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Hoping to get some guidance on a Hasselblad X2D Mark II kit please

Greg Haag

Greg Haag

Well-known member
I started my early 2000s with the H2D then the H4D and then the H6D after having issues with my H6D that I could never get resolved I wound up switching systems. However, I have maintained a soft spot for the brand that just never went away so I have decided to go back with the Hasselblad X2D Mark II.

Hoping to get a little feedback on a lens kit and filter kit. I am leaning toward the 25, 55 and 90 but was hoping to hear from some people that may have more experience and different thoughts. The vast majority of what I will shoot will be architectural and landscape. I also shoot some automotive and a few people. On the filter kit, I am leaning toward a magnetic kit but have never used one. Based on preliminary research a kit from Kase Optics. Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated. If a thread already exists on this if you could please point me to that I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Greg
 
Hi Greg.... I can speak to the Kase magnetic filters as I own the Kase Armour system and am very happy with it. I'm speaking more to the way the assembly is designed vs. the Kase filters themselves. Most of my filters are Formatt Hitech which I simply installed into the magnetic frames that Kase makes. I have tested my filters for neutrality and they are very neutral and the couple of Kase filters that I did purchase also measure very neutral. Look into the bundles as they offer significant savings. The Armour system is very strong and filters can easily be bundled. Their polarizer is very thin and works as well as any I have used.

I have a CFV-100C Hasselblad and really like it a lot but this is not the camera you are interested in. I still shoot my Fuji 100 II and would probably not switch mainly because of the lenses. If I were you I would rent the lenses you are considering to make sure that they will meet your expectations. If I were to buy any of Hasselblad lenses I would try to stay with the prior versions of the XCD lenses vs. the current V series if possible. The problem is that Hasselblad has discontinued the lenses I would be most interested in and Hasselblad doesn't make some features of the camera available with prior generation lenses. The prior 90mm lens is no longer available. I think that the current V lenses are designed around weight and size vs. ultimate optical excellence - there are always trade offs. I would need lenses with the least amount of distortion and as little curvature as possible. The wide end, to me, leaves a lot to be desired based on honest reviews I have read and files I have seen. Buy from someone who will exchange or take back anything you would be unhappy with.

This would be an easy decision for me if I could be more convinced that I would be happy with the lenses.

Good luck with your decisions.

Victor B.
 
I had and enjoyed the XCD 21mm f/4, but sold it when I picked up the 20-35 zoom, which is a fabulous lens. Highly recommended. It can't take advantage of AF-C on the X2Dii, but I think it benefits from some of the other features (after updating the lens firmware). I'm testing it out now.
 
The 20-35 has some the most severe vignetting of any wide zoom that I have ever used. Either 35mm or MF. It’s very easy to see in Lr y turning off the lens correction or look at the raw in raw digger.

It also has tremendous flare issues ( at least my copy) so shooting into a sun rise or set will be challenging. Major green flare towards the edges.

As for the new V lenses I have the 90V and love it. One reason I am not interested currently in the 35-100. My 90V is very sharp and has good corner sharpness. I don’t shoot architecture so I can’t speak to distortion issues as for landscape work I never notice it. I rented a 25V last fall and strongly believe it performs better overall than the 20-35 @ 25mm

Don’t rule out a 35-75. The lens is heavy but again an excellent performer.

X2D2 seems like a nice upgrade from what I have read. But its price point also killed the value of the X2D. Just like the GF 100 II did to the GFX100.

Paul
 
Thank you Timothy
TimothyHyde said:
I had and enjoyed the XCD 21mm f/4, but sold it when I picked up the 20-35 zoom, which is a fabulous lens. Highly recommended. It can't take advantage of AF-C on the X2Dii, but I think it benefits from some of the other features (after updating the lens firmware). I'm testing it out now.
Click to expand...
Thank you Timothy!
 
Thank you, Paul!
Paul2660 said:
The 20-35 has some the most severe vignetting of any wide zoom that I have ever used. Either 35mm or MF. It’s very easy to see in Lr y turning off the lens correction or look at the raw in raw digger.

It also has tremendous flare issues ( at least my copy) so shooting into a sun rise or set will be challenging. Major green flare towards the edges.

As for the new V lenses I have the 90V and love it. One reason I am not interested currently in the 35-100. My 90V is very sharp and has good corner sharpness. I don’t shoot architecture so I can’t speak to distortion issues as for landscape work I never notice it. I rented a 25V last fall and strongly believe it performs better overall than the 20-35 @ 25mm

Don’t rule out a 35-75. The lens is heavy but again an excellent performer.

X2D2 seems like a nice upgrade from what I have read. But its price point also killed the value of the X2D. Just like the GF 100 II did to the GFX100.

Paul
Click to expand...
Thank you, Paul! I had not considered the 35 to 70, I will take a look at that. I still have all of my old H lenses, do you think the quality would be such that it’s pointless to try to adapt any of those? Hope all is well in central Arkansas!
 
Greg, I would first try the H-V Adapter to see if your favorite HC lenses work as you want. I can second the 90V. I also have the 25V, 38V and 55V. They all will enable AFc mode on the X2DII and thus allow for follow focus and recomposing. If this is important to you I would suggest you skip the older XCD lenses. It might be best to confirm this as I assume Hasselblad will come out with more FW upgrades. You can call Hasselblad USA to discuss.
 
Greg Haag said:
I started my early 2000s with the H2D then the H4D and then the H6D after having issues with my H6D that I could never get resolved I wound up switching systems. However, I have maintained a soft spot for the brand that just never went away so I have decided to go back with the Hasselblad X2D Mark II.

Hoping to get a little feedback on a lens kit and filter kit. I am leaning toward the 25, 55 and 90 but was hoping to hear from some people that may have more experience and different thoughts. The vast majority of what I will shoot will be architectural and landscape. I also shoot some automotive and a few people. On the filter kit, I am leaning toward a magnetic kit but have never used one. Based on preliminary research a kit from Kase Optics. Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated. If a thread already exists on this if you could please point me to that I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Greg
Click to expand...
Hi Greg,

I have the "original" XCD 21, 30 and 90, which are all spectacular and sharp corner to corner and can probably be picked up used at a substantial discount as others flocked to the newer series lenses. Since I shoot primarily landscape and built environment, I have no (rational) reason to upgrade them as any tradeoffs in weight vs image quality are not worth the extra $$ to me.

I also picked up along the way the newer XCD 55V and 75P, which are also quite good and are compatible with the X2Dii's upgraded autofocus features (whereas the original XCD lenses are not). Some feel that the 55V isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but I have no complaints. I only recently acquired the 75P and so far have only used it for cat and people candids, but from my intial testing it, too, appears to be quite sharp corner-to-corner.

If you like the performance of your H series lenses, they should work fine on the X2Dii with the X-H adapter, albeit presumably without the latest upgraded focusing tricks that the X2Dii has compared to the original X2D.

In any case, I've found the X2D and 907x to be very easy to work with. And they give those magical Hassy colors. Good luck!

John
 
algrove said:
Greg, I would first try the H-V Adapter to see if your favorite HC lenses work as you want. I can second the 90V. I also have the 25V, 38V and 55V. They all will enable AFc mode on the X2DII and thus allow for follow focus and recomposing. If this is important to you I would suggest you skip the older XCD lenses. It might be best to confirm this as I assume Hasselblad will come out with more FW upgrades. You can call Hasselblad USA to discuss.
Click to expand...
Thank you Lou, I will order the adapter and try that. I hope you have been doing well!
 
jng said:
Hi Greg,

I have the "original" XCD 21, 30 and 90, which are all spectacular and sharp corner to corner and can probably be picked up used at a substantial discount as others flocked to the newer series lenses. Since I shoot primarily landscape and built environment, I have no (rational) reason to upgrade them as any tradeoffs in weight vs image quality are not worth the extra $$ to me.

I also picked up along the way the newer XCD 55V and 75P, which are also quite good and are compatible with the X2Dii's upgraded autofocus features (whereas the original XCD lenses are not). Some feel that the 55V isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but I have no complaints. I only recently acquired the 75P and so far have only used it for cat and people candids, but from my intial testing it, too, appears to be quite sharp corner-to-corner.

If you like the performance of your H series lenses, they should work fine on the X2Dii with the X-H adapter, albeit presumably without the latest upgraded focusing tricks that the X2Dii has compared to the original X2D.

In any case, I've found the X2D and 907x to be very easy to work with. And they give those magical Hassy colors. Good luck!

John
Click to expand...
Thank you John, maybe I will get to use this on those cherry blossoms! I will try the adapter and see how my H lenses work. I am most curious to see if any of the longer focal length H lenses that I have will work. I hope you’ve been doing well, it looks like you have been especially busy traveling lately.
 
Hi Greg,
before ordering the XH Adapter you might want to read the following

All H System lenses with firmware 18.0.0 or later must be updated to the newest version 19.1.0 to work with the XH Converter 0,8 and to get auto focus (HC 120 and HC 120 II can only be used in manual focus mode). Other H System lenses (except HC 120 and HC 120 II) with firmware older than 18.0.0 will work but only in manual focus mode. Please note that only HC/HCD lenses with firmware 18.0.0 or later can be updated to 19.1.0. Lenses with older firmware have older hardware and therefore cannot be updated. Additionally, the X1D-50c must be updated with firmware 1.25.0 or later and the X1D II 50C, 907X
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This is from Hasselblad's web site https://www.hasselblad.com/x-system/accessories/xh-converter-0-8

I was not able to upgrade the firmware of some of my H lenses (i think HCD 28, HC 80) because of above issue

Regards,
Ralf
 
Hi there, over the years I have owned most xcd lenses, but after selling the whole system…regretting and buying back in I have mostly of the newer lenses. Now (2035,38,75,90) and 45 +135.
the plan was not to buy so many lenses And stay with 2035+75, but became weak. My experience is limited since I am a hobby shooter and also use other systems.
I thin it really depends on your needs.
for me the 20-35 is great so far, and even I dont doubt some mentioned things like flare and vignetting, but I love the range and the flexibility, vignetting can be corrected and I have not run yet myself into the flare issues. I feel its much more useful for me than the 21 and 30 I once had.
If the focal length of 25mm works fine for you this might be optically a better lens ( I cant judge), I also see it advantage for low light and astro, and maybe its the focal length sweet spot between 21 and 30. If I didnt have the 2035 the 25 would be my wide choice.
A lens for street, around the house and documentary things I love is the 38, really like the focal length and the small size. It also shows some vignetting ( I believe most xcd lenses are not great in this regard, my old s lenses are much better here), but again, there is enough dr in the files to correct with the lens profile.
I also really like the compactness of the 75, wanted to skip 90 but found a good used copy of 90 and think its great as a short portrait lens with nice bokeh….
 
I habe missed a longer lens all the time so shortly aquired a used 135+tc. Too bad it shall not be able to use afc , bur anyways, I dont plan to use it for action. But I am looking forward tomuse this lens for some portrait, some nature and compressed landscape images.its quite big, but with the tc fxible imo.
 
The 55 I also once had and liked a lot, quite in the middle of 38 and 75,
so if the gap between 25 and 55 is fine for you, 25,55, 90 could be a good plan. for me 38 allows more environmental portraits and scenes, so at the moent I prefer 38 over 55.
you can also just take the camera and just the 38 and have like a medium format Q3/x100/rx1.

personally I find it most important to get the right focal length, and not so much if one lens is optically slightly better or worse, I think they are all quite good. by the way I loved the bokeh and rendering of 80/1.9, but the lens often stayed at home because of weight.
 
Paratom said:
The 55 I also once had and liked a lot, quite in the middle of 38 and 75,
so if the gap between 25 and 55 is fine for you, 25,55, 90 could be a good plan. for me 38 allows more environmental portraits and scenes, so at the moent I prefer 38 over 55.
you can also just take the camera and just the 38 and have like a medium format Q3/x100/rx1.

personally I find it most important to get the right focal length, and not so much if one lens is optically slightly better or worse, I think they are all quite good. by the way I loved the bokeh and rendering of 80/1.9, but the lens often stayed at home because of weight.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for all the information and your insights, it was very helpful!
 
Greg,
When I mentioned X-H adapter I did not mean the 0.8 adapter, but the actual 1-1 adapter. It costs $350 on the HBUSA website, but I see they are out of stock. Perhaps many others are also going to try what you are trying.
 
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Greg Haag said:
Thank you John, maybe I will get to use this on those cherry blossoms! I will try the adapter and see how my H lenses work. I am most curious to see if any of the longer focal length H lenses that I have will work. I hope you’ve been doing well, it looks like you have been especially busy traveling lately.
Click to expand...
Hi Greg,

I think it definitely makes good sense to try out the lenses you already have in your collection - the older glass oftentimes give great results and can complement whatever new lenses you decide to buy to fill any gaps in focal length, application, etc. (but see caveats mentioned above re: vintage/firmware version and autofocus)

Also I forgot to mention, distortion is corrected in raw conversion. I use Phocus and I understand from others that Lightroom/Camera Raw has the appropriate corrections.

And yes, perhaps we can meet up next March for the cherry blossoms! Things just got too crazy for me this year so aside from a few local blossoms that I walked by on the way to and from work, I missed out on the main event.

Hope you are doing well...

John
 
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