And now, from the people who brought you the world's first full frame MF DSLR (a feat of viewfinder-shrinkage engineering where no crop mask would do), another first: A countdown time to another countdown! Only this new countdown is shorter. And it doesn't have a timer. And they're going to tell you, basically, what the product is. Only not everything! They're keeping secret all of the details that any potential buyer would actually find useful. What fun!
This has to be the best bit of hucksterism since "This one goes to eleven". Which opens new doors for Hasselblad, really. Can't boost ISO levels to satisfy users? Why not just introduce a new and improved MFDSLR ISO scale? Slide all the values over by 3 stops and now the new 3200 has the same noise signature of the old 400 without adding unwanted DOF! Shoot at ISO 800 and get files just as pristine as you formerly had at 100!
Some users want live view, do they? No problem!
"Hasselblad today announces another first in the world, sure to revolutionize the way every human being thinks about photography (our 3rd this fiscal quarter!). Pro photographers want to see what their cameras see, as if looking through the eyes of their camera's eyes, through their own eyes. But really pro photographers don't have time to waste looking at all the bad frames of traditional "live view" systems. For this level of professional pro, we offer a solution: the all new Hasselblad PhineView . With PhineView , pro-pros can professionally select the precise frame or frames they wish to preview by simply pressing the PhineView trigger on our all new PhineView -enabled H4D grip. This single action launches into action the entire PhineView preview acquisition system, which displays on the LCD or tethered display a full resolution live view preview, a mere 2-5 seconds later! Want more PhinePhrames to compare? The PhineView trigger allows one Phrame every 1.6 seconds to satisfy even the most demanding pro. Hasselblad PhineView: Stop wasting precious time watching frames that aren't any good and put the selection of the good frames back in the hands of a pro."
Of course if Hasselblad did actually try to rebadge single frame previewing as a true live view solution, they would put the PhineView trigger right next to the standard trigger and make it a slightly different shade of gray. This would confuse users as to which was which. And six months after release a firmware patch would be pushed out that reverses the function of each trigger for technical reasons, making it impossible for anyone anywhere to ever remember which trigger did what. The crucial firmware fix for switching them back would come out three months later with a build number "x." followed by an 11 digit alpha-numeric string where the 3rd digit replaces an "m" for an "n", the 4th an "8" for the previous "h" and the 7th "O" to a "0". Unless you have an odd serial-numbered body, in which case the "O" stays an "O". And you'll have to remember to check the software serial number, which is now different from the machine stamped one on the body for security concerns. Further, Hasselblad would see fit to make the PhineView previews their own proprietary file format which can not be exported as JPEG or TIFF and requires a Phocus update to even view on a computer. This update is currently languishing in Hasselblad internal testing with no official release date. But to appease disgruntled users, they would make public their intent to implement a new feature with the update. Upon launch of the new Phocus, a new window would open with a Hasselblad-built web browser (relying heavily on lots of Flash content), connecting the user to the Hasselblad Users' Club log-in (which can not be remembered for technical security reasons). This will be a modal window with no close or cancel buttons. But the new-new feature will be a keyboard shortcut for sending it to the background where it will continue to load and display random images for inspiration. This shortcut will be the obvious shift+command+control+• (which updates the previous, more confusing command+option+shift+|).