Hasselblad CEO interview

[miska]

Hi,
You've probably seen this:
Interview: Hasselblad to re-visit core values and aim for a wider market, says CEO Perry Oosting: Digital Photography Review

Interesting tidbits of information among a lot of CEO I-talk-a-lot-but-don't-say-much:
- Bye-bye Lunar & Stellar and co. Yay !
- Core values discussion. Between the lines, you could read digital X-pan, but that's probably just wishful thinking.
- At some point (where he discusses the 50 Mpix CMOS back for Hassi V), I even thought, that they might restart making V bodies.

Still, it's quite fuzzy...

What are your thoughts ? :watch:

 

[seablister]

Actions speak louder than words? Especially in a time when BS buzz words are so in fashion.

I just learned that HB US has stopped selling replacement bulbs for their X series scanners, or the Imacons before them. So if your bulb goes, you'll have to send the entire scanner to HB NJ and have a tune-up done. That amounts to $700 minimum ($250 or so for RT shipping and $450 for tune-up, not to mention replacement parts) and a considerable incremental delay to boot. Redefines servicing your customer, I'd say. Bend over time?.

That's tantamount to sending your car back to the factory to have a headlight replaced.

Raping one's current customers seems like the fundamentally wrong strategy to rebuilding one's business.

 

[tjv]

What?!?! You can't buy the bulbs alone anymore?!?! For people like me who live in the antipodies, that's absolutely unacceptable. The cost of shipping the scanner is insane if one has to send it to Australia or Sweden...

 

[JorisV]

It is a typical interview with a CEO, isn't it, saying pretty much nothing...

He seems to have understood a few things, hopefully he acts upon them in the right way.

 

[tjv]

I love the V system and I really wish they would think about reinvigerating it for the modern world. Take a leaf (excuse the pun) from the book of the Hy-6 and think about making a truly customisable and functional "studio" camera with rotating back, WLF and AF. I guess it'll never happen, but one can only hope.

 

[seablister]

What?!?! You can't buy the bulbs alone anymore?!?! For people like me who live in the antipodies, that's absolutely unacceptable. The cost of shipping the scanner is insane if one has to send it to Australia or Sweden...

Not to mention the risk of damage during two long journeys, and customs, and, and, and.

Perhaps HB US has taken renegade action on it's own... but I doubt it. Would be interested to know if HB elsewhere offers the bulbs on their own. Please advise.

 

[tjv]

I personally own an Imacon 949 and purchased an X1 for work. In terms of shipping and the dangers of sending such a heavy and fragile item, I totally agree with you. Lets just say we had to have three X1's sent to us to get one that worked. I can never be sure, but I'm pretty confident the other two were damaged in transit. When these machines are working though, wow. Brilliant scans. They're truly great products.

 

[miska]

What Hasselblad product would make you excited again about the company ?
The CEO hints at a wider audience, so I suspect the current MF stuff (H5D, CMOS CFV50) will stay but will be augmented by "cheaper" products. Could be:
- 35mm panoramic (XPAN revival would be really really cool)
- More "cheap" MF
- Own 35mm camera. But that makes little sense to me, the market seems already saturated.
- Own micro-four thirds: same as above

 

[Kolor-Pikker]

How about a digital...
...XPAN? - The one everyone is going on about since forever?
...MF rangefinder/mirrorless? - they could try to steal some thunder by making the first one.
...TLR? - The digital Rollei we never got.

 

[tjv]

X-Pan, which would no doubt be in collaboration with Fuji seeing as they designed the original.

A revisiting of the V system, with new added features to truly bring it into the digital age.

Updating the user interface of their digital backs and again offering them with the adaptors so people can use them on different bodies.

 

[med]

I think a digital X-Pan would be great! The only thing necessary to bring the V system into the digital age is a full frame 6x6 square sensor. The 203FE with a 6x6 digital back is about as modern as I can imagine a V camera being.

 

[Steve Hendrix]

Actions speak louder than words? Especially in a time when BS buzz words are so in fashion.

I just learned that HB US has stopped selling replacement bulbs for their X series scanners, or the Imacons before them. So if your bulb goes, you'll have to send the entire scanner to HB NJ and have a tune-up done. That amounts to $700 minimum ($250 or so for RT shipping and $450 for tune-up, not to mention replacement parts) and a considerable incremental delay to boot. Redefines servicing your customer, I'd say. Bend over time?.

That's tantamount to sending your car back to the factory to have a headlight replaced.

Raping one's current customers seems like the fundamentally wrong strategy to rebuilding one's business.

I'm not sure how you came to this conclusion, but this is not the case at all. Hasselblad does not require you to send in your Flextight scanner to change the light bulb. We can order an Imacon/Hasselblad light bulb for any of the scanner models.


Steve Hendrix
Capture Integration

 

[seablister]

That's great news. I'll call to place an order for one.

Let me clarify. I called HB NJ just a few days ago wanting to order a bulb. "Can't do" was the answer. "We stopped selling the bulbs alone. The only way you can get a bulb is to send the entire unit in for a tune up." Was pretty clear. Not making it up.