Fun with X1D

[eleanorbrown]

A few tripod mounted test shots X1D and 90 lens taken around my house today. Single bottle wine was wide open....(lens very sharp). All processed as "standard" in Phocus (I honestly can't see much difference in Phocus Standard and Lightroom. Color the same....Phocus RAW is a tad lighter than the import to LR. Easiest camera menu system I have ever had....ever. Desperately needed is a firmware update to have a histogram tool available in live view and EVF!!!! Correct exposures would be much easier first time around, and thus less wasted time and missed shots....... also a Matrix metering choice for sure.... I like the 45 lens too....just happen to be enamored with the 90 at present. Not to enthralled with the shutter delay however..... (all shot at 100 iso and used 5 second timer).
Eleanor

 

[stephengilbert]

If it's good enough for Eleanor Brown, ....

 

[D&A]

Must keep this thread alive. Must keep this thread alive. Must keep this thread alive. Must keep...

On to the XCD 45mm, shot hand-held on a windy and chilly day (not in my pajamas) at Raleigh's historic Yates Mill.

​

Like its XCD 90mm sibling, this lens is razor sharp from corner to corner, edge to edge. Here's a 100% crop from the point where I auto-focused.

​

I'm still learning the camera. Today I learned that when I adjust the EV with the rear scroll wheel, the EV resets after capture. When EV is set with the rear LCD display, the EV is saved. Then I read the manual and that's the way it's designed to work. Duh. Also, when in M mode, the camera doesn't allow Auto ISO. In other words, M means manual for aperture, shutter speed and ISO. I'd like to be able to set the aperture and shutter speed and let the ISO "float" in some shooting situations.

I deliberately didn't carry a tripod today. This was a test of my ability to shoot medium format without a tripod at base ISO. Sweet. :thumbup:

Next, on to the XCD 30mm which I also shot today.

Joe

Wow, Yates Mill. Brings back fond memories. Lovely Joe. I and I'm sure many others are looking forward to your assessment of the 30mm lens. In my humble opinion, 90mm lenses in general are apparently easier to design and achieve high levels of performance but its the wider angle lenses where lots of variations are seen, especially with regards to edge and corner softness (especially at longer distances towards infinity such as in landscapes) in addition to field curvature, distortion and the like. I realize these sorts of assessments take time....Rome wasn't built in a day....LOL! When time permits, your thoughts of 100% crops at the edges/corners when the lens is partially stopped down would be helpful.

So far yours and everyone's images for the X1D look impressive and operationally the X1D seems to be very good too. except for a few niggles. Thanks!

Dave (D&A)

 

[GrahamWelland]

So far everything looks as good as we'd expect. Looking forward to seeing some 30mm shots.

Metering sounds a little disappointing so far but for those of us who use tech cameras, what's metering? :ROTFL:

 

[MomentsForZen]

Erik,

I would second your call for a 150mm f/2.8 in the next crop of lenses. I would add this to the existing 30mm and 90mm lenses and be very happy.

Thinking about what else Hasselblad may come out with, I wonder if they may opt for a zoom. These are very popular for non-specialist applications, and I could imagine Hasselblad trying to expand the market for the X1D to take in the market segment who are potential everyday, all-about-town, lightweight medium format camera users. These photographers would put a zoom in the 30-90mm range (exact range isn't clear to me as I have always used primes, but something around this) and be able to use just a single lens for the whole of their day.

I note that the Fujifilm have opted for such a zoom in their first 3 G-mount lenses.


... MomentsForZen (Richard)

 

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi Joe,

Nice shoots! It seems that no pajamas needed for good shots!

Best regards
Erik

Must keep this thread alive. Must keep this thread alive. Must keep this thread alive. Must keep...

On to the XCD 45mm, shot hand-held on a windy and chilly day (not in my pajamas) at Raleigh's historic Yates Mill.


Joe

 

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi Eleanor,

Thanks for sharing, it strikes me that the X1D may be the camera you were looking for, high image quality in a low weight package.

I have spent a bit to much on gear the recent years, so I will not do another system switch making me an interested bystander. Still I find it great that we now have two pretty affordable MFD systems, the X1D and the GFX.

It was interesting to read that images coming out of Phocus and Lightroom are similar.

Best regards
Erik

A few tripod mounted test shots X1D and 90 lens taken around my house today. Single bottle wine was wide open....(lens very sharp). All processed as "standard" in Phocus (I honestly can't see much difference in Phocus Standard and Lightroom. Color the same....Phocus RAW is a tad lighter than the import to LR. Easiest camera menu system I have ever had....ever. Desperately needed is a firmware update to have a histogram tool available in live view and EVF!!!! Correct exposures would be much easier first time around, and thus less wasted time and missed shots....... also a Matrix metering choice for sure.... I like the 45 lens too....just happen to be enamored with the 90 at present. Not to enthralled with the shutter delay however..... (all shot at 100 iso and used 5 second timer).
Eleanor

 

[tjv]

I'm disturbed by reports of shutter delay / lag...

What are we talking here? Really bad? Barely perceptible?

 

[algrove]

Joe

Please when you get a chance, I would love to see comparisons between X1D and 645Z use of same sensor. Perhaps you have initial test shots of 645Z that were taken at same/similar locations as these X1D shots. TIA.

 

[eleanorbrown]

Erik, I sold everything (including my Leica lenses and Hassy H2 lenses, Nikon stuff, etc to get this camera system. I did keep my Sony A7r2 and RX1r however. These early shots I took with the X1D were easy...tripod, indoor, etc. I will say steady outdoor handholding is difficult because the eyepiece is hard as a rock and I really need an eyepiece that has some cushion against my eye to hold really steady. Wish a softer eyepiece would be offered as a replacement. And yes with these early test images in Phocus and LR were extremely similar, even looking at areas at 400%. The camera itself is quite compact and very light and so easy to manage with settings. Double tap on any area in live view and it magnifies to facilitate focusing....don't even need to set a focus square...just tap on area in image.

I was looking for a camera system that combined aspects of my favorite cameras over the years....Hassy 503cx, Mamiya 7II, Phase One/H2, Leica M9 and this seemed to fit the bill.

Eleanor

Hi Eleanor,

Thanks for sharing, it strikes me that the X1D may be the camera you were looking for, high image quality in a low weight package.

I have spent a bit to much on gear the recent years, so I will not do another system switch making me an interested bystander. Still I find it great that we now have two pretty affordable MFD systems, the X1D and the GFX.

It was interesting to read that images coming out of Phocus and Lightroom are similar.

Best regards
Erik

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Just a shout out to members that are lucky enough to get theirs and post images and thoughts. Everyone appreciates your efforts. Looks really good too

 

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi Eleanor,

It is a big step you have taken…

Personally, I feel that an eyecup is needed with EVF-s to shield external light when shooting outdoors. I hope that Hasselblad comes up with a solution.

I hope that you will find the X1D a great picture taker and a great friend to have along wherever you go!

Best regards
Erik

Erik, I sold everything (including my Leica lenses and Hassy H2 lenses, Nikon stuff, etc to get this camera system. I did keep my Sony A7r2 and RX1r however. These early shots I took with the X1D were easy...tripod, indoor, etc. I will say steady outdoor handholding is difficult because the eyepiece is hard as a rock and I really need an eyepiece that has some cushion against my eye to hold really steady. Wish a softer eyepiece would be offered as a replacement. And yes with these early test images in Phocus and LR were extremely similar, even looking at areas at 400%. The camera itself is quite compact and very light and so easy to manage with settings. Double tap on any area in live view and it magnifies to facilitate focusing....don't even need to set a focus square...just tap on area in image.

I was looking for a camera system that combined aspects of my favorite cameras over the years....Hassy 503cx, Mamiya 7II, Phase One/H2, Leica M9 and this seemed to fit the bill.

Eleanor

 

[hcubell]

Erik, I sold everything (including my Leica lenses and Hassy H2 lenses, Nikon stuff, etc to get this camera system. I did keep my Sony A7r2 and RX1r however. These early shots I took with the X1D were easy...tripod, indoor, etc. I will say steady outdoor handholding is difficult because the eyepiece is hard as a rock and I really need an eyepiece that has some cushion against my eye to hold really steady. Wish a softer eyepiece would be offered as a replacement. And yes with these early test images in Phocus and LR were extremely similar, even looking at areas at 400%. The camera itself is quite compact and very light and so easy to manage with settings. Double tap on any area in live view and it magnifies to facilitate focusing....don't even need to set a focus square...just tap on area in image.

I was looking for a camera system that combined aspects of my favorite cameras over the years....Hassy 503cx, Mamiya 7II, Phase One/H2, Leica M9 and this seemed to fit the bill.

Eleanor

I think your priorities are shared by many of us. The X1D, once the firmware is further refined with things like live histograms and exposure bracketing and the lens lineup is filled in, may be just about there in meeting those priorities. Perfect? No, but what is?

 

[hcubell]

+1

I had the exact same reaction. I didn't find hand-holding difficult, even in bright outdoor light, but would love a soft rubber eyepiece/eyecup. The diopter adjustment is built into the eyepiece, so it may be on our X2D wish lists.

Joe

Joe, Hasselblad did offer a new version of the eyecup for the H bodies several years ago, but I believe that was to deal with how easily the original eyecups would tear. I believe the eyecup was made thicker and more rigid. Perhaps the eyecup for the X1D was "overbuilt" to minimize its susceptibility to tearing.

 

[eleanorbrown]

Haven't had time yet to practice on handholding but I had no issues handholding my Phase back with the Hasselblad H 2 camera which had, for me, an ideal eyecup. And yes with this camera I noticed the diopter adjustment is part of the eyepiece. Eleanor

+1

I had the exact same reaction. I didn't find hand-holding difficult, even in bright outdoor light, but would love a soft rubber eyepiece/eyecup. The diopter adjustment is built into the eyepiece, so it may be on our X2D wish lists.

Joe

 

[jduncan]

+1

I had the exact same reaction. I didn't find hand-holding difficult, even in bright outdoor light, but would love a soft rubber eyepiece/eyecup. The diopter adjustment is built into the eyepiece, so it may be on our X2D wish lists.

Joe

Toguether with true focus.
The stuff look like a gimmick , or like a consolation price for the lack of multiple focus points, but is trully adictive.
Many photographers use focus recompose even with DSLRs. Some time is faster than moving points arround.
You look at the eyes focus, recompose.


Best regards,

 

[jduncan]

Not from me because I'm still waiting but folks, put up or ...

Joe Colson I'm certain will man up. Others? Curious to see some real world images.

Hi,

Have someone tested the profoto Nikon remote with the X1D?
If yes could you comment ?

Best regards,

 

[tashley]

Toguether with true focus.
The stuff look like a gimmick , or like a consolation price for the lack of multiple focus points, but is trully adictive.
Many photographers use focus recompose even with DSLRs. Some time is faster than moving points arround.
You look at the eyes focus, recompose.


Best regards,

Yup, and you need really flat field lenses for that to work. That's the next thing to ask our guinea pigs to check: the shape of focus field of the lenses.

 

[D&A]

Yup, and you need really flat field lenses for that to work. That's the next thing to ask our guinea pigs to check: the shape of focus field of the lenses.

Especially with wide angle lenses like the 30mm, where things like field curvature (especially at long focus distances) often comes into play (among other things).

Dave. (D&A)

 

[Eli]

Hi Everyone,

So... I only had a few hours in Chicago to "break in" the camera (actually, break-in myself). I like this camera, although there are a few things to get used to, but nothing major. Some of the menu options are kind of mysterious as to what they actually do, but that will get sorted out as time goes on.

So I just shot some images at the museum, downtown, and of my granddaughter.... I am impressed with the dynamic range of this camera. I am coming from a Leica Monochrom 246, and I think the X1D is significant step up in term of pretty much all aspects of the image (yeah, I know, color—just anticipating some jokes).

There is much discussion about shutter lag. I myself experience very little of it. The only time is when the camera is "not ready" in terms of focus or exposure. Is there a setting to get the camera to fire even if the focus is not set perfectly yet? Once the focus square is "green" there is very little lag. I tested it withe people walking laterally to the camera and seeing where they end up, once the exposure is made and it's pretty close to where I thought they would be... a small fraction of a second delay. The trick is to anticipate and have the focus "done" before needing to fire the trigger.

I wish there were a way to adjust the viewfinder in terms of contrast and brightness, as I found the image through the EVF doesn't match the actual "world" I am looking at. But, on the other hand, looking through a viewfinder in a Leica is not exactly a naturalistic representation of the world either. I wear glasses and I was pleasantly surprised to be able to easily see the entire frame with my glasses on. I can see what some people have said about the hard rubber of the eye-cup, however.

Overall, I am excited and can't wait to spend many days doing some serious playtime.