Hasselblad X1D MkII Initial thoughts

[Sanford Lavine]

I was fortunate to receive my X1D MkII on Saturday. Today I put it through its paces in a limited series of tests.

I used three different lenses, the 21mm, 45mm, and 90mm. Tomorrow I’ll try the 120mm.

I found initial setup and configuration easy. Everything seems to be present except Video (which I never used on the X1D MkI)

First, I really like the looks and form factor of the MkII. I sensed no difference in weight, Balance, or handling. Hand grip is just fine. All controls and buttons work well. I did perceive that the breaking point between triggering auto focus and image capture seems more sensitive. The EVF is great, good improvement. The larger display is nice, but I really did not notice the difference.

What I did notice was a faster initial startup and restart from sleep (Power save). Shutter response is also faster. Where I was previously sensitive to the Two separate clicks, they may still be present, but not near as noticeable. Continuous mode was effective. I did not test the limits of the buffer however. (I was using a Sandisk ExtremePro 64GB 170 card).

Autofocus was fast and effective, though I was shooting in daylight. AutoISO works well. All modes P,A,S,M work as before. Battery usage seemed adequate and I did not turn on GPS.

I probably missed a lot of stuff, again this was a one day session. I’ll continue this week.

Post processing notes:

Everything works in the current version of Phocus. I captured and stored a color profile using Xrite ColorChecker and associated software.

Now the not so good news:

DXO PhotoLab does not recognize the camera period.
ACR and LR work fine for the most part. The files can be imported and processed. They recognize the lenses as before. My major problem is that LR and ACR do not recognize New Camera Profiles created using the Xrite system. The real problem is that neither program recognizes the profiles I previously created for the X1D MkI. I contacted Adobe and said that ACR did not currently support the X1DMkII. My current Post workflow will be to use Phocus as a Raw processor and save the results in a 16bit Tif ProPhotoRGB color space.

Whew... time for an adult beverage and a nap

 

[kuau]

So is it worth the upgrade besides the improved EVF?
Do you feel you can now capture the shot that was not previously obtainable with the X1D Mkl.
In some ways this upgrade reminds of an Apple iPhone 6 to a 6s, a little faster, a few noticeable changes yet still basically the same thing.

 

[Boinger]

So is it worth the upgrade besides the improved EVF?
Do you feel you can now capture the shot that was not previously obtainable with the X1D Mkl.
In some ways this upgrade reminds of an Apple iPhone 6 to a 6s, a little faster, a few noticeable changes yet still basically the same thing.

That is kind of what it is. I think its an EVF / lcd upgrade.

Even hasselblad made no mention of any other significant changes other than boot up time.

 

[SrMphoto]

So is it worth the upgrade besides the improved EVF?
Do you feel you can now capture the shot that was not previously obtainable with the X1D Mkl.
In some ways this upgrade reminds of an Apple iPhone 6 to a 6s, a little faster, a few noticeable changes yet still basically the same thing.

Apart from improved EVF/LCD, X1D II is also faster in use (shorter blackout, faster UI, faster startup). If you care about GPS, the built-in one is more convenient than the external one.

I am glad that I upgraded, but I do not see it as a mandatory upgrade.

 

[P. Chong]

Or in the Hasselblad world, the upgrade from H3D to H3D-ii. Better display, removal of the fan, and a different coating on the glass protecting the sensor.

In some ways this upgrade reminds of an Apple iPhone 6 to a 6s, a little faster, a few noticeable changes yet still basically the same thing.

 

[Sanford Lavine]

First to answer the upgrade question. After having the camera in use for five days, I have to say as a whole the upgrade works for me. Some of the improvements are pretty obvious, some are subtle.

I can’t say the MKII camera alone will make better images than the MkI. Same sensor, and basic operation is the same. But for me, the improvements and overall feel of the new camera work for me. This will probably enable me to improve my technique, add to the experience, and hopefully make better images.

Bottom Line: Everyone will have to make this decision themselves. I opted to stay with my original Leica Q opposed to upgrading to the Q2. Yes there were improvements, but I am deeply satisfied with the images I get from the original.

Now, further X1D II testing results. Update: The X1D II is supported by the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom Classic (still has a problem with Camera Color Profiles though). Is recognized and supported by the current version of Phocus.

It works very well with my 120mm. So it works well with all of the lenses in my possession.

I’m going to test it tomorrow with my ProFoto lighting gear ( B2 system and Air TTL remote -N ). I also plan to test tethering with Phocus.

Thanks for the responses. Please let me know if you have questions.

Now, it’s time for another adult beverage.

 

[jpaulmoore]

Or in the Hasselblad world, the upgrade from H3D to H3D-ii. Better display, removal of the fan, and a different coating on the glass protecting the sensor.

I’m really considering this camera now. I have a lot of Sony/Zeiss glass and a Sony a7r ll Camera that I have been using but want to simplify my gear and move up in image quality and user experience. I’m starting to phase out the business side of my photography and will take this next camera....to my grave. I mainly shoot nature and landscapes and a bit of architecture. I’m reading that I might be able to use my beloved Canon TSE 24mm lens on this camera. I will wait until I can rent one before making my final decision.
J. Paul

 

[clonardo]

I received my X1D II on Tuesday, and have shot a few times with it. I have previously shot quite a few times on the GFX 50R, and recently sold my H4D-60.

The X1D II is still not finished, but should be able to get there with firmware. Even after it was delayed from the promised "mid-July" ship date until now, there's a lot that remains to be done:

• A compatible version of Phocus Mobile for the iPhone is not yet available (new one is iPad-only, with the phone version "coming soon" per the manual). Wifi is presently useless to me except when tethering.
• Weird UX bugs- e.g., you start shooting in EVF-only mode, and then when you try to review images on the back in playback, there's an overlay saying "live view set to EVF only" or something similar for a few seconds, making quick image review impossible. It doesn't go away as you change between menu screens, either.
• Why is there no eye/face detect? Fuji proved the sensor is more than capable. Without a physical control for repositioning the AF point, this is even more important, to me
• Still no video, which was surprising enough when I tried a pre-production X1D II at the Hasselblad studio in NY on the day it was announced, and is inexcusable after a shipping delay

Image quality is a known quantity and hasn't exactly changed since this sensor started appearing in cameras in 2015. Given Hasselblad's experience building cameras and backs around this sensor, I'm really surprised at just how unfinished the user experience feels.

IMHO, at this time, the camera is still a beautiful, if janky, POS- just like the first X1D, but slightly less janky. Inclusive of lenses, I am in for $20k on this system so far, and am starting to think that this has been an expensive mistake- to be clear, I have no desire to go through another system change (I'll give it 6 months to see how much of this gets fixed in updates), but 3 years on from the original X1D, and expectations are higher even after we decide to give the company slack just because they're Hasselblad.

Anyway, here are some long exposures from yesterday. Meh.
https://imgur.com/XWZ7WAV
https://imgur.com/zj2RVop

 

[Paul2660]

Sensor dates back to 2013. First was used in Phase One IQ249 Jan 2014. It’s definitely been a good investment for Sony and camera companies using it.

Paul C

 

[clonardo]

Thanks for the correction, I didn't realize that it was even older than I had thought. It still has dynamic range for days, so I'm happy on that front. The slow e-shutter readout is a shame, but Hasselblad can't do much of anything about that.

Sensor dates back to 2013. First was used in Phase One IQ249 Jan 2014. It’s definitely been a good investment for Sony and camera companies using it.

Paul C

 

[clonardo]

I've been shooting more architecture/cityscapes, and have been thinking about tilt/shift options as well. The slow e-shutter readout (0.3 seconds) makes adapting lenses iffy- I like including motion in my photos, and that is of course where e-shutters fall apart. I've heard that the HTS tilt/shift adapter (which goes for around $2k street now, due to collapsing demand for H system gear) on an X-H adapter will work, though it's an ungainly setup, and the widest option is only 36mm (the HCD 24mm + the 1.5x crop on the HTS).

I’m really considering this camera now. I have a lot of Sony/Zeiss glass and a Sony a7r ll Camera that I have been using but want to simplify my gear and move up in image quality and user experience. I’m starting to phase out the business side of my photography and will take this next camera....to my grave. I mainly shoot nature and landscapes and a bit of architecture. I’m reading that I might be able to use my beloved Canon TSE 24mm lens on this camera. I will wait until I can rent one before making my final decision.
J. Paul

 

[MGrayson]

An XCD 21mm will cover a shifted 24 TS-E, but not straight on. In other words, To get the same image, up to 10mm rise,, you may have to tilt the 21mm up slightly. You have to be VERY careful not to tilt it up too much or you lose the foreground corners. With care, and perspective correction in post, you CAN get away with it. This is assuming that a 24 T/S is as wide as you want to go. And that you don't need tilt for focus reasons.

I do like using the 24 TS-E on the X1D, but it's heavy, manual only, and ES only.

Matt

Fortunately, I once took a class in projective geometry:

 

[kuau]

IMHO, at this time, the camera is still a beautiful, if janky, POS- just like the first X1D, but slightly less janky. Inclusive of lenses, I am in for $20k on this system so far, and am starting to think that this has been an expensive mistake- to be clear, I have no desire to go through another system change (I'll give it 6 months to see how much of this gets fixed in updates), but 3 years on from the original X1D, and expectations are higher even after we decide to give the company slack just because they're Hasselblad.

Well this doesn’t sound to promising :wtf:

 

[MGrayson]

I received my X1D II on Tuesday, and have shot a few times with it. I have previously shot quite a few times on the GFX 50R, and recently sold my H4D-60.

The X1D II is still not finished, but should be able to get there with firmware. Even after it was delayed from the promised "mid-July" ship date until now, there's a lot that remains to be done:

• A compatible version of Phocus Mobile for the iPhone is not yet available (new one is iPad-only, with the phone version "coming soon" per the manual). Wifi is presently useless to me except when tethering.
• Weird UX bugs- e.g., you start shooting in EVF-only mode, and then when you try to review images on the back in playback, there's an overlay saying "live view set to EVF only" or something similar for a few seconds, making quick image review impossible. It doesn't go away as you change between menu screens, either.
• Why is there no eye/face detect? Fuji proved the sensor is more than capable. Without a physical control for repositioning the AF point, this is even more important, to me
• Still no video, which was surprising enough when I tried a pre-production X1D II at the Hasselblad studio in NY on the day it was announced, and is inexcusable after a shipping delay

Image quality is a known quantity and hasn't exactly changed since this sensor started appearing in cameras in 2015. Given Hasselblad's experience building cameras and backs around this sensor, I'm really surprised at just how unfinished the user experience feels.

IMHO, at this time, the camera is still a beautiful, if janky, POS- just like the first X1D, but slightly less janky. Inclusive of lenses, I am in for $20k on this system so far, and am starting to think that this has been an expensive mistake- to be clear, I have no desire to go through another system change (I'll give it 6 months to see how much of this gets fixed in updates), but 3 years on from the original X1D, and expectations are higher even after we decide to give the company slack just because they're Hasselblad.

Anyway, here are some long exposures from yesterday. Meh.
https://imgur.com/XWZ7WAV
https://imgur.com/zj2RVop

Yikes! Why on earth did you stay 6 months with such an unsatisfying system? First rule of camera systems: NOTHING will ever get fixed. If it doesn't work for you out of the box, don't buy it. Sure, I have made purchasing mistakes, but that's based on what was in my hand, not expectations of it being made better.

Good luck with your next system. This is the wrong one.

Matt

 

[jpaulmoore]

I received my X1D II on Tuesday, and have shot a few times with it. I have previously shot quite a few times on the GFX 50R, and recently sold my H4D-60.

The X1D II is still not finished, but should be able to get there with firmware. Even after it was delayed from the promised "mid-July" ship date until now, there's a lot that remains to be done:

• A compatible version of Phocus Mobile for the iPhone is not yet available (new one is iPad-only, with the phone version "coming soon" per the manual). Wifi is presently useless to me except when tethering.
• Weird UX bugs- e.g., you start shooting in EVF-only mode, and then when you try to review images on the back in playback, there's an overlay saying "live view set to EVF only" or something similar for a few seconds, making quick image review impossible. It doesn't go away as you change between menu screens, either.
• Why is there no eye/face detect? Fuji proved the sensor is more than capable. Without a physical control for repositioning the AF point, this is even more important, to me
• Still no video, which was surprising enough when I tried a pre-production X1D II at the Hasselblad studio in NY on the day it was announced, and is inexcusable after a shipping delay

Image quality is a known quantity and hasn't exactly changed since this sensor started appearing in cameras in 2015. Given Hasselblad's experience building cameras and backs around this sensor, I'm really surprised at just how unfinished the user experience feels.

IMHO, at this time, the camera is still a beautiful, if janky, POS- just like the first X1D, but slightly less janky. Inclusive of lenses, I am in for $20k on this system so far, and am starting to think that this has been an expensive mistake- to be clear, I have no desire to go through another system change (I'll give it 6 months to see how much of this gets fixed in updates), but 3 years on from the original X1D, and expectations are higher even after we decide to give the company slack just because they're Hasselblad.

Anyway, here are some long exposures from yesterday. Meh.
https://imgur.com/XWZ7WAV
https://imgur.com/zj2RVop

This is somewhat disappointing. I guess I will give this camera a bit more time to mature before making a decision to invest in it.
J. Paul

 

[BANKER1]

This is somewhat disappointing. I guess I will give this camera a bit more time to mature before making a decision to invest in it.
J. Paul

If you have been with Hasselblad digital very long and participate in these forums, it doesn't take long to expect negative posts as a normal course of events. It just comes with the Hasselblad territory. Test the equipment and make up your own mind. I've been using the X1D for a long time, and I am more than happy with it. Is it a perfect system? No, but it meets or exceeds almost all the requirements I need or want.

Greg

 

[siddhaarta]

Why is there no eye/face detect? Fuji proved the sensor is more than capable. Without a physical control for repositioning the AF point, this is even more important, to me

I had to laugh ... You are expecting a lot . I am more modest and only hoped that with a better processor the Mark II would have at least C-AF. Seems not .. come on Hasselblad, even my 20-year old Contax 645 has that.

 

[clonardo]

My day job is in technology, and this is pretty trivial to do with open source tools. Cameras are computers now- while I haven't read whether the X1D II is using an ASIC or FPGA as opposed to a CPU, we know that the original X1D was powered by an off-the-shelf, general purpose CPU- just like you'd find in a smartphone.

The task is simple- find the face in the frame, and move the AF point there. OpenCV (the fairly low-level library that powers most commodity image recognition tasks) has been ported to run on pretty much everything- including smartphones and related architectures, such as those that power most modern cameras. Heck, there are serviceable implementations that work fine in real-time in Javascript with one thread- search GitHub and take your pick. I could build something to move my cursor around my screen by following my face with a webcam in an hour or two. That's all we're really asking with face detect AF.

So, respectfully, I can't accept that this is asking a lot when every other manufacturer of mirrorless cameras (even medium format ones from 2 years ago with the same sensor) has managed to pull it off. In fact, considering that DJI was such a pioneer in optical flow and other computer vision tech in their drones, they should have access to serious expertise under the same corporate umbrella. It's not a dealbreaker for me, but in the year 2019, it's sort of inexcusable. I'm rooting for Hasselblad, financially invested in the system now, and have owned a Hasselblad before- I want this product to succeed, because that's good for consumers. This could easily be fixed in firmware (C-AF as well), so fingers crossed..

I had to laugh ... You are expecting a lot . I am more modest and only hoped that with a better processor the Mark II would have at least C-AF. Seems not .. come on Hasselblad, even my 20-year old Contax 645 has that.

 

[SrMphoto]

<snip>
[*]Weird UX bugs- e.g., you start shooting in EVF-only mode, and then when you try to review images on the back in playback, there's an overlay saying "live view set to EVF only" or something similar for a few seconds, making quick image review impossible. It doesn't go away as you change between menu screens, either.
<snip>
/QUOTE]

I think this is more a user error instead of a UX bug.

On X1D, shutter half-press initiates the live view. If the live view is disabled on LCD, the dialog you mentioned comes up instead. However, it does not appear when you review your image by pressing the 'review' button (I assume you have not configured another button to initiate live view).

I am used to half-press the shutter to turn off image review (e.g., on Nikons). The different behavior of X1D makes me sometimes get the annoying "live view set to EVF only" dialog as well. That dialog can be quickly dismissed by holding a finger close to the eye sensor. If you want to turn off image review, instead of half-pressing the shutter, swipe down to return to the default LCD page.

 

[clonardo]

I'm seeing it pop up in both situations (sorry for the dark video) - https://imgur.com/j7awfMb . It goes away like a second after entering playback mode, but you can definitely see it up there over the photo.

<snip>
[*]Weird UX bugs- e.g., you start shooting in EVF-only mode, and then when you try to review images on the back in playback, there's an overlay saying "live view set to EVF only" or something similar for a few seconds, making quick image review impossible. It doesn't go away as you change between menu screens, either.
<snip>
/QUOTE]

I think this is more a user error instead of a UX bug.

On X1D, shutter half-press initiates the live view. If the live view is disabled on LCD, the dialog you mentioned comes up instead. However, it does not appear when you review your image by pressing the 'review' button (I assume you have not configured another button to initiate live view).

I am used to half-press the shutter to turn off image review (e.g., on Nikons). The different behavior of X1D makes me sometimes get the annoying "live view set to EVF only" dialog as well. That dialog can be quickly dismissed by holding a finger close to the eye sensor. If you want to turn off image review, instead of half-pressing the shutter, swipe down to return to the default LCD page.