@photonewspn | photographynews.co.uk
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One of the joys of Hasselblad’s X System is the quality of its XCD lenses, each equipped with a leaf shutter for flash sync at all speeds. This is a massive bonus for fashion and commercial shooters who use flash on location in bright conditions. The system also supports XPan and H-series lenses via adapters, while third- party lens options continue to expand. It would be criminal not to invest £4100 on the new XCD 35-100mm E zoom, covering 28-76mm full-frame equivalent with a fast f/2.8-4 aperture. This flagship Exclusive range lens has 16 elements in 13 groups, including three aspherical and five ED elements, powered by Blad’s fastest stepping motor to make full use of the continuous AF. The lens is 138mm long and weighs 894g, with three control rings influenced by Don’t stop be-leafing
the XCD V Series lenses, which can be set to adjust shutter speed, aperture, ISO, exposure compensation or subject switching. And it’s a stunning performer, offering amazing image quality and rendering that means it could replace at least a couple of prime lenses. It pairs up perfectly with the 20-35mm f/3.2-4.5 XCD lens, but that costs £5699. It’s the leaf shutter, lens availability and cost that make a real difference to buying into the Hasselblad system compared to its rival Fujifilm, as including a leaf shutter in its optics adds significant cost to each Blad lens. While the longest lens for Hasselblad is the £4000 135mm f/2.8 and no lenses are faster than f/2.5, Fujifilm’s GFX ecosystem offers a much wider range of price points and includes tilt-shift options, a 500mm telephoto and fast f/1.7 primes.
the only truly modern AF system on medium format, and now the new X2D II joins it. In testing, the AF felt confident rather than frantic – deliberate but far more reliable than before. Tracking a walking subject, the AF stayed sticky and smooth, even with wide apertures and shallow depth-of-field. While it is not a sports camera, the X2D II 100C is fast enough for dynamic portrait sessions or documentary- style shooting, something previous Hasselblad users couldn’t say. It works like a modern camera should. Hold it right there Hasselblad claims the new five-axis in-body stabilisation system delivers up to ten stops of compensation – an extraordinary figure, especially for such a large sensor. In practical terms, it’s really astonishingly good. You can get away without lugging a tripod around for many different shots. It frees you up to be creative. We tried some handheld shots at night of up to two seconds and most had no noticeable blur. But it’s best use is for handheld shots at more reasonable shutter speeds, where it’s rock solid. This is a huge boon for landscape, architectural or
documentary photographers who prefer to travel light. The system makes the camera versatile. You can shoot at base ISO 50 with long exposures and still retain the stunning dynamic range and low noise that medium format promises. Hasselblad’s HNCS HDR (Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution HDR) workflow is also new. This isn’t the old-school high dynamic range (HDR) tone mapping that made everything look like a scene from a fantasy comic but a more natural look, achieving smoother highlight roll-off and natural contrast. It delivers 16-bit colour and 15.3 stops of dynamic range, allowing extended highlights and shadows. HDR images can be saved as HDR HEIF or Ultra HDR JPEGs, viewable immediately on HDR-compatible devices such as iPhones, iPads or modern Mac displays. The HDR workflow integrates with Phocus Mobile 2, Hasselblad’s iOS and iPadOS editing app. This also supports full HDR Raw processing, noise reduction and wireless tethering at 40MB/s, enabling remote operation or quick field edits without a laptop. It’s a polished system that feels tailored for modern, mobile photographers. But
PAWTRAIT MODE The continuous AF even managed to keep the dog in sharp focus with incredible detail
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