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Author Topic: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.  (Read 4196 times)

NickT

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I thought that those of you who are keen to get hold of an X1D would want to know a bit about what is going on behind the scenes so I reached out to a couple of Swedes to ask.
First off it’s important to note that the X1D is hand made, really hand made. There are literally guys in Gothenburg building these things one by one, and guess what, it takes time. I heard how may they are making a week and it was, not very many. Hasselblad were completely taken by surprise by the number of orders for the X1D, I can’t share how many have been ordered but the numbers are epic.

(As an aside and considering some of the stupid decisions made by previous management, we should be super happy that the company is back on track and financially viable).

So what now? Hasselblad are pouring huge amounts of resources into scaling X1D manufacturing, and we will see production ramp up as more Swedish hands become available. Obviously dealer demos take priority (even these have surpassed expectations) but customer orders will follow rapidly. It’s good news I think.

I briefly handled an X1D back in May this year, and knew then I wanted one. I can hang out for a bit longer, hope you can too.

Nick-T
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #1 on: October 09, 2016, 07:44:59 pm »

Thanks for the update Nick.

Is this the only reason? I understand that the firmware is also still not quite final?

Cheers,
Bernard

NickT

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2016, 08:15:43 pm »

Yes they are still tweaking the firmware but as it's dealer demos that are being shipped I think they are less concerned about the cameras being updated after shipping. For end customers they will want the correct firmware in place.

Hope that makes sense.
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ErikKaffehr

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #3 on: October 09, 2016, 11:10:37 pm »

Nick,

Thanks for the info. Just to say having more orders than expected is good news for any company.

Could your or Hasselblad explain a bit more about that "really hand made part"? What is made by hand?

Cameras are generally assembled and adjusted by hand, so hand assembly obviously does not set any camera apart. So what is the specific of manufacture that makes the X1D more hand made in Sweden than say an H6D? I have not found any specific information on that.

Would be interesting to see some explanation from Hasselblad on that issue.

Just to say, this question is not about dislike or hatred towards Hasselblad or the X1D. I certainly hoped that Hasselblad would make an innovative design based on EVF, and it seems that it is a commercial success.

Best regards
Erik


I thought that those of you who are keen to get hold of an X1D would want to know a bit about what is going on behind the scenes so I reached out to a couple of Swedes to ask.
First off it’s important to note that the X1D is hand made, really hand made. There are literally guys in Gothenburg building these things one by one, and guess what, it takes time. I heard how may they are making a week and it was, not very many. Hasselblad were completely taken by surprise by the number of orders for the X1D, I can’t share how many have been ordered but the numbers are epic.

(As an aside and considering some of the stupid decisions made by previous management, we should be super happy that the company is back on track and financially viable).

So what now? Hasselblad are pouring huge amounts of resources into scaling X1D manufacturing, and we will see production ramp up as more Swedish hands become available. Obviously dealer demos take priority (even these have surpassed expectations) but customer orders will follow rapidly. It’s good news I think.

I briefly handled an X1D back in May this year, and knew then I wanted one. I can hang out for a bit longer, hope you can too.

Nick-T
« Last Edit: October 09, 2016, 11:16:20 pm by ErikKaffehr »
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NickT

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2016, 12:02:05 am »

Hi Erik
I think the "Hand made in Sweden" line is really to emphasise the difference between these cameras and the awful Lunar/Stellars that were just repackaged Sony cameras.
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ErikKaffehr

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2016, 12:11:01 am »

Hi Nick,

That I can understand without any reservation! Thanks!

:-) Erik :-)


Hi Erik
I think the "Hand made in Sweden" line is really to emphasise the difference between these cameras and the awful Lunar/Stellars that were just repackaged Sony cameras.
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JeffS

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2016, 12:39:26 am »


I briefly handled an X1D back in May this year, and knew then I wanted one. I can hang out for a bit longer, hope you can too.

Nick-T

I briefly handled one at a demo in June.  It was not ready for prime-time, as admitted by the Hasselblad reps, who assured that things would work well upon release.  I'm less interested in quick delivery than I am in an effectively working product, however long that takes. 

And I'll make an assessment of that effectiveness....based on my personal needs/preferences.....by renting one from Lens Rentals, shooting and making my own prints. 

Then I'll do the same with the Fuji GFX, provided it's available for rental or demo.

No rush. 

Jeff
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synn

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2016, 05:15:40 am »

I am very happy to hear that Hasselblad is a healthy company again...
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Theodoros

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #8 on: October 10, 2016, 03:09:26 pm »

Yes they are still tweaking the firmware but as it's dealer demos that are being shipped I think they are less concerned about the cameras being updated after shipping. For end customers they will want the correct firmware in place.

Hope that makes sense.

Ming Thein, an official  Hasselblad ambassador claims in his X1D presentation, , that the X1D has the same image quality as the H6D, being in fact the same sensor/processor but the mirrorbox and removable back of the H6D... Therefore, if there is "tweaking of software" happening, it can only concern "lens corrections" of the newly introduced lenses, which is a minor issue that can always be corrected later and can in the mean time "corrected" manually by the user.

Other than the above, I believe that the reason there is a delay is more related with:
1. Misjudgement of the demand, which of course -given the extremely small volume of the "traditional" products- is quite difficult to predict or measure scientifically, given that the facts that the marketing analysis had no previous data to refer on.
2. "Rushing to be first in the market" since undoubtly, Hassy had more information than any other traditional MF maker about Fuji's GFX series of cameras introduction... A hint for the later is Hasselblad finding another supplier for making their X1D lenses, since keeping on with Fuji, could lead in similar designs for lenses for the two camera systems. OTOH, there is an obvious (IMO) effort, for Hasselblad to differentiate the X1D from Fuji's introduction, leading the two cameras to share only the word "mirrorless" as common feature...

Never the less, the MF camera market will expand significantly (maybe to even multiples of the current volume IMO) due to the introduction of the two cameras... If anything, the impact that the GFX had at Photokina was of a size that many couldn't recall happening in previous Photokinas and the X1D had quite an impact too (in proportion) as to suggest a "bright" marketing future for MF....
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #9 on: October 10, 2016, 08:09:02 pm »

There are many things the X1D must do that the H6D doesn't:
- EVF user interface
- contrast AF
- some aspects of back screen UI such as touch focus
- ...

So I am not sure that lens data is the only thing missing.

Cheers,
Bernard

NickT

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #10 on: October 10, 2016, 09:02:27 pm »

The delay has nothing to do with lens corrections.
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ErikKaffehr

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #11 on: October 10, 2016, 11:56:32 pm »

Hi Nick,

Thanks for explanations.

My guess is that Hasselblad also works on the camera firmware.

This is their firs EVF/CDAF camera and both techniques may need a bit more development than expected. Using an EVF a faster video feed is probably needed than for a back panel LCD. Providing fast video may cause problems with battery life and heat up. So they may need to work on power management and cooling. The camera needs to work in a wide temperature range. The demos are probably done in air condition but temperatures above 30 degrees C are quite common in the great outdoors.

All that can take some time to optimise. It may even affect the chip set used in the camera. Hasselblad probably wants to ship a finished product, although they may need firmware upgrades later on to further improve functionality.

Best regards
Erik


The delay has nothing to do with lens corrections.
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Joseph Colson

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2016, 07:11:54 pm »

Thanks for the updates Nick.

Joe

Joe Towner

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Re: Why the X1D is slow to ship and what Hasselblad are doing about it.
« Reply #13 on: October 13, 2016, 09:43:13 pm »

Upside to the manual post (thanks Wayne) http://static.hasselblad.com/2016/06/X1D_USER-GUIDE-Book_161003.pdf

Here's the H to X adapter:
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