H4D-31, 50mm II, 120 macro II

[Alex MacPherson]

Wow! I am quite excited by Hasselblad's announcements!

The CFV 50 is actually quite reasonably priced and the H4D-31
is as well.

This is great news for people who want to make the leap to MFD!


I am very happy to see that Hasselblad is still committed to the V-system.
They must realize that there are still millions of them still being used.

[NigelC]

I wasn't aware there was a "hate hasselblad set".  I've got a lot to learn.
[/quote]

You didn't realise that Hasselblad made their system closed out of a monopolistic desire to drive competitors out of business, whereas Phase are "open" out of benevolence towards their fellow men? You must get out more!

[JonathanBenoit]

It looks like Hasselblad is re'introducing Microstep for the 50MS.

I'm pretty sure the H4D-50MS has been available for months. I was given a quote in May by my dealer. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself?

[arashm]

I'm pretty sure the H4D-50MS has been available for months. I was given a quote in May by my dealer. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself?

yes the Ms has been out for a while and you can send it in to be updated to this new back, so it can render 200 MPX
am

[JonathanBenoit]

yes the Ms has been out for a while and you can send it in to be updated to this new back, so it can render 200 MPX
am

What was it rendering before?

[hsmeets]

You could also get a H4D31 with the CF adapter and over time migrate to the H.

Sigh (at myself), yes, but somewhere I have to draw a line about the money involved, I'm not a pro, so there is no ROI :-) with the same money I can also buy a top of the line DSLR + good glass and tradeup my printer to a 24" model.....and still have money left over.

[JV]

Impressed and excited as well!  It will be interesting to see how Phase One/Leaf will react.  IMHO there is no way that they can maintain their current price levels for backs in the 30-40 MP range.

[Joseph Colson]

You didn't realise that Hasselblad made their system closed out of a monopolistic desire to drive competitors out of business, whereas Phase are "open" out of benevolence towards their fellow men? You must get out more!

If you equate a unified/closed system to a "monopolistic desire to drive competitors out of business", then I guess I'm a fan of monopolies.  I own Nikon DSLR gear, three Apple computers, an iPhone, an Epson printer, a Jeep, a Cadillac, and, as of yesterday, an H4D-50, all of which are unified/closed systems.  Having worked in a monopoly (the old Bell System) for years, and having been a part of the creation of several non-monopoly competitive businesses, Phase One and other manufacturers with open systems are not doing anything "out of benevolence".  You're quite naive if you have that belief.  It's all about the next profitable quarter. 

Or maybe your statement was made with tongue firmly implanted in cheek.

[Steve Hendrix]

Hasselblad are obviously doing quite well with the CFV range of backs for the V-System cameras, so some people must be buying them. David Sommerfield of Hasselblad told me last December that they had sold twice as many of the CFV-39 as they expected to within the first few months. And of course the design and tooling costs for the magazine-styled DB itself were probably paid for in the initial run of the CFV-16. So in a very short space of time we have had 16, 39, and now 50 MP for the old 500 and 200 cameras. On this basis I would expect to see a 60 MP version within two years or so.

John

Why would one have to wait 2 years? There has been a (Phase One) 60MP product for Hasselblad V for 2 years now already. And you can actually rotate the back (which you cannot do with the CFV). In fact, there's been a (Leaf/Mamiya) 56MP product that will rotate without even having to remove the back!

http://www.leaf-photography.com/products_aptus210r.asp


Steve Hendrix

[Dustbak]

I'm pretty sure the H4D-50MS has been available for months. I was given a quote in May by my dealer. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself?

There is a difference between microstep and multishot. There is a 50multishot for awhile now but microstep has not been available since the 39 (the 22 was the last one that provided microstep) and only in Flexcolor.

If you read my previous post you will notice I was mentioning microstep and not multishot...

[JonathanBenoit]

There is a difference between microstep and multishot. There is a 50multishot for awhile now but microstep has not been available since the 39 (the 22 was the last one that provided microstep) and only in Flexcolor.

If you read my previous post you will notice I was mentioning microstep and not multishot...

I did read that. What's the difference? Why would they switch and then switch back again?

[Dustbak]

Multishot was 4 shots and generated a file which had data for RGGB (Red Green Green Blue). No extrapolation for color. Microstep did the same but did this 4 times where the sensor would be moved 1/2 a pixel (or 1 pixel, I am not sure about that). This generated the same non-extrapolated file but 4-times the size.

Microstep would take 16 shots! Not sure why they dropped it from the 39. I guess it was deemed unneccessary with files that big or too difficult in usage to be practical. I don't know, I can only guess.

I don't know whether microstep is re'introduced. I reckon it will be a somewhat more efficient way that doesn't need 16 shots but less. The resolution being exactly 4times 50MP does make me suspicious this is a further developed version of microstep.

[JonathanBenoit]

Multishot was 4 shots and generated a file which had data for RGGB (Red Green Green Blue). No extrapolation for color. Microstep did the same but did this 4 times where the sensor would be moved 1/2 a pixel (or 1 pixel, I am not sure about that). This generated the same non-extrapolated file but 4-times the size.

Microstep would take 16 shots! Not sure why they dropped it from the 39. I guess it was deemed unneccessary with files that big or too difficult in usage to be practical. I don't know, I can only guess.

I don't know whether microstep is re'introduced. I reckon it will be a somewhat more efficient way that doesn't need 16 shots but less. The resolution being exactly 4times 50MP does make me suspicious this is a further developed version of microstep.

Thanks for the clarification. This would easily be the best choice for repro. no need for large format scanners. It would make 600dpi at 1:1 a simple task for almost any size artwork.

[EricWHiss]

Microstep would take 16 shots! Not sure why they dropped it from the 39. I guess it was deemed unneccessary with files that big or too difficult in usage to be practical. I don't know, I can only guess.

I have wondered about this to and I think the reason is that the effective pixel pitch gets too small?  

Does anyone know if the 50mpix CF back will be available in MS mode and also for other cameras besides the Hass V?   In the press release it only talks about the CFV-50.

[JDG]

Microstep would take 16 shots! Not sure why they dropped it from the 39. I guess it was deemed unneccessary with files that big or too difficult in usage to be practical. I don't know, I can only guess.

I think the problem was that 16 shot was too difficult to get a quality capture with.  Any movement whatsoever with the camera and the shot was useless. 

[BrendanStewart]

If you equate a unified/closed system to a "monopolistic desire to drive competitors out of business", then I guess I'm a fan of monopolies.  I own Nikon DSLR gear, three Apple computers, an iPhone, an Epson printer, a Jeep, a Cadillac, and, as of yesterday, an H4D-50, all of which are unified/closed systems.  Having worked in a monopoly (the old Bell System) for years, and having been a part of the creation of several non-monopoly competitive businesses, Phase One and other manufacturers with open systems are not doing anything "out of benevolence".  You're quite naive if you have that belief.  It's all about the next profitable quarter. 

Yup, i love the Hasselblad setup. All integrated and no third party stuff to muck with. No complaints here either.

[Nick-T]

FYI the 50 now offers a 6 shot mode which is a cross between multi and micro shot. I don't have the tech behind it but have heard the results are very good and may well take the wind out of the sails of those claiming that their latest single shot camera can out-perform any multi-shot.
Nick-T

[JonathanBenoit]

FYI the 50 now offers a 6 shot mode which is a cross between multi and micro shot. I don't have the tech behind it but have heard the results are very good and may well take the wind out of the sails of those claiming that their latest single shot camera can out-perform any multi-shot.
Nick-T

Are these files indeed 200mp?

[Dustbak]

FYI the 50 now offers a 6 shot mode which is a cross between multi and micro shot. I don't have the tech behind it but have heard the results are very good and may well take the wind out of the sails of those claiming that their latest single shot camera can out-perform any multi-shot.
Nick-T

The tech behind it I find quite interesting, I can think of some ways how they can do 4times the res without 16shots when you would use the color information of 1 multishot to extrapolate into the extra res of a microstep image. I come to 7 takes in that case but I think it must be something like this.

Anyway, I hope the firmware upgrade and update will be available for 39MP backs too....

[Nick-T]

Are these files indeed 200mp?

Jonathan that is my understanding but I await further technical detail.