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New Hasselblad HV (A99)

GrahamB

New member
Any predictions on how many snarky posts will follow?
Let's get the ball rolling! :D

I've wondered. What's the target demographic for Hasselblad's re-branded cameras?

Are there really that many low information consumers out there to make this venture profitable? On second thought, depending on the ignorance of the public has been politicians stock-in-trade for years.

Graham
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
It actually just might sell well. It looks like a Hassy somewhat. Not me but the Pacific Rim might take to this very well.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Interesting. That's the first of the Hasselblad re-imagined Sonys that actually looks somewhat appealing to me.

Whether it has anything to offer beyond the original A99 to warrant the hefty premium price is, of course, the question. ;-)

G
As an A99 owner I can say it doesn't seem to. Specs are identical. Hasselblad may have done some priority internal tweaking, but I seriously doubt it.

What grabbed me initially was the name "HV" … which lead me to think it may take the H series of lenses and maybe the V series … which actually would have been interesting for current Hasselblad users.

Apparently not.

Not even the 36 meg sensor.

Looks well made, and not all that bad looking … certainly not like the plastic looking silver Canon.

$11,800 for a $2,700 camera with an $1,800 zoom. My goodness, gracious, sakes alive.

But Guy is probably right … with some folks it may be appealing to just have something different than anything else.

But $11,800? Really?

- Marc

Update: looks like the top plate sculpting is different from the A99. WaHoo!
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
I also find this new Hasselblad HV a very nice camera despite the high premium price. If it would be "only" 50% more expensive than the actual A99 (which BTW is discontinued and available for around €2000.-) then I could actually get weak.

But not for this premium price which does obviously not include any internal (electronically) improvements.

Anyway it is so far the best from the Hasselblad rebadges Sony cameras - so some improvement at least ;)
 

robertwright

New member
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/03/business/the-middle-class-is-steadily-eroding-just-ask-the-business-world.html?hp

“Those consumers who have capital like real estate and stocks and are in the top 20 percent are feeling pretty good,” said John G. Maxwell, head of the global retail and consumer practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"In 2012, the top 5 percent of earners were responsible for 38 percent of domestic consumption, up from 28 percent in 1995, the researchers found."

“It’s going to be hard to maintain strong economic growth with such a large proportion of the population falling behind,” he said. “We might be able to muddle along — but can we really recover?”

It's no more complicated than that.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Well the thing is as we all know from anyone that has any familiarity to Leica brand is some folks like to buy luxury items be it they are or not really does not matter and its label shopping. Gotta have those new ????? that just hit the streets. We have all seen it and frankly I am guilty of it to some degree. We also need to remember many of the folks buying these products like this do NOT have the knowledge that all of us have when it comes to camera gear. We need to remember that as the Hassy name has been around a long time , just like Leica.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
While the a99 production may have ceased, it's still available for sale, and remains the "flagship" camera from Sony.

Sony Austria: https://www.sony.at/electronics/wechselobjektivkameras/slt-a99-a99v

Graham
It may be listed on the Sony page as the flagship model, but when I asked a week ago at Sony (through my dealer) the answer was it is no longer available through Sony.

Which does not mean you can't get them, obviously from some dealers who still have them in stock. And actually for pretty good prices - as low as €1899.-

Which is good news.

What I do not quite understand is why Sony is stopping production of their "old" flagship model before they have a new flagship model to sell. This is really strange. Even if the new model is already very close.
 

Bill Caulfeild-Browne

Well-known member
Sony Canada is still selling the a99. It's priced at CDN$2299, or roughly US$2,000.

There is no indication of it being discontinued.

I love mine!

Bill
 

GrahamB

New member
What I do not quite understand is why Sony is stopping production of their "old" flagship model before they have a new flagship model to sell. This is really strange. Even if the new model is already very close.
Sony allowed a lapse in availability on prior models, the a700 before the a77 was introduced, and I believe the a900 before the a99 was introduced.

As it stands now, the vendors I deal with (Amazon, B&H, Adorama) have the a99 in stock. One may choose the body only, or one of several deal packages, including the body, grip, and 60 flash, for the same price as the body only ($2,798). One would assume there's an ample supply of a99 bodies to last until the replacement is released, or they wouldn't offer the "deal" packages.

On the other hand, Sony may be cleaning the cupboard of the a99, and allow the a7(r) to serve as the full frame sensor body until a new A mount body is ready.

The only thing we know for sure, is there are plenty of a99's for sale at the present, and Sony hasn't made any announcement about a replacement body.

Graham
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Sony Canada is still selling the a99. It's priced at CDN$2299, or roughly US$2,000.

There is no indication of it being discontinued.

I love mine!

Bill
If it sells for $2,000, it's probably discontinued. They price it like that to get rid of stock, preferably before there's a new model.

I agree that this is the most sensible of the overpriced HasselSonys. My guess is that most of the costs were already swallowed before they kicked out Mr. Hansen, so they could as well bring it to the market, hoping to get some money back.

Price-wise, it's approaching the territory of real Hasselblads. Doesn't make much sense to me. And I hoped that they were back on track again :rolleyes:
 

Quentin_Bargate

Well-known member
Quite a nice design. But of more interest to me as a Hasselblad H5D owner is the deepening apparent relationship between Sony and Hasselblad and whether that might mean closer cooperation on future CMOS sensor technology for Hasselblad MF systems.

Both Phase One and Hasselblad have announced versions of their MF systems using a new 50mp Sony sensor. It's important technology for the future of medium format. Does this give Hasselblad preferred customer status?
 
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