X2D Thread

[MrSmith]

Ming leaving Hasselblad is yet another bad sign for a company that appears to be, once again, struggling.

really? personally i didn’t see the point in his association, its not like he was the arbiter of professional imaging experience or thought, and his work wasn’t exactly inspiring (to me it was mediocre at best) seemed good at self publicity though. maybe HB could have taken some of that

people seem to think the worst if a new wunderkind isn’t announced at every photokina/CES/NAB. yes companies stagnate (look at Sinar) but what HB offer today is a world away from the ‘lunar period’ i very much doubt they are finished with the XD platform.

 

[DB5]

really? personally i didn’t see the point in his association, its not like he was the arbiter of professional imaging experience or thought, and his work wasn’t exactly inspiring (to me it was mediocre at best) seemed good at self publicity though. maybe HB could have taken some of that

people seem to think the worst if a new wunderkind isn’t announced at every photokina/CES/NAB. yes companies stagnate (look at Sinar) but what HB offer today is a world away from the ‘lunar period’ i very much doubt they are finished with the XD platform.

I agree with all of that.

But Hasselblad's problem is Fuji. Fuji are delivering unbeatable products with incredible features at a time when people are most receptive to them. They are doing so in a very formative period when this sort of thing really counts.

 

[tcdeveau]

Also, perhaps we should see Ming Thein's post about why he left HB before spectulating? Are we sure he didn't leave for personal reasons? He did just start a watch company after all, and doing things like a Z7 review would be difficult I presume as a HB employee.

Hasselblad managers have mentioned before in interviews that the X2D is coming. I have no problem being patient, and an announcement of X2D development with no ship date in sight would not really do anything for me as a Hasselblad customer. For the most part, they are releasing products that they have announced, and in doing so have demonstrated that the X line is moving forward IMHO. We'll see how they do with actually shipping the 65mm, 135mm, and 80mm.

I don't think the radio silence is necessarily a bad thing. Hasselblad is in a lose-lose situation. If they don't announce anything, people assume they're struggling, and when they do announce things and miss delivery targets (even when they're stated as expected), people assume they're struggling. People are still criticizing the X1D for being a buggy product that wasn't ready for market, and a lot of opinions of the X1D were formed during the demo tour they did with an alpha product before launch. What if they had announced development of the X2D with no release date? In a couple months people would then again say that they're struggling because there was no release date and it's not available for order.

If I were HB, I'd stay silent until the X2D was ready to ship. What HB needs to do IMHO moving forward to make customers happy is to iron out bugs, iron out QC issues, hit delivery targets, and ensure product availability. Not announcing products before they're ready to ship to consumers is one way to accomplish that.

 

[hcubell]

really? personally i didn’t see the point in his association, its not like he was the arbiter of professional imaging experience or thought, and his work wasn’t exactly inspiring (to me it was mediocre at best) seemed good at self publicity though. maybe HB could have taken some of that

people seem to think the worst if a new wunderkind isn’t announced at every photokina/CES/NAB. yes companies stagnate (look at Sinar) but what HB offer today is a world away from the ‘lunar period’ i very much doubt they are finished with the XD platform.

I completely agree. I just spent over two weeks in Iceland travelling around the South Coast and the Central Highlands using the X1D. Typical Iceland weather. High winds, and lots of snow and rain. The only bad conditions for photography were the few occasions when the sun came out. The X1D was a joy to use. I had the 30mm, the 45mm, the 90mm and the 120mm and the body in a smallish F/Stop back pack. This is by far and away the happiest I have ever been with a camera system. It's very much like using my old Mamiya 7, except I can focus it and set the exposure much more accurately. It's amazingly light and compact, the ergonomics are perfect, the UI is a model of simplicity, and the lenses are superb. That's exactly what I need.
So, for those who see the departure of Ming as a sign of dire things to come, let's see how this plays out. With the X1D, Hasselblad has an excellent system to build on. It's not like they don't have a camera system that photographers want. The X1D is a first generation product that was rushed to market on a shoestring. With relatively few changes, the next generation can address most of the issues. There have been complaints about the limited scope of the lens roadmap, particularly compared to Fuji with the GFX. However, Hasselblad has just announced the next three lenses plus a dedicated 1.7 teleconverter for the 135mm lens. The specs of the 135mm lens are just amazing, both with and without the TC. So, we now have a line of prime lenses ranging from 21mm to 230mm. For what the X1D system is trying to offer, what else is needed? The mid-range zoom that is on the roadmap but not yet announced? Ok. That would be nice. But, the lenses that Fuji is developing make no sense for the X1D system. Big, heavy zooms, like a 100mm-200mm? What we are seeing are two distinct systems that are becoming more and more clearly differentiated. I think that's great.
To me, the biggest challenge for Hasselblad with the X1D system will be whether it can stay the course with the current form factor. The new 100mp Sony sensor will require a more powerful processor. Same with the next generation EVF. Both will presumably require more battery power. The existing X1D body may not be able to accommodate those upgrades. (The Sony A7R series has steadily crept up in size.)

 

[sog1927]

really? personally i didn’t see the point in his association, its not like he was the arbiter of professional imaging experience or thought, and his work wasn’t exactly inspiring (to me it was mediocre at best) seemed good at self publicity though. maybe HB could have taken some of that

people seem to think the worst if a new wunderkind isn’t announced at every photokina/CES/NAB. yes companies stagnate (look at Sinar) but what HB offer today is a world away from the ‘lunar period’ i very much doubt they are finished with the XD platform.

I liked the idea of strategy being in the hands of a working photographer who actually used their products, rather than the marketing geniuses who came up with the Lunar.

 

[jduncan]

That's most unfortunate.

Hi,

Yes, got confirmed. I was under the impression from some of his replies.
This part is sad:

Ming Thein says:
September 30, 2018 at 11:12 PM
Yes, they’d no longer have somebody to complain to, threaten and accuse of making decisions I had no involvement in or knowledge of

Hi,

This remembers me of the incident with the stoppers' blogger, that they start harassing him in an expo, acting like school bullies.
It seems to me that the company is broken from the top. I am disappointed.
Just at the moment, they could have propelled Hasselblad to a totally different place they start inviting.

I hope Ming leaving is enough to wakeup managment.

Best regards,

 

[jduncan]

really? personally i didn’t see the point in his association, its not like he was the arbiter of professional imaging experience or thought, and his work wasn’t exactly inspiring (to me it was mediocre at best) seemed good at self publicity though. maybe HB could have taken some of that

people seem to think the worst if a new wunderkind isn’t announced at every photokina/CES/NAB. yes companies stagnate (look at Sinar) but what HB offer today is a world away from the ‘lunar period’ i very much doubt they are finished with the XD platform.

Hi,

Please take into consideration that it's not about "every". As the song goes "This opportunity comes once in a lifetime".
This is a new platform, evolution must be rapid. Also, There is this window closing where the X system could have a meaningful resolution advantage over FF. IT's most likely never going to happen again, unless the lenses and the mount support larger MF system.

Then as say by others you have Fuji.

Then there are the communication problems: they delayed the lenses and did not talk about it. There are the childish reactions.

Too much, they need to react before is too late. About Ming: If you read his blog, the question he proposed to Hasselblad seems sound and rational.

Best Regards,

 

[DB5]

That Fuji GFX100 sure is very tempting and I'm inclined to think that is what I will go with. It's the C1 support that crowns it as a very good deal now.

But that Hasselblad 80mm f1.9 looks like a stunning lens and still leaves with me pause.

When do people realistically think we will see the X2D?

 

[tcdeveau]

That Fuji GFX100 sure is very tempting and I'm inclined to think that is what I will go with. It's the C1 support that crowns it as a very good deal now.

But that Hasselblad 80mm f1.9 looks like a stunning lens and still leaves with me pause.

When do people realistically think we will see the X2D?

My guess is April/May of 2019 we'll see the announcement, starting to ship second half of 2019.

 

[sog1927]

My guess is April/May of 2019 we'll see the announcement, starting to ship second half of 2019.

Yeah, I'd expect an announcement at the May Photokina. I'd expect availability very soon afterwards (probably about the same time as the GFX-100, since I think they're both constrained by sensor availability). I think all these systems (GFX-100, X2D, S3) are going to hit the shelves at about the same time (+/- a couple of months).

Just an uninformed guess, of course.

 

[JohnBrew]

Ming Thein has announced his separation from Hasselblad as of Oct 3. Read his blog for more details.

 

[tcdeveau]

Ming Thein has announced his separation from Hasselblad as of Oct 3. Read his blog for more details.

Are there any X2D details in there?

 

[rayyen]

Perhaps some of us get used or have an expectation with a hardware upgrade announcement every year, like when apple announcement has no surprise or without some new “revolutionary” product, we felt let down.

I adopt x1d at early stage, many friends herein already share a lot positive experience of how nice to work with it in photo trips and I do not want to repeat similar points.

I recall my analog timeqnd how much I love my Mimiya 6 and Rolleiflex, the simplicity and superb photo quality. In the old days, I never expect nor I need hardware upgrade. I’m very satisfy. I appreciate photos taken with my X1D. If there’s a better one coming, I might upgrade, but if not, I’m satisfied.

 

[richardman]

Are there any X2D details in there?

Nope.

 

[hcubell]

Are there any X2D details in there?

He did say that the early design roadmap for the X2D looked "very promising." That implies two possibilities to me. One is that Ming has been out of the loop for quite awhile. The other is that Hasselblad isn't very far along in developing the X2D.

 

[algrove]

Anyone with an X1D had overheating issues and/or unexpected shut downs?

 

[hcubell]

Anyone with an X1D had overheating issues and/or unexpected shut downs?

I have not, but I shoot primarily in very cold places. I have never had unexpected shut downs.

 

[tcdeveau]

Anyone with an X1D had overheating issues and/or unexpected shut downs?

I also have not. I do long exposures frequently with it and haven’t had any heat issues/shut down issues.

 

[danlindberg]

I have not, but I shoot primarily in very cold places. I have never had unexpected shut downs.

Limited usage so far but no issues, works nicely.

 

[sog1927]

I also have not. I do long exposures frequently with it and haven’t had any heat issues/shut down issues.

Me neither. It got a little warm to the touch after a full day of shooting in hot summer sun, but that's kind of what it's supposed to do (the body is the heatsink for the sensor and electronics as I understand it), but it didn't overheat.