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YouTube Interview with Ove Bengtson, Product Manager Hasselblad H System.
- Thread starter KeithL
- Start date
Not really. There was a recent thread arguing how Fuji makes the H system ... again. So apparently it isn't common knowledge that Hasselblad Sweden makes it, and also makes the Fuji version for Japan.
Is it important? Well, for long-time Hasselblad users with a well of trust built up with the revered Swedish brand, it might be important. Brand attributes and perceptions are a tricky thing to mess with ... Leica learned that when they had Minolta make their R camera for a while.
-Marc
Hasselblad has always been fishy about it's relationship with Fuji
base plate of an xpan.... says made in Japan.
It was a re lable of this
The original Fuji
The "Fujiblad" xpan
It's really funny that not only is the Hasselblad xpan identical to the Fuji 35mm panoramic camera, but xpan is also stylistically just like the Fuji medium format range finder cameras
Developed and produced by Hasselblad?
base plate of an xpan.... says made in Japan.
It was a re lable of this
The original Fuji
The "Fujiblad" xpan
It's really funny that not only is the Hasselblad xpan identical to the Fuji 35mm panoramic camera, but xpan is also stylistically just like the Fuji medium format range finder cameras
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danlindberg
Well-known member
Fred, if you are referring to the "Made in Japan" it is consistant with Oves statement. Lenses & viewfinders - Japan. Bodies - Sweden. Backs - Denmark & Sweden.
Another interesting fact is that Shiro Group of Hong Kong buys Hasselblad and the H system comes out. Company becomes owned by a powerful Hong Kong industrial group and starts marketing cameras made in Japan......
Now more recently Fuji announces it will be manufacturing it's own luxury top of the line camera system and Shiro sells off Hasselblad to Ventiz.
I remember hearing from a hasselblad guy at a trade fair that Hasselblad
dumped Carl Zeiss because they don't have clean rooms and adequate facilities for digital?????
Never heard such rubbish. Carl Zeiss has been involved in micro electronics and nanothechnology for many years.
they can handle anything a medium format camera lens might need
Carl Zeiss clean rooms:
They also make 193 nm lithography systems with 70nm resolution. That is thousands of times smaller than the size of the smallest pixels in a MF back.
They are also leaders in Semiconductor Metrology Systems.
There are room sized sytems used for ultra high level semiconductor manufacturing that are used in the manufacturing of circuits many times more complex than sensors. Not only do these systems have to work in clean rooms but they have to be manufacured to even higher tollerances.
Carl Zeiss revenue for 2010 $ 4B with about $ 1B in liquid assets.
Now more recently Fuji announces it will be manufacturing it's own luxury top of the line camera system and Shiro sells off Hasselblad to Ventiz.
I remember hearing from a hasselblad guy at a trade fair that Hasselblad
dumped Carl Zeiss because they don't have clean rooms and adequate facilities for digital?????
Never heard such rubbish. Carl Zeiss has been involved in micro electronics and nanothechnology for many years.
I think that if Carl Zeiss makes Helium Ion microscopes
they can handle anything a medium format camera lens might need
Carl Zeiss clean rooms:
They also make 193 nm lithography systems with 70nm resolution. That is thousands of times smaller than the size of the smallest pixels in a MF back.
They are also leaders in Semiconductor Metrology Systems.
There are room sized sytems used for ultra high level semiconductor manufacturing that are used in the manufacturing of circuits many times more complex than sensors. Not only do these systems have to work in clean rooms but they have to be manufacured to even higher tollerances.
Carl Zeiss revenue for 2010 $ 4B with about $ 1B in liquid assets.
One more thing to think about......
Ever wonder why Hasselblad with almost a century of square format suddenly goes to a 645 only system that favors horizontal use when 90% of the work published by Hasselblad photographers was vertical.
Another thing.... ever wondered why the V system became terribly unreliable and then the H system came out pretty much a solid system?
Ever wonder why Hasselblad with almost a century of square format suddenly goes to a 645 only system that favors horizontal use when 90% of the work published by Hasselblad photographers was vertical.
Another thing.... ever wondered why the V system became terribly unreliable and then the H system came out pretty much a solid system?
I presume you are referencing the "Made in Japan" on the viewfinder?Hmmm....
look close:
Listen closely
... he clearly stated that Fuji manufactures the viewfinders for the H system.-Marc
KeithL
Well-known member
Just to be clear, I'm not a colleague of the interviewer.
Reactions to this video have fallen into two camps, those who get the humorous approach and those who don't.
This was a casual and fun discussion between acquaintances. The sincerity and immediacy of Ove Bengtson's unscripted replies were far more telling than they would have been in a more formal ‘corporate’ interview.
Reactions to this video have fallen into two camps, those who get the humorous approach and those who don't.
This was a casual and fun discussion between acquaintances. The sincerity and immediacy of Ove Bengtson's unscripted replies were far more telling than they would have been in a more formal ‘corporate’ interview.
Is this an official HB video that they link to?
Swissblad
Well-known member
Thanks for clarifying that Keith - somehow completely missed it! :sleep006:
All I'll add to this is that before any announcement from Hasselblad I had heard from Fuji that they were developing a 645 AF reflex camera as a little brother to the Fuji GX680. The prototype I saw looked remarkably like the GX645. I remember complaining about no rotating back.I presume you are referencing the "Made in Japan" on the viewfinder?
Listen closely
-Marc
Here is a quote from an LA photographer and motion picture production facility owner that visited the Fuji plant...
FYI, Hasselblad introduced the Hasselblad H camera in 2002. Shiro acquired majority share in 2003.
Shiro Sweden was formed and introduced the capital and vision to acquire Imacon in August 2004, closed down Hasselblad's own half-hearted digital department, and re-directed the company to further dedicate itself to professional digital imaging. Like every other MFD effort, it concentrated on the 645 format because that was the direction of sensor development ... which in 2012 is still the direction of production sensor development for MF photography, and the much fabled 48 X 48 or 56 X 56 sensor has never materialized.
Reliability issues with the V camera in favor of the H?
Up to 2 years ago I used an unbroken succession of 500 series V cameras stretching back 40 years and never saw any evidence of that ... in fact, quite the opposite. Hasselblad continuously improved the reliability over the years. The pinnacle of which was probably the 1998 to 2006 555ELD verses previous EL studio production models. They continued to support traditional V camera users with a line of dedicated CFV backs including the still available CFV/39 and CFV/50.
I transitioned to the H platform for a couple of reasons ... AF and a slightly higher sync speed. Hasselblad made that transition easier by offering the CF adapter so I could utilize the Zeiss V lenses on the H camera until I could flesh out the HC series of lenses. I sold off my Contax 645 and eventually the V system, and consolidated it all in the H system.
The anecdotal "Clean Room" Zeiss excuse is one I never heard. Who knows what goes on behind closed corporate doors at any of these companies? Doesn't matter, Hasselblad chose Fuji for whatever reason and that's the way it is. Anyone that favors the Zeiss 500 series V lenses can still use them on their H camera ... via the CF Adapter.
-Marc
BTW, I know of no one that thought the XPAN was made in Sweden ... or cared.
When I asked David Grover why they did not introduce an auto photo-stacking system he said that they could not, because the camera did not know the (exact) focus distance, only a zone indication.
... but, using the incremental focus on live view, you could easily focus-stak without touching the camera between shots, and I do not think it would take them many minutes to write the software to do it automatically.
There is a software development kit that allows you to fire the camera from another program, but I do not thing it allows you to focus.
I'm sure Shiro secured some changes in Hasselblad before buying it. Rather unusual purchase if you think about it.... distributor buys the manufacturer....
Truth of the matter is that Hasselblad could not stay on it's own feet. The Fuji relationship was a synergy that worked for both Fuji and Hasselblad..... well to a point. Fuji remained profitable... Hasselblad did not. Hence all the changes in ownership and the sale to Ventiz and merger of north American operations with Broncolor. Remember Sinar joined up with Broncolor a while ago and that did not work out.
Anyway the most important fact is that Hasselblad support is stellar. Even discontinured items are reapaired at very reasonable costs and with turnarounds of a few days. Hasselblad and Fuji make the best MF camera.
All the marketing mumbojumbo and history fuzziness is secondary.
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This is interesting.
A nice photo reportage at the new Hasselblad factory at the time when Shiro aquired Imacon.
Photos show Hasselblad V and Hasselblad H assembly, but Hasselblad H looks more like final assembly while showing more from the ground up V manufacturing.
Factory looks great. Clean, loads of daylight and beautiful building. Building does not look like much machining takes place there, more of an assembly plant.
Here is the link.
TheReportage.com » SWEDEN : HASSELBLAD'S FACTORY IN GOTEBORG
You can sign up for a simple view account for free.
Interesting sight of other reportages too.
A nice photo reportage at the new Hasselblad factory at the time when Shiro aquired Imacon.
Photos show Hasselblad V and Hasselblad H assembly, but Hasselblad H looks more like final assembly while showing more from the ground up V manufacturing.
Factory looks great. Clean, loads of daylight and beautiful building. Building does not look like much machining takes place there, more of an assembly plant.
Here is the link.
TheReportage.com » SWEDEN : HASSELBLAD'S FACTORY IN GOTEBORG
You can sign up for a simple view account for free.
Interesting sight of other reportages too.
That's funny!!!!!Fred, I bet you've got all the series box sets of the X-Files...
Actually I threw out the TV set many years ago. I'm more for mountain biking, surfing, kitesurfing than the TV set. Had several epic kitesurfing wave riding sessions in the last few days. Overhead surf... caught some memorable waves.