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Hasselblad X1D teardown - doesn't look very neat compared against Sony

It looks like the X1D has implemented many jumper wires to patch things up... I'm told that Hasselblad ran out of funds to redesign the PCB.

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As for comparison here are the teardown of the Sony mirrorless cameras, and I have to admit that from a prospective of amateur I definitely prefer mature and sophisticated designs by Sony:

A7R by lensrentals: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/20...e-sonys-awesome-full-frame-mirrorless-camera/
pcb-1024x746.jpg

A7R-II by ifixit: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Sony+a7R+II+Teardown/45597
pcb-2.jpg
 

tjv

Active member
If it works, is reliable and easily servicable, then who really cares? It's interesting to see it, for sure, but I don't judge them on using a few flex wires here and there to get the job done.
 
If it works, is reliable and easily servicable, then who really cares? It's interesting to see it, for sure, but I don't judge them on using a few flex wires here and there to get the job done.
From what I understand, soldering jumpers is just another uncertainty for reliability, because you never know about the patience/workmanship of a human. But again, I guess that's the charm of photographic gear back in the days where each aspherical element was polished by hand. Variation does introduce romance :)
 

docmoore

Subscriber and Workshop Member
It looks like the X1D has implemented many jumper wires to patch things up... I'm told that Hasselblad ran out of funds to redesign the PCB.

As for comparison here are the teardown of the Sony mirrorless cameras, and I have to admit that from a prospective of amateur I definitely prefer mature and sophisticated designs by Sony:

A7R by lensrentals: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/20...e-sonys-awesome-full-frame-mirrorless-camera/
View attachment 127712

A7R-II by ifixit: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Sony+a7R+II+Teardown/45597
View attachment 127711

I see at least two none PCB connections on this camera ... blue top right and red in the left hand corner ...

As an aside, many of the early radio amateur transmitters and receivers built by Collins and others were still functioning and sought after by experts 40 years after construction
and they were for the most part point to point hand constructed ... maze of wires inside.

Time will tell ... but as there should be little flex on the solder joints ... should be good to go.

Bob
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
In legal terms, what is the chain of custody? What is the background of the photos, who is doing what when? What is the purpose of the photos? I do not feel comfortable at all drawing conclusions based on a single internet post. Nor am I an expert in that sort of thing so I won't comment. If you prefer Sony, it is your money.... I have nothing invested in either camera, but the photos mean basically nothing in my humble opinion.

I hope there is more than just a few photos for this thread if there is supposed to be a discussion proving a point. :)




I see at least two none PCB connections on this camera ... blue top right and red in the left hand corner ...

As an aside, many of the early radio amateur transmitters and receivers built by Collins and others were still functioning and sought after by experts 40 years after construction
and they were for the most part point to point hand constructed ... maze of wires inside.

Time will tell ... but as there should be little flex on the solder joints ... should be good to go.

Bob
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
Actually, it would be interesting to somehow request a response by Hasselblad:thumbup:

In the
 

Christopher

Active member
What all the fuss about ? Tear downs are completely normal and fun to look at. I find it great that I don't have to do it to my own stuff to see how they look insight.

And while I would select my camera through such a tear down. However, in some of them one can see how clean and good a product is designed and manufactured. I find the Sony cleaner, but don't find anything wrong with the X1D. Have seen ten time messier stuff.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
It looks like the X1D has implemented many jumper wires to patch things up... I'm told that Hasselblad ran out of funds to redesign the PCB.

As for comparison here are the teardown of the Sony mirrorless cameras, and I have to admit that from a prospective of amateur I definitely prefer mature and sophisticated designs by Sony ...
You're comparing a low-volume-production camera with a lot of hand assembly work, designed by a small engineering team, to a high-volume-production camera designed by (likely) a team of dozens of engineering specialists to minimize cost of production. There's simply no "fair" comparison in such a situation, nor does it imply anything about the quality, function, or serviceability of the designs.

When it comes to circuit board designs, it's long been shown that how they look is an irrelevant criteria by which to judge their quality.

G
 

BANKER1

Member
The X1D is a groundbreaking camera. With any new camera or system there are going to be a number of things that could have been done better. I agree with everything Godfrey said. But, it must be said that the X1D is a very fine camera that does a lot of things well. However, we are going to see nitpickers (and nose pickers) trying their best to find fault. That seems to be the way people think these days, so I guess we are destined to have to put up with it. The review that was posted earlier was rife with the most nitpicking I have ever seen. After his review, I got out my X1D to see if it suffered the same faults. I found that mine did not behave the way his did and found no such faults. In that review, he did have to admit, albeit with a tinge of sorrow, that the camera did a lot of things very well. Having to tear down the camera to find faults shows the extent people will go to try and make their point.

In the upper right hand corner of the picture of the A7R, I think I did see jumper wires from the board leading behind it, they just did not run across it.

Greg
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
The X1D is a groundbreaking camera. With any new camera or system there are going to be a number of things that could have been done better. I agree with everything Godfrey said. But, it must be said that the X1D is a very fine camera that does a lot of things well. However, we are going to see nitpickers (and nose pickers) trying their best to find fault. That seems to be the way people think these days, so I guess we are destined to have to put up with it. The review that was posted earlier was rife with the most nitpicking I have ever seen. After his review, I got out my X1D to see if it suffered the same faults. I found that mine did not behave the way his did and found no such faults. In that review, he did have to admit, albeit with a tinge of sorrow, that the camera did a lot of things very well. Having to tear down the camera to find faults shows the extent people will go to try and make their point.

In the upper right hand corner of the picture of the A7R, I think I did see jumper wires from the board leading behind it, they just did not run across it.

Greg
Well said... one day I may buy a Sony for a backup. But I would prefer the gorgeous piece of art, the X1D!

Keeping score?

Exterior aesthetics:
X1D = 10
Sony = 4

Interior Aesthetics:
X1D = 7
Sony = 8

Performance:
XD1 = refer to excellent images in this forum

The point is, we all buy and use what we want. Why indict a well-respected company? Not enough money to fix something? That is going too far...Not deserved IMO.:)
 

jduncan

Active member
It looks like the X1D has implemented many jumper wires to patch things up... I'm told that Hasselblad ran out of funds to redesign the PCB.

View attachment 127715

View attachment 127714

View attachment 127713

View attachment 127717

View attachment 127718

View attachment 127719

View attachment 127716

As for comparison here are the teardown of the Sony mirrorless cameras, and I have to admit that from a prospective of amateur I definitely prefer mature and sophisticated designs by Sony:

A7R by lensrentals: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/20...e-sonys-awesome-full-frame-mirrorless-camera/
View attachment 127712

A7R-II by ifixit: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Sony+a7R+II+Teardown/45597
View attachment 127711
Can you say who told you that " I'm told that Hasselblad ran out of funds to redesign the PCB." ?
Best regards,
 

jduncan

Active member
Verifies the claim hand made in Sweden? :salute:

Bob
I hate that claim because is the source of Hasselblad problems with the X1D and remembers me that
Hasselblad lost an opportunity to become a relevant camera manufacturer (in general, not a relevant MF camera manufacturer that they and P1 already are).
The old CEO was thinking boutique and Hasselblad had a winner in hand.

But you are right, the camera was designed to be built by hand in Sweden, by Swedish hand (they textually say as soon as we have more Swedish hands as if "blond" Swedish hands were somehow special).
We know have a guy that understands manufacturing as a CEO and DJI. I am not surprised at all and is funny how all this shows the successes of the X1D.
The last critique: "It's not nice inside"

Best regards,
 

docmoore

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Just to be clear ....

I committed to the X1D a year ago and it will finally arrive tomorrow ... 4116 version. Firmware issues can be solved ... great sensor and from what I have seen
it seems to image well.

I remember a discussion with a very old friend ... been in the photo retail business before I was out of training pants. He mentioned taking apart a mid-range Japanese
camera from the 70's and found metal that had been incorporated from a tuna can ... still had the markings on the metal. Camera worked great .... post-war Japan
learned how to leverage the limited resources they had to survive. And then they kicked collective western manufacturers in a major way.

So a few stray jumpers .... not a major concern for me.

And I have recently moved into drone imagining ... DJI has killed everyone with phenomenal software and progressive hardware. Which explains why they are the
multi-billion capitalized company that can leverage the Hasselblad name and optical excellence.

Not a fan boy ... been 10 years since my last Hasselblad ... but looking forward to decent sensor (Sony), optics and haptics. Hopefully MingThein can influence their
rather sorted culture and product support.

Bob
 

D&A

Well-known member
Bob, since Sweeden is part of Scandinavia, (although not Norway), is there any chance you might find parts of those industructable sardine cans as a foundation for those X1D circuit boards? If tuna cans worked for the Japanese in your example, I would think use of sardine cans would be the natural evolutionary direction the photographic industry would take :). The sardine can key would be the way to open and access the innards of the X1D.

Dave (D&A)
 
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