The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Hasselblad X1D

CSP

New member
I just wonder - somehow there are many little points that make me unhappy:
take the video ad. Showing swedish light, landscape and the history of Hasselblad. Well um, we´ve seen that before ?
The camera is only happening at the very end of it and not in use, just in closeups and very abstract ?
They say 3 professionals have tested the camera during the last months and given feedback. Can I hear and see that instead please ?
I want to see it out at shooting, doing handling and workflow and some stuff from the postproduction ?

I´m sorry , but isn´t this what we all want to see, not this marketing gibberish ?

especially the AF features and performance of the x1d seem top secret.
 

tjv

Active member
Ming's thoughts are good, I think.

Interesting to read the bit about the 30fps live view / EVF readout limiting focusing speed. That's one of my biggest concerns. Well, that and the fluidity of the image in the EVF with a relatively low frame rate (30fps, as opposed to 60 or more,) as that's one of the reasons I've been alergic to EVFs in the past. They often seem very choppy and take me out of the moment.

I know that the resolution of the EVF is the same as the Sony A7Rii, but does anyone know the frame rate of the Sony's EVF / live view? I'm asking so I can try find a comparison base, handle a Sony (or Fuji, Olympus, etc,) and get an idea what to expect.
 

torger

Active member
I think the Achilles heel of the camera may be the EVF and AF performance. There's some indications that it may actually not be that good. If it's just plain poor, it will hurt the camera badly. If it's fine (don't expect too much!), I think it's overall a really great package.

My expectation/guess is that you really can't track moving subjects with it, so your shoots need to be fairly static or pre/zone-focused. If it's just sufficiently fast in reaching focus where you point I think that will be okay. I'd love if it has true focus, but my guess is that it doesn't.

Then there's the EVF. If it's lagging or pixelated or jerky or whatever that won't be good... I don't know what to expect there, except that it's not going to be market-leading. As the camera won't be action-oriented I think you can live with a little less than the best there though.

What needs to be up there with the best is lenses and image quality, and I feel more confident about that.
 

pflower

Member
Tough crowd...

Reading this thread and others on a different forum makes me glad that I never went into the business of camera design. I dread to think what kind of monster would have been produced if all the objections and outrage at missing features had been taken into account by the designers of this camera and they had tried to incorporate all of them.

If it doesn't have the one or more essential ingredient(s) that you need then move on and find a camera that does. There is no point in complaining about what it doesn't do.

The X1D is what it is and if it isn't for you then so be it. For me this ticks all the right boxes. I was thinking of upgrading my H3D to an H6D but for location work and travel the weight is a pain as is the size and conspicuousness of the system. This gives me everything that I wanted from the H6 in a perfect size. So there are compromises - the screen doesn't tilt, there aren't hundreds of AF points etc. I don't really care - my old 503 cx doesn't have a screen at all (other than the focusing one) and has no autofocus at all. But it is still a great camera.

I know the sensor and unless Hasselblad have really screwed it up (which I can't imagine is the case) then it does what I want - make pictures of a size, resolution and quality that satisfies me in a truly portable form factor. I've ordered.
 

Chris Giles

New member
The EVF refresh rate is the same as the A7rii - I didn't know there was anything wrong with that?

Shutter lag is the main thing to look at.
 

synn

New member
I just wonder - somehow there are many little points that make me unhappy:
take the video ad. Showing swedish light, landscape and the history of Hasselblad. Well um, we´ve seen that before ?
The camera is only happening at the very end of it and not in use, just in closeups and very abstract ?
They say 3 professionals have tested the camera during the last months and given feedback. Can I hear and see that instead please ?
I want to see it out at shooting, doing handling and workflow and some stuff from the postproduction ?

I´m sorry , but isn´t this what we all want to see, not this marketing gibberish ?
It was a product launch. Of course it will be marketing centric. Do you see Apple launching an Iphone with a launch video that shows only benchmark scores?

It has not even been 24 hours since the camera was unveiled. Hold your horses. Thereal world reviews will come.

I admire all that you and your company has done for photography, but it seems like with every MF launch related thread, you're here to play the role of debbie Downer.
 

tjv

Active member
That's good to know. I've never used a mirrorless camera except when demoing in a shop and, to be honest, the experience has never left me particularly impressed. Having said that, I'm very much a traditionalist when it comes to camera design, and the Sony and Fuji cameras just don't do it for me as a complete package, including horrible menu systems, cropped sensors (Fuji), poor tactile feel, jagged and / or weird looking picture in EVF, etc. The X1D might address a great many of these mental hurdles for me, to the point where I could live with and get used to the EVF. The big question for me then comes down to AF performance, being speed and accuracy, especially under variable light and when looking to lock onto fine details. I've also yet to read anything about focus peaking tools? Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading the first proper reports and maybe trialling one for myself.

The EVF refresh rate is the same as the A7rii - I didn't know there was anything wrong with that?

Shutter lag is the main thing to look at.
 

Slingers

Active member
This camera looks great. If only I had a spare 15k to able to buy the whole package. All it needs is the 30mm and a tilt adapter for h lenses. I've been dabbling with 120 film but would love to be able to create 33mm digital squares at roughly 33mp.
 

torger

Active member
I've tried a whole bunch of EVFs, and I find all good enough to live with, but none as pleasing as an optical viewfinder. But if I would have to choose between an EVF or a rangefinder type of viewfiender (ie looking beside the lens) I would choose the EVF. And if we want mirrorless and compact, we have to make some compromises.

I think the optical viewfinder with mirror box still have a number of healthy years in front of it though. It's not only that it lacks lag, it's that you look at the real thing which an EVF regardless of speed and resolution can't replicate. There is an advantage to look at what the sensor sees too though, you get a more direct understanding of how the final image will become, which with a normal viewfinder is not obvious if you shoot in a backlit situation for example.
 

Chris Giles

New member
Also, as I understand it the only cameras out there are pre production units with limited features on them.

So maybe it's too early to know the final behaviour and why we are limited regarding AF speed, refresh rates, buffer size and so on.
 

CSP

New member
I think the optical viewfinder with mirror box still have a number of healthy years in front of it though. It's not only that it lacks lag, it's that you look at the real thing which an EVF regardless of speed and resolution can't replicate.
transformed and deformed trough a lens projected on a matt grainy screen is the real thing ?
 

CSP

New member
Also, as I understand it the only cameras out there are pre production units with limited features on them.

So maybe it's too early to know the final behaviour and why we are limited regarding AF speed, refresh rates, buffer size and so on.
cdaf sucks and i can not imagine how hasselblad could make it perform better than sony
 

vjbelle

Well-known member
I admire all that you and your company has done for photography, but it seems like with every MF launch related thread, you're here to play the role of debbie Downer.
That's for sure..... I don't get all of the Hassy bashing coming from Stephen.

Victor
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
For me and what I would use this for all the virtues that I have today in the Sony A7rII I would only need a couple of them for this camera as I would still need the Sony around for fast AF PR type shooting. I would keep my Sony and my two GM lenses but I would sell off all my manual glass and use the Hassy as more a landscape , travel package and maybe some commercial work as well. I would really only would be interested in good manual focusing with at least a zoom or magnify feature. I don't expect this to be screaming fast AF and that's okay I'm more about accuracy but this sounds like center point focus and recompose technique. I have a Rx1 II and I love this little camera , I kind of equate this Hassy to that but with interchangeable lenses. This cam may not do it all and honestly not sure I expect it too but for certain things it is perfect. One is the long exposure times you can do with it over the Sony. For landscape shooting this is a biggy so I see it having a place in my kit but I need to compliment the two systems together or it would not work fully for me. But regardless I love the idea of it actually it's something I always wanted was a much more compact fluid MF camera the alternates like a tech cam ven though I got outstanding images from it left me artistically a little cold as you always shot at F8 or F11 because you where always tripod bound and they are just not fluid cameras and the normal DSLR MF bodies was the same issue tripod bound as they where just not great handheld or more work oriented. This looks like a much less cumbersome package to deal with and more like a Sony RXrII II mentality type camera. I shot a ton of MF gear actually almos everything made and to me I would much rather spend the money on this if I wanted to get back into MF as this would be the type of camera I would want.

It's not going to beat anything as far as speed and some functionality and you have understand and accept that going in. It's really dumbing down shooting to a much more simplistic approach. It certainly has a place in a lot of folks bags but you need to keep these speed expect ions down its not a spray and pray type cam far from it . It's going to be a nice simple cam that puts you in the drivers seat but it gives you the freedom to move with it. Most MF products do not do that. To me this is fun to shoot, but I'm old school and I like the simplistic approach . That's my gut feeling about this cam. I love the idea of it and love to have it and I look forward to testing it at some point and see if it fits me.

But I should ad I'm not doing any major moves till after and if anything great comes out of Photokinia. Im sitting on my buy fingers till than. First morning espresso comments . I get to three who knows. Lol
 

vjbelle

Well-known member
Some of the posts have indicated that this is no better than a Sony A7Rll but to me there is one LARGE distinction and its 4X3. I'm not a 3X2 fan except, on occasion, for landscape orientation but much prefer 16X9. I also think that the full lens line from the H being available is fantastic. I, for one, would probably buy the Hassy 100 as my first lens instead of the dedicated 90. Larger image circle and probably the same weight and extremely close in focal length. I'm not a buyer yet as I just don't have the use for it but its still very exciting.

Victor
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Some big pluses very long exposure times can be done which is a limitation today with out 42mpx Sonys.

A huge line of lenses we can tap into from the H glass upon release with adapter of course which should be fully automatic.


True leaf shutter . I see as a advantage not a downside as some here think.

It's just damn cool looking
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
One thing I will say about using EVF... Manual focusing is extremely easy and quick to do with one. I have no doubts that the camera will be fast enough to use outdoors from dawn to dusk but when it gets to lower light environments I suspect that people would zoom into an image to manually nail the focus. After a little practice I found myself doing this more than auto focusing.
 

Ulfric Douglas

New member
I'm a superyacht lawyer. I can see the X1D fitting right in as a must have luxury accessory in that world - Ready for Monaco Yacht Show at the end of September? .
It must be difficult for a certain strata of customer to find cameras that cost enough and are stylish enough and useable enough to be viable.
This new thing certainly fills another niche, I think you are right on the money.

I like the layout and buttons and size : it must be good for the digitally-challenged older gent, I just hope they add stabilisation to the MkII.
 
Top