It's been almost 4 years since the H6D-100c was announced in August 2016, but nothing else on the H side of Hasselblad. It's quite sad that this is what the company has become.
Well. Let's see what Hasselblad has been up to since the H6D-100c was announced (which was itself a major overhaul of the internal electronics and user interface).
Starting with the H side of things: The H6D-400c MS was introduced at the beginning of 2018. Even if you don't want 400 MP images, I think it's worthwhile to see the difference that 4-shot makes on 100 MP images. The improvements in image quality are readily apparent. Hasselblad offers you a choice of single-shot, 4-shot, 6-shot (400 MP), 4K RAW full sensor width video, and film options from a single camera. It's quite sad that the options are so limited with other cameras; don't you think?
Of course, in the interim we've also seen the introduction from Hasselblad of entirely new categories and form factors of medium format cameras with the X1D/X1D II and 907x. While these are not upgrades to the H system; they are an extension of it as H lenses can be readily used with yet another option, mirrorless camera bodies. These use the new interface first introduced on the H6D-100c establishing a new cross-platform common user interface. Considering the number of photographers that are now using both DSLR and mirrorless systems, having a system that allows you to move one set of lenses between the two with relative ease has a number of advantages.
And perhaps realistic expectations for a small company in a very competitive market niche that wants to break new ground in new markets
and to survive should be considered. In 4 years time: they have overhauled the H system with H6 cameras (in 50, 100, and 400 MP model options and an H6x to accommodate film and other digital back users), added 4K RAW video, introduced the X1D, X1D II, 907x, CFV II 50c along with an entirely new lens line (which includes a deep and refined set of lens profiles), the new A6D aerial system, and created Phocus Mobile 2 for tethering, Wi-Fi, processing, control, and sharing from an iPad. While at the same time regularly pushing out: new firmware to enable and improve promised features and stability for all the cameras, new features never promised (like the recent focus stacking for the X1D), and several new or improved features for Phocus along with major speed improvements. I would say the small, but dedicated, team of hardware, firmware, software, and optical engineers have been working hard along with the manufacturing staff.
Now, if your particular notion of a desired feature or product hasn't risen to the top of Hasselblad's rather long list of priorities; I understand that you're disappointed, but sad? What it appears to me they have tried to do is create a range of camera and lens options with unique form factors, feature sets, and a high degree of cross compatibility with a common user interface. From what I've observed, they've been pretty successful.
What they haven't changed is the extraordinarily consistent and natural color look that they have had for years. It is the most important aspect of the system for some users and I have frequently seen or heard the remark in reviews that the color is incredible or even the best they've ever seen. This, like most aspects of any camera system, is entirely subjective of course.
So will they ever do what every user, potential user, reviewer, critic, or armchair CEO thinks (or is certain) they should be doing? No, I don't think so. But no company will. I just hope they continue to innovate and design products that appeal to a large enough and broad enough number of users for whom the picture quality is as rewarding as their unique individual reasons for enjoying the experience of taking them.
