Photography News Issue 35

Photography News | Issue 35 | absolutephoto.com

News

Hands-onHasselblad Will Cheung gets to enjoy an exclusive experience with the latest camera sensation, the Hasselblad X1D, the world’s first mirrorless medium-format digital camera

Specs

Price Body only £7188, XCD 45mm f/3.5 £1788, XCD 90mm f/3.2 £2148 Sensor 16-bit CMOS, 43.8x32.9mm, 50 megapixels Sensor format 8272x6200 pixels ISO range 100-25,600 Shutter range 60mins to 1/2000sec, flash sync at all speeds Drivemodes 1.7-2.3fps Metering system Spot, centre-weighted and centre spot Exposuremodes PASM Monitor 3in 920k with touchscreen functionality. EVF with 2.36 million dots Focusing Contrast-detect AF, instant manual override Video HD 1920x1080p Connectivity Wi-Fi, mini HDMI, audio in/out, GPS, USB 3.0 type-C connector Storagemedia 2x SD card slots Dimensions (wxhxd) 150.4x98.1x71.4mm Weight 725g body with battery Contact hasselblad.com The clarity and reproduction of fine detail was really impressive and the X1D was very clearly superior

Words by Will Cheung

Hasselblad is the name in medium- format photography and in recent times has added three new cameras to its range, the latest being the X1D, a mirrorless medium-format camera, whichwe covered in the last issue of Photography News . “We are really excited with this product and there is the potential for newmarkets and new business,” says Hasselblad UK’s managing director Simon Coleman. “The X1D will make a big impact on our business and our brand, and give users a unique imaging experience.” Last month, I got to spend some time with pre-production samples in London and while the firmware was some way off final, it was a chance to take some pictures using this revolutionary product. The X1D will retail at £7188 (all prices quoted include VAT) and is being launched with two lenses, the XCD 45mm f/3.5 and the XCD 90mm f/3.2 priced at £1788 and £2148 respectively. In 35mm format terms these lenses equate to 35mm and 71mm. A wide-angle lens is on the way soon and more lenses, including a zoom, will be introduced into the system. In my average-sized hands the X1D fitted perfectly. To be frank, the handgrip could not have been a more comfortable fit if it had been custom-made for me. It really was that good, but that is a personal viewpoint. Speaking of which the X1D’s feel reminded me of the Mamiya 7, a 6x7cm film rangefinder camera. The X1D’s body is slimmer and less tall, though. With either lens it is useable one- handed if that is a consideration but obviously stability is better if the left hand supports the lens. The lenses are not especially compact and the integral shutter fitted in each lens does mean that is no wriggle room here in terms of making, for example, a pancake lens for greater portability. No matter, the camera/ lens combination felt very good in

the hands and more compact and lighter than, say, a full-frame DSLR with a standard zoom lens fitted. The X1D’s layout is conservative and isn’t overpopulated with buttons and dials. The EVF and monitor are excellent and there is a sensor so when you put the camera to the eye the monitor switches off. The fixed three-inch monitor is touch-sensitive and it’s from here that many of the X1D’s settings are adjusted. As with any menu system, finding your way takes a little time, but the clear layout and large icons make it easy on this camera. Also to preview images you can move from shot to shot by swiping or pinch to magnify into the image, gestures we’ve grown used to on our phones. Push the shutter button and you get three distinct sounds as the camera closes the lens, makes the exposure and opens up the lens for viewing the next shot. Despite that, the camera is quiet, shutter lag is minimal and the preview image appears very quickly. Autofocus seemed swift and quiet. The sample I had only had the central AF working so that was used along with manual focus. The 2.36 million dot EVF helps with

accurate manual focusing. The exposure system proved competent in the limited indoor situation I used the X1D in. Our early sample didn’t have AWB to test so I used a manual Kelvin value or a preset. In comparison The X1D’s 43.8x32.9mm CMOS sensor is anti-alias filter free and boasts a resolution of 50megapixels – it’s the same sensor as used in the H6D-50C. This sensor also offers 16-bit capture which compares with 14-bit for the top 35mmDSLRs. I shot a set of ISO range images in natural daylight and did a number of shots with Bron studio flash lighting. Because the shots were taken on a pre-production camera we are unable to show them here. I did some comparison shots with the X1D alongside a 36-megapixel full-frame DSLR. The resulting Raw files were processed in Lightroom and Hasselblad’s own free software Phocus and then compared on screen at 100% and also at the same magnification in Photoshop – this meant at 100%on the X1D and 126% on the 35mm image. It’s early days but I couldn’t help but be impressed with the quality of the X1D shots.

The XID’s ISO range is 100 to 25,600 and even at the top speed noise levels were low and it had a filmic appearance. There seemed little noise impact on fine detail. In the X1D/35mm DSLR comparison, the clarity and reproduction of fine detail was really impressive and the X1D was very clearly superior to the already excellent full-frame shot. Of course, the reason film photographers used to migrate from 35mm to medium-format was primarily for quality and that still applies. The degree of benefit and whether you need it are different arguments which will be worth delving into when working X1D samples arrive later in the summer. The X1Dwith two lenses will cost over £11k so it’s not exactly a budget system. Yet from a medium-format perspective it’s very competitively priced and it does appear from this preview to offer the quality benefits of the larger format without the bulk. It could be a tempting proposition for quality-conscious photographers whether enthusiast or professional.

hasselblad.com

Above Photography News editor Will Cheung got to spend some time with the Hasselblad X1D.