The Hasselblad XCD 80mm f/1.9 Lens

[Michael Erlewine]

Yep, it’s big, heavy, clunky, and a little noisy. However, it does the job of good bokeh and sharp resolution. No, it’s not going to the track or a football game. Instead, it will live in the garden and the studio.


One of my observations of Hasselblad XCD lenses is the absence of bokeh, meaningful bokeh. The 80mm F/1.9 breaks that mold. Of course, I right away tested it and then put it on the shelf. It’s not something I would use until I need it; then I use it.

For me, it’s not a walk around lens. However, every time I need to separate any still life object from the background, this is the lens to use. It’s the fastest lens Hasselblad offers, so its king of the bokeh for now.

And I know the photographer who designed this lens (XCD 80mm f/1.9) for Hasselblad and made it what it is. He told me personally that he designed this lens to be the Hasselblad equivalent of Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4. I can see that it takes some babying and special handling, and it has a slow autofocus, yet I’m glad to have the lens. I consider the Hasselblad system much like I consider my large-format systems. Slow and deliberate photography is what it is good for, IMO.

Of course, some of the XCD lenses can be used as walkaround lenses. I have not done too much of that so far, other than walk around and shoot static shots, essentially still life. If I can keep the shutter fast enough to capture images in a walk around, I see no reason why they can’t do that very well.

To repeat, I would not use this as a walk-around lens for all the above reasons, yet it is perfect in the studio or on a tripod because I will (one has to) take the time to use it properly.

[Images here are not meant to be ‘finished’, only to show the separation from subject and the background bokeh]

[Rob C]

Michael, I have often wondered why Hasselblad - or any other manufacturer - has not bitten that bullet and opted for a truly 6x6, film equivalent, sensor. The bodies are already very expensive and not ever going to be on the "to buy" list of the average photographer, not any more than the 500 Series was in its day. Back then, I used to think of that series as out of my reach too, but the time came when I bought them, new, was working with a brace of them, and no longer thought anything of it. A Phase system is already in NASA price territory, so I do believe that a market exists for really super-expensive systems. Perhaps that large, square sensor could be the one thing to advance medium format digital off its plateau.

Quite apart from anything else, one of the great advantages of the square format was its aptness for cropping to any shape desired. Going up to 6x7 or 6x8 simply reintroduced the format problems associated with using the 135 format in the vertical position, just on a bigger original.

A square format would also permit a possibly more useful range of focal lengths, as we used to get from Zeiss...

Yes, I agree absolutely with your opinion: "I consider the Hasselblad system much like I consider my large-format systems. Slow and deliberate photography is what it is good for, IMO."

My 'blads were pretty much never used off a tripod. In those days, a tripod wasn't looked upon as an inconvenience. I think that's perhaps not true today, when even I will use an iPhone just to avoid the carting around of a real camera. That said, bear in mind that no photography that I do today has any use beyond my own gratification.

[Michael Erlewine]

"My 'blads were pretty much never used off a tripod. In those days, a tripod wasn't looked upon as an inconvenience. I think that's perhaps not true today, when even I will use an iPhone just to avoid the carting around of a real camera. That said, bear in mind that no photography that I do today has any use beyond my own gratification."

Thanks Rob C. With the X2d, with a little care, no tripod is needed for most static shots. Shooting sports, etc. does not work well hand-held, but most everything else does.

Here are a couple handheld at a local music festival, "Wheatland Music Festival."

[Rob C]

Here are a couple handheld at a local music festival, "Wheatland Music Festival."
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The second, closeup shot indicates that, hand-held, the digital offering is in another world compared to the old 500 Series. I remember Hasselblad going in print advising that anything under about 1/150 sec. should be done on a tripod, mirror-up activated. At the time, I thought that particularly honest of them to so advise.