ISSUE 124
30 / GEAR
TESTED: HASSELBLAD X2D II 100C
European icon reborn
£6400
hasselblad.com
The second-generation X2D brings medium format power within closer reach thanks to real-world innovation and a big price drop
Apart from the elite few who demand the likes of a Hasselblad H6D- 100c with its huge 53x40mm sensor or a Phase One IQ4, few get to experience the subtle tonal transitions, 3D look and natural focus fall-off that a bigger sensor produces. And that’s a shame. But in recent years there’s been a resurgence in the larger format and a renewed interest in the more deliberate way of working, rather than the 20fps spray and pray of modern cameras. Luckily, Hasselblad and Fujifilm have answered the call, and are each capitalising on a shared 100-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor to bring new tricks to medium format. The Swedish brand’s latest flagship, the Hasselblad X2D II 100C, is more than an heir to its legacy. It’s a statement of intent to make the digital format more accessible, agile and, crucially, more affordable. At £6400 for the body, the X2D II 100C undercuts its predecessor by around £1000 and even dips below the price of Fujifilm’s flagship GFX100 II, despite sharing a sensor. Other GFX models with the same sensor at a lower price are available, though. The X2D II costs £100 more than Sony’s A1 II and £400 below the full- frame Canon EOS R1. For a brand historically associated with premium pricing, that’s a bold move. But this isn’t simply a price drop. The Mark II brings meaningful upgrades, including continuous autofocus, LiDAR-assisted focusing, end-to-end HDR workflow and a ten- stop IBIS system. It arrives wrapped up in a sleek body that stays true to Hasselblad’s Scandi minimalism while improving ergonomics and usability. Be prepared to want one, and ignore the uncomfortable truth that Chinese drone brand DJI is actually behind the iconic name nowadays. The focus awakens The camera’s headline upgrade is the autofocus, crucial for anyone apart from landscape, architecture and still- life studio shooters. Hasselblad’s first- generation X2D was a decent medium format camera but lacked continuous AF, which was a sore point for anyone used to hybrid mirrorless systems. The new X2D II changes that. It provides 425 phase detection AF zones – up from 294 – covering a wider area of the frame for more precise subject tracking, as well as contrast detection. It introduces AF-C mode for continuous focusing, which is powered
Hasselblad has been synonymous with medium
format excellence for decades, coveted by photographers chasing the ultimate in image quality and reliability. From the legendary 500C film cameras used by the glitterati, Ansel Adams, Irving Penn and even Neil Armstrong on the moon, to digital H-series Blads championed by the likes of Annie Leibovitz, these Swedish cameras are part of photographic history. Thanks to high-resolution full- frame cameras and the explosion in the call for stills-and-video, however, few professionals need a medium format digital camera any more.
Specifications
Sensor 43.8x32.9mm medium format BSI CMOS, 100 megapixels Stills formats HEIF, JPEG, 16-bit Raw in 4:3 HDR 16-bit, 15.3 stops of dynamic range Video formats None Storage 1TB internal, 1x CFexpress Type B ISO range 50 to 25,600 Shutter Mechanical and electronic, 4080secs to 1/6000sec Drive modes Up to 3fps Lens mount Hasselblad X Screen 3.6in tilting OLED touchscreen, 2.36m dots, 1.1in LCD status display Viewfinder OLED with 5.76m dots, 100% coverage Connectivity 1x USB-C 3.2, Wi-Fi, Phocus Mobile 2 app for iOS Focusing 425-area phase detection AF, LiDAR assist Stabilisation Image sensor shift,
by a deep-learning algorithm capable of recognising humans, vehicles, cats and dogs. There’s also an AF illuminator for low-light accuracy and LiDAR-assisted focusing, helping lock onto subjects in challenging conditions where contrast is particularly low.
Nailing focus on such a high- resolution camera is critical. It was one of the reasons I ditched my Phase One XF camera a few years ago: the autofocus wasn’t good enough and neither are my eyes for manual focus. Fujifilm’s GFX System has so far been
PIN SHARP Both these handheld shots used IBIS. The car was shot at 1/25sec, while the seascape was shot at 1/8sec
five-axis, ten stops Dimensions (wxhxd) 148.5x106x75mm Weight 840g
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