Photography News Issue 34

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Photography News | Issue 34 | absolutephoto.com

News

Hasselblad gomirrorless

News in brief

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The X1D was launched to the world’s imaging press at a special event in Hasselblad’s home town of Gothenburg in Sweden, close to the factory where the model will be put together on a brand-new production line, and Terry Hope (pictured top) was there for Photography News . The company’s CEO Perry Oosting was enthusiastic about the new model, describing it as “a pivotal moment in Hasselblad’s rich 75-year history, a camera that makes medium-format photography available to a new generation of Hasselblad users.” Speaking to PN , Perry made it clear that the arrivals of the H6D and the X1D collectively signalled the start of a new direction from Hasselblad, which will see the company tap into its rich heritage to bring newmodels to market that cement its position at the top of the medium-format pile. “The launch of the camera is a great moment for us,” he said, “and we’re very proud of the fact that it’s handmade here in Sweden. Now it’s been announced we intend to have it available by the end of August or the start of September, so there should be no frustrating wait for anyone who wants one. We’ve also tried to make the price competitive as well, at £7188 body only (VAT included). It’s a very different camera from the H6D, which is a complete system backed by a line-up of 12 lenses, while the X1D is smaller and mirrorless, so it’s less complicated inside. This has made it possible to have a big price differentiation, and we’ve already got a lot of pre-orders in from dealers. We’re confident that it’s going to be a big success and that it will create a new segment in the market.

“Form and shape is important: if you feel comfortable with a camera then you’ll take good pictures with it. We were looking for something that featured high-quality technology and yet which still looked good, and we wanted it to be a complete stand-alone system with its own family of high- quality lenses.” Addressing the need for new lenses to partner the camera, Perry commented: “While the camera is made in Sweden we’ve partnered with Nittoh to create the new lenses: it’s our design and our concept but they’re manufactured in Japan, and they’ve been designed to be very high quality indeed. We’ve got two lenses available already and a third on the way and they all feature integral centre shutters. It takes around 12-14 months to design and bring a new lens to market and we’ll be looking to develop the line-up into the future. “The camera is aimed not just at professionals but also the dedicated amateur, who might be looking to trade up from a DSLR to medium-format. The X1D gives them the opportunity to do that and it comes with lenses that are spectacular in terms of their performance: there is absolutely no skimping on quality and they are every bit as good as the H-system lenses. “Overall the Hasselblad X1D is a product that we see ourselves going forward with for years to come, while we’re also promising a few more surprises at this year’s Photokina show in September.”

hasselblad.com

Pentax K-70 heads for the outdoors

Pentax’s latest K-70 DSLR has the perfect attributes to cope with the typical British summer – and winter. It is weather resistant, dust proof and works down to temperatures as low as -10°C. To accompany its rugged qualities, the body is designed for comfortable handling in challenging outdoor conditions with a newly design handgrip, mode dial and control buttons. Its outdoor shooting credentials aside, the K-70 is also pretty well endowed in other areas. Its APS-C sensor is anti-alias filter free to make the most of its 24.2 megapixels and works with Pentax’s PRIME MII imaging engine that’s said to deliver low noise images right up to its top ISO 102,400 setting. It has an advanced AF system with 11 sensors (nine

are cross type) that works in light as low as -3EV but it is in live view where there is serious innovation. Here, AF is handled by a new hybrid system, which uses a contrast-detection sensor and a phase-matching sensor on the imaging sensor’s surface to give fast, accurate live viewAF. Other notable features include a top shutter speed of 1/6000sec, body integral shake reduction with a 4.5EV benefit, 77 zone metering system, Pentax’s Pixel Shift Resolution mode and an AA filter simulator to reduce moiré. The K-70 body only costs £559.99 and with an 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6WR zoom, £799.99. Availability of the K-70 is yet to be confirmed.

ricoh-imaging.co.uk

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