What Everyone’s Saying About the New Hasselblad X1D

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Hasselblad is about to release their new X1D camera, which they describe as “less than half the weight of a conventional digital medium format camera,” and as a “game changer in the world of photography.” Anytime Hasselblad releases anything, the photography community gets very excited so we thought we would take a look at this.

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So What’s the Internet Saying About the X1D?

Well, let’s take a look.

One story from PetaPixel focused on comparing the X1D to the Nikon D1x, which released back in 2001. The purpose of this article was to highlight the fact that, when you compare the prices of the two cameras after adjusting for inflation, the two cameras cost pretty much the same.

So then when you consider that the Hasselblad X1D has a lot more features than the D1x, the X1D offers a lot more for how much it costs compared to the D1x.

WIRED also seems to support the new camera despite its heavy price of almost $9,000. This article talked about how impressive it was that Hasselblad was able to fit so many new and interesting features into a camera that is very small physically. They then go into detail about some of the nice features that come with the X1D, such as the larger light and motion sensors and the new lenses that work with the camera.

Then there’s Ken Rockwell, who described the X1D as, “priced right, made in Sweden, looks handsome, and packs a big sensor in a small package.”

After going into some detail about what comes with the X1D, Ken went on to explain why exactly they love the X1D so much, covering everything from its innovative 1/2,000 flash sync speed, it’s superior 4:3 aspect ratio and finally says that he considers it an overall better product than similar cameras made by Canon, Nikon and Sony.

The review brought up only one potential downside of the camera, that being the high costs of the lenses and flash that need to be bought with the X1D.

Barney Britton and Damien Demolder of DPReview also praised the new camera for its small size and described the general design as “sleek.” The two of them continued on to say that the highlight of the new X1D is the 50-million-pixel CMOS sensor. They also discussed the benefit of the camera’s ability to link with the H6D by sharing a sensor.

Additionally, they talked about the usefulness of the camera’s main menu screen, explaining how it makes it easier to set general personal preferences, as well as how it makes it able to prioritize certain functions and features depending on the specific task.

Another fan of the Hasselblad X1D is William Brawley of Imaging Resource, who pointed out that,m despite the fact that the high price may suggest that the X1D is meant for only professional photographers, one goal of Hasselblad’s new camera was to create something for a broader audience. Part of this is due to the fact that the price of the X1D is actually less than that of other similar cameras.

DL Cade also wrote an article about the X1D for PetaPixel, in which he praised the camera for having a resolution of 50MP while still being small enough to fit in your hand.

Another admirer is Dan Seifert from The Verge, who calls the X1D, “a photography nerd’s dream camera.” He brings up some of the camera’s most interesting features like its ability to write images on two SD cards, and its ability to shoot still images at up to ISO 25,600.

Seifert also brought up some of the downsides of the camera, like how its slow process for booting up, writing onto SD cards and its focuses make it a bad choice if you’re looking for a camera to shoot any sort of fast action. Having said that, he also explains how the X1D is the ideal camera for shooting slower things like portraits due to its excellent image quality.

Michael Zhang from PetaPixel wrote another article about the X1D, in which he described the design of the camera as looking, “like something in between retro and futuristic.” Zhang also made a point of bringing up the fact that the new X1D is the world’s first medium format mirrorless camera.

The General Conclusion on the Hasselblad X1D?

So overall, it seems that the general consensus about the Hasselblad X1D is that it’s worth buying if you have the money and are part of the intended audience. Great for a lot of things, but maybe not action shooting. But jeesh, that $9k price tag and the follow up costs are not going to be in reach for a lot of people.

What do you think? Are you going to go get one?

About Author

John is a professional writer and staff member at Light Stalking.

“not going to be in reach for a lot of people”.
It will be in reach for the people paying $20k and up. Not many of them but they have been keeping Leaf ,Hasselblad et al in business. I puts pressure on Pentax which though a little less expensive is bulkier and has all the issues associated with a mirror.

The price is outa my reach for sure when I consider its a hobby and don’t bring in a lot of money,plus the fact that it suppose to be so slow,even a beginner needs a camera that will take action shots.

Anyone using medium format digital for professional purposes isn’t going to be in any rush to get one. There are not enough out there being used to find out how they withstand heavy use and some of the abuse a professional will put gear threw if part of the gear used regularly. How big or how light the body is doesn’t make that much difference when the bulk of the gear you carry is accessories and lenses, which they have very few ready for sale yet. Not having a full range of lenses makes it much like a 700 bhp Mercedes with comfy seats and too much electronic driver aids, weight, and street tires for a track car.
A show piece or similar to having a Hermes pair of runners and dress pants on when your going to play a serious game of tennis, pointless and a gadget for those who want a novelty camera to wear around their neck when not actually doing any serious work.
I personal wouldn’t by one to use for commercial work until they have been around and have more lenses available.
Why buy a light weight stylish camera if you have to adapt older models lense. I don’t mind carrying a heavier robust mostly manual Hasselblad 503 with winder, CFV back that does everything I need but isn’t a fashion statement.
Hasselblad does likely realize they have a valuable prestigious brand that they can use to attempt to be as much as a statement about how technical savvy and affluent as photographer is to be able to buy a toy.
At least until they have produced a camera that has the staying power the old bodies and lenses have its much like buying a B+O audio system. Beautiful stuff, high quality and clean design which a lot of people can appreciate but is it a tool for professionals.
These days is there even a market for developing a professional line that can be added to and combined with a accessory, film back, digital back, video accessories and be the foundation of building up a collection of gear to last your whole career! I still shoot with my first ever Hasselblad body (500cm) which I bought in my 2 year of photo college 32 years ago. It still looks and functions like new and I only bought a motor driven body because I was early getting into digital with the Leaf DCB, a 3 popper.
Technology in cars, electronics and cameras are designed to be outdated in 3 years if even that long so no one thinks like Hasselblad once did. Soon, much like software now, you’ll lease usage because it is too expensive to buy and manufactures what to replace what you get today and not have to service, stock parts, or build anything that has to last and be serviceable.
Maybe that’s how it should be, you can’t take your junk with you anyway and no one wants old used junk unless it’s a rare Ferrari worth 1000’s times its original value.
$9000 isn’t the issue, there were many lenses worth much more. If amateurs want to have professional gear then expect to pay. I paused $40k for a digital back and another 40 for the apple 950 quad to run it roughly 25 years ago. There not iPhones sold by the millions. Which, they may as well buy and use as they probably wouldn’t see the difference on their facebook post.
Who is the camera made for,

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