Jesus here we go again...

[bradhusick]

(SR5) New Hasselblad “Lusso” E-mount camera leaks in China. It’s a Sony A7r clone! | sonyalpharumors

Hassy based on A7R (not II) probably double the price or more. Do these guys not learn ANYTHING?

 

[iiiNelson]

Well... Honestly they aren't doing anything much differently than Leica rebadging Panasonic cameras (outside the ridiculously asinine prices.) If they introduced these at sensible prices (a few $100 more than Sony versions) then I think they'd be a good seller.

 

[bradhusick]

Except that when Leica does a Panasonic they do it together with the latest model, not one that's just been replaced. And they charge a reasonable premium, not 4 times the price of the other.

 

[Vivek]

And they charge a reasonable premium,

Robbery and looting- semantics.

 

[iiiNelson]

Except that when Leica does a Panasonic they do it together with the latest model, not one that's just been replaced. And they charge a reasonable premium, not 4 times the price of the other.

Yeah it makes no sense I agree to rebadge an EOL model... This is Sony though so EOL is a relative term.

 

[Vivek]

What I don't understand is that why these fellas don't lend their logos to Hermes , Apple, etc to make some cash and do it the other way around? Why screw photography?

 

[GrahamWelland]

You just need to wait long enough for them to be massively discounted on B&H. Heck, at the right discount we'd all probably snag a Hassy branded version but the price would definitely have to be right.

 

[k-hawinkler]

No, I wouldn't!!! I probably didn't pick up on your sarcasm.

 

[bradhusick]

I wouldn't buy a discontinued model no matter what the label on the top. And by the time this gets deeply discounted it will be 2 or 3 models behind.

 

[GrahamWelland]

I'd didn't say what the "right" price was :ROTFL:

 

[thompsonkirk]

Lusso for Lussers

Kirk

 

[turtle]

You can't buy taste. In Hasselblad's case, you can't sell it either.

So glad to see they are promoting it with the super exclusive 28-70 kit zoom.

 

[GrahamWelland]

No disagreement from me. Just exasperation that such a great company with superb products like their backs, H series and even Flextights that are still current is still associated with bling.

 

[Kolor-Pikker]

"I photographed Clint Eastwood with my Hasselblad and later photographed him while he was being interviewed, this time using a 35mm-style DSLR camera because I was working reportage-style. He stopped the interview, smiled and said to me: “Didn’t you have a real camera before? What happened?”" — Arne Weychardt


I find this to be much more visually attractive than any of that branded junk:

 

[biglouis]

Can't wait to pick one of these up for a tenth of the asking price in a year or so's time when all the retailers who have been stung by buying them are disposing of them as distressed stock.

LousiB

 

[Vivek]

You can't buy taste. In Hasselblad's case, you can't sell it either.

So glad to see they are promoting it with the super exclusive 28-70 kit zoom.

They missed pairing it with a Carl Zeiss lens.

 

[4season]

They should rebrand a Leica camera: Wouldn't that be something?

I guess New Money wants what it wants, and a few thousands of dollars here or there is of no consequence to that audience.

 

[Kolor-Pikker]

They should rebrand a Leica camera: Wouldn't that be something?

I'm afraid Leica is at the top of the luxury brand food chain, but regardless of what you think of their cameras, they actually care about the feel of their products and don't just make luxury for the sake of it.

Maybe Leicas don't have the latest hardware or features built in, but few cameras that I've handled felt genuinely as nice to use, the S006 in particular feels like it was carved from a solid block of unobtainium, and when you mount on a lens it becomes one with the camera.

If we could have an S body and lenses with the feature set of the 645Z and the software support of a Phase back, that would make for the ultimate medium format SLR camera, IMO.

 

[4season]

...Leica ... don't just make luxury for the sake of it.

 

[Kolor-Pikker]

It's one thing to make an item genuinely luxurious, and another to take an existing product and slap a wooden grip on it. Like the difference between a Porsche and some trashy Ford spruced up with spinning chrome rims, neon lights and ghetto blasters.

The few cameras that Leica does rebrand have more work done on them than what Hasselblad is doing, which is a direct copy/paste with no effort to improve the underlying system, and in some cases make it worse.

So to rephrase what I said, Leica doesn't make items uselessly luxurious for the sake of it, but they are 100% luxury products. The money simply goes into impeccable engineering rather than flashy appearances... the Leica M is not really the best looking camera IMO. Leica does produce limited edition cameras, who's prices are bonkers even by their standards, but it in no way influences or detracts from the mainline product. Even worse, the Leica limited sets and one-offs are often auctioned for charity purposes, while the Hasselblads are just cash grabs.