL:

Joe

 

[tjv]

Anyone know any links to proper reviews / tests yet?

Asking for a friend...

 

[DougDolde]

I don't see the attraction

 

[Godfrey]

A few first snaps with the Hasselblad 907x and XCD 21mm lens. None of these are "great photos", rather they're me figuring out how to hold and use the controls on this machine. I've finished reading the instruction manual: The controls are all cleanly laid out and sensible, both for use on a tripod, use as a hand-held quick shooter, or use as the back on a 500CM. All three of these were made before I'd read a word of the manual and the camera was very easy to figure out even without reading...


Me, Taken with Hasselblad 907x
Hasselblad 907x + XCD 21mm f/4
ISO 800 @ f/4 @ 1/100
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49634553888_6fb81030fd_o.jpg

I handed the camera to my partner (not a photographer). He aimed and pressed the button. It did pretty darn well as a snapshooter's camera!


Hasselblad 907x + XCD 21mm f/4
ISO 3200 @ f/4 @ 1/800 + 3EV in processing
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49635075731_c0789355e4_o.jpg

In this exposure, I wanted to see how underexposure would affect the quality of the image. Seems to handle +3EV @ ISO 3200 nicely.


Hasselblad 907x + XCD 21mm f/4
ISO 3200 @ f/4 @ 1/100
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49635350532_e07760d6de_o.jpg

I adjusted the exposure in-camera before capturing this frame.

All three of these were made at f/4 as I was experimenting with focus zone. I'm very happy to see that at f/4, I can get a nice little bit of OOF in the background, the advantage of working with a larger format and an ultra wide lens without need for ultra fast speed.

Lightroom Classic sucked all of these in without any complaint and did very nice adjustments. Hasselblad raw files from this sensor are very malleable and easy to correct. Next download, I'll play with Hasselblad's own software, Phocus.

The image presented here in the forum is based on a 1600x1600 pixel, quarter resolution image. Click on the photo to get to the Flickr page or on the URL below it to look at the half-resolution image (3000x3000) stored on Flickr.com.

enjoy!
G

 

[algrove]

Congrats on that beauty.

I wonder if the 907X base plate is like the SWC or 503CW. If it is then I have a plate which fits into the bodies and works extremely well with no movement on the Smart Flex L which I am selling at around half of retail. Also have a plate for the Phase XF body too.

 

[Godfrey]

Congrats on that beauty.

I wonder if the 907X base plate is like the SWC or 503CW. If it is then I have a plate which fits into the bodies and works extremely well with no movement on the Smart Flex L which I am selling at around half of retail. Also have a plate for the Phase XF body too.

The 907x body has no 'foot' or baseplate like the SWC and 500 series bodies do. The base of the camera is quite narrow and has electrical contacts for the accessory grip (soon to come) along with a locating peg hole and the tripod mounting screw hole.

The Benro PU50 plate I've screwed onto it sits partially on the base of the back and feels very solid, like it was a built in piece of the camera.

G