I know that the H5-40 has been out for awhile and that there's big, better, faster backs out there with more sex appeal, but I figure that there's plenty of folk out there who don't feel like dropping $20k plus for the latest and greatest who might be interested in my experience. I was able to pick up my H5 as certified used from Hasselblad for under $8,000 - which, after selling my old system, brought upgrading to within a relatively easy reach. The good news is that the expense was definitely worth it.
After owning an H1 with Leaf Aptus 22 and then Aptus 75s for the past seven years, I recently decided to upgrade the whole system to the H5. I loved the IQ of the Leaf backs, but I had a real problem with tethering. The new Macbook Pros don't have Firewire inputs which meant I had to use an adapter and a powered hub. Unfortunately, the connection wasn't consistent for me which left me to bust out my 2006 Macbook Pro for location work (can you say slooowww?). To not be able to rely on tethered shooting with my H system was a real nonstarter so I either got rid of it or I upgraded. I did the latter.
I'm loving the H5's integration of the back and the body. During a recent all day shoot where I shot tethered on location, I was able to make it through the day with one battery on the grip. Pretty impressive that a single battery was able to power the camera, lens, back and push the data through to the laptop through a long day of shooting. Tethering is a dream. The back uses Firewire, but a simple adapter to Thunderbolt works great. The H5 back (unlike the H4-40) is designed with enough power to push the data out to the computer without a powered hub. Super stable - way more stable than the D800 and even the D810. The Phocus software is easy enough to use. I like the Phocus app for use on the iPhone. Super easy to use with no technical configuring. Just click and go. Tethering in Lightroom is a breeze as well.
The True Focus feature does its job too. Wasn't perfect but I've had few out of focus shots since I started using it. The 40 MP resolution is more than enough for anything I'll do. I print my fine art portraits at 44x60 - much larger than life. The detail and sharpness at that size is stunning. You can stick your nose to the print and it still holds together. I accidentally shot a portrait at 400 ISO and then printed it big. No discernible noise. Not saying there was no noise, but you really have to pixel peep to catch it in the final print (and I used no noise reduction).
Here's some samples - though they don't do the actual files justice. This first series was with Crystal Harris Hefner (as in Hugh's wife). These haven't been to the retoucher. They've been hit with quick density adjustments in LR but that's it:
Shot with the 80mm wide open.
Shot on location. No tethering. I've got to say that the upgrade on the preview screen is welcome. It's not super high res, but it sure beats the old low res barely-make-out-what-you're-shooting LCD of the 75s back.
Here's a crop at 100%. Used True Focus to focus on eye and recomposed. (There's softening in converting to jpeg and then uploading to gallery. Actual file is sharper still; you can see that the veins in the eyeball are tack sharp and the eyelashes are slightly soft.)
Anyhow, if you get one of those Hasselblad emails announcing a sale on used backs and you're wondering if it's worth it, my answer is yes!
John
