Thanks Joe for your reply. Appreciate it.
I did try the X1D on an extended loan and wrote a review of it.
https://deployant.com/chill-out-thursday-musings-over-the-hasselblad-x1d-camera-system/
The X1D is perhaps the best camera I have used. It is slow and deliberate, and for my pace of working, it suits me well. The lenses I tried - 21/45/90 were all superb. And I always felt like picking up the camera to shoot. This is good. I have found, as you have, the Hasselblad user interface is the best, and the way the camera handles and feels on the hand is best of breed. As you know, I am a long term user of the H System, and love the ergonomics, and think the Hasselblad team knows a thing or two about camera handling.
What's not good is that I am troubled a bit by the blackout after each shot as well as the slow start, but I can get used to it. So the biggest issue for me is that the ecosystem surrounding the X1D is lacking. The only macro lens it has is large and heavy. And only goes to 1/2 magnification. No native extension tubes available to bring it close to 1:1. I know Fotodiox makes two tubes, but dealing with them is a joke. Though that is a story for another day, in brief, they had trouble telling me what magnification I can achieve with each of the two tubes on various XCD lenses. I did find out later, but it does not give me confidence in the company.
As I understand it, the XH adapter works less well than the Fuji GFX H adapter, perhaps because the H lenses are made by Fuji. The XH is not able to release the leaf shutter on the HC, whereas, the GFX H is able to. This means that I will need to use the electronic shutter on the X1D, ruling out the use of flash, which is critical for shooting watches.
Whereas, the GFX50R's sole macro lens is also heavy and also only 1:2, native extension tubes exist. And apparently work very well. For smaller magnifications, up to almost life size, the longer tube with say the 45mm or new 50mm suffices, and is much lighter. I am planning to try out the 50R with either these lenses and extension tubes, and compare the results to the 120mm (which is capable of 1:1 with the longer tube). And also to the H adapter with my current HC120 wll give 1:1, and HC80 with tubes close to that and lighter. And will write about the results.
Though I shoot in a studio like environment, almost all my work on watches is done with a portable studio. I shoot almost exclusively
in situ, in show conditions (big watch shows like SIHH, Baselworld) and I hand hold the camera with one hand...the other is used to pose the watch. Somewhere on my site is an article talking about how I shoot watches. So I will need a lightweight camera/lens system, and probably a well balanced one as well.
I also shoot in watch manufactures - buildings, machines on site, and do quite a few portraits of watchmakers and CEOs. So I think the 23 and perhaps the 120 or 110 will be part of my kit together with either the 45 or 50. And if the GFX H adapter works well, I might get away with using my HCD28 instead of having to buy the 23, and the HC80 as a portrait lens instead of the 110/120.
I understand there are various grips with integrated Arca plates for the GFX50r - two which come to mind are the Peipro and Smallrig. So I am guessing that would solve the lack of a good grip on the GFX50r.
The only thing now is for me to try out the 50r...which should happen within the next month or so...I hope.
I briefly owned a GFX 50S and also tried a 50R. I posted a comparison of the 50S and the X1D on my blog
here. .......
Joe