Hasselblad H4D-40 to be launched on Feb 10th

[KevinA]

I always wanted to cut the Imacon logo sticker off of my old Imacon Flextight Photo scanner, and tape it over the logo on the H bodies. Compared to the film Hasselblads, the H body always felt more Imacon than Hasselblad.

(And if anyone knows of a mint Flextight Photo, I'm sure looking).

- Barney Rubble

PS. If making money and staying alive is the goal of any large business, and Hasselblad sees the 5DMarkII absolutely flying off the shelves, hard to find even months after the ship date, someone tell me why Hasselblad wouldn't want to have at least one model that followed in the spirit of the 5DMarkII? Just one model? And I'm not talking video here at all; I'm just talking Fast and Nimble and somewhat Minimalist. Bad analogy -- but something easy, like a Camry or a RAV4 -- fast on its feet, and not overburdened with features that drive up the price. Hasselblad can still make the Lexus, in the 50-60MP range, but why not something to compete in this New World of incredibly fast turnaround and even a non-print world? Let's look to the real future here -- which does not include an argument between an 8x10 print and a 40x60 print -- were' talking about a New World of no print at all! Think 72dpi; think iPad. Everywhere I look, that is where the world is heading. My position is: This is not an argument between Hasselblad and Canon/Nikon -- this is an argument about Old World versus New World, which requires everyone to really step back and see how fast things are changing.

This about sums it up -- a hardbound book that's designed to be a carrying case for the Apple Tablet:  http://longlivebooks.com/index.html

I just can't help from feeling that, when I see Phase and Hasselblad marching forward (backward?) deeper into the Megapixel Cold War, the car analogy that I think of is the Hummer. Yes, it'll take on anything and everything, but running at a non-efficient six miles per gallon, how long will the mass market want that?

All that quality is going to vanish when it's layered interlaced and spliced for the lenticular display and print everyone is going to be asking for only slightly down the road. Forget video everyone will be talking 3D, any quality just as long as it's got a third dimension.

Kevin.

[John R Smith]

Hasselblad was never about the mass market, or anything approximating to it, and it should not be now. And, good grief, a Canon 5D Mk II is hardly mass market either. Or perhaps it is is for you wealthy types in the US of A. The idea of a photographic world which no longer has the print as the end product is frankly horrifying, and if it does come about I should just want to quit altogether. For a 72 dpi screen display why would you want more than 4 MP anyway? But all of this is wandering a bit off-topic.

John

[Craig Lamson]

This guy seems to feel the same way. He collects 203FE's like there's no tomorrow. He thinks it's probably the finest camera ever made, and is very loyal to the brand.

http://tinyurl.com/y8hy9ev

What a guy!  Didn't he whack around with an 8x10 recently?  (more homesickness)

[asf]

Hasselblad was never about the mass market, or anything approximating to it, and it should not be now. And, good grief, a Canon 5D Mk II is hardly mass market either. Or perhaps it is is for you wealthy types in the US of A.

John

I can't tell you how many tourists I see walking around Manhattan with 5d2's around their necks (nearly always with 24-105). Not a day goes by I don't see at least 1. Most are European, most are young(ish), most don't look that wealthy ...

[arashm]

My Biggest Objection here is that this camera is aimed at the highend DSLR user
but it's still $20,000.00 Last I cheeked the D3x was just under $8,000.00
That's more than Half....

I own a bunch of canon gear, and rent Phase and Hasselblads per job bases, at these prices I will just keep doing the same, renting is easy and doesn't cost me anything, it's billed right to the job/client, plus I always end up getting a week or weekend deal and have the kit for a day or two extra for my own shooting.
But I though it was guys like me who these companies want to sell to.
Maybe they can push down the H3D2-31 down to $10,000.00 and sell a whole bunch?
Or better yet as said above how about a H4D-20 with CMOS, vertical grip and High ISO  capable for $10,000.00 and I will be first in line with cash in hand !
(wow is there an echo in this thread?)
am

[Dick Roadnight]

Hasselblad is clinging on, it seems to me, to a very specialised but nonetheless lucrative area - the world of fashion, glamour and, to a lesser extent, product photography. All their publicity and advertising material emphasises these particular uses of the H-system camera. Ultra-real, ultra-glossy pretty much sums it up. Perhaps they can retain an advantage over the Canon-Nikon crowd in this niche market. But it is not an ideal situation for growth.

John

One of the main advantages of MF is that you can detach the digiback and use it on a view camera or stitching back - and that is what make them another order of magnitude better than CaNikons, but do Hasselblad mention this in their publicity?

...with Phocus 2 and the 60Mpx back and a digital view camera we will have the best camera ever for high-end work.

[aaron]

One of the main advantages of MF is that you can detach the digiback and use it on a view camera or stitching back - and that is what make them another order of magnitude better than CaNikons, but do Hasselblad mention this in their publicity?

...with Phocus and the 60Mpx back and a digital view camera we will have the best camera ever for high-end work.

mmm,  dont forget that H system backs have no power once removed from their dedicated body. I think you can attach an image bank to supply power but thats not quite as convenient as a back with an integral battery.

Hasselblad were showing a design for a sliding back which mounted both the H back and a separate battery grip for power, but i dont think it was ever manufactured?

[TechTalk]

One of the main advantages of MF is that you can detach the digiback and use it on a view camera or stitching back - and that is what make them another order of magnitude better than CaNikons, but do Hasselblad mention this in their publicity?

...with Phocus and the 60Mpx back and a digital view camera we will have the best camera ever for high-end work.

"but do Hasselblad mention this in their publicity?"

Yes.

[TMARK]

Hasselblads are for image makers who put quality before productivity... if your customers are not willing to pay for quality, then dump them or use a snapshot camera.

Dick, do you have any customers?  I'm just trying to put your comment in context.

[yaya]

...with Phocus and the 60Mpx back and a digital view camera we will have the best camera ever for high-end work.

You've already had this for more than a year with other backs...

[erick.boileau]

a H4D 22 mp is missing in their line

[Dustbak]

You've already had this for more than a year with other backs...

I would disagree with the statement that a view camera with 60Mp back is the highest quality. I would consider the 50MS with the view camera over the 60. This is not available in any other brand than Hasselblad.

[Dick Roadnight]

One of the main advantages of MF is that you can detach the digiback and use it on a view camera or stitching back - and that is what make them another order of magnitude better than CaNikons, but do Hasselblad mention this in their publicity?

...with Phocus and the 60Mpx back and a digital view camera we will have the best camera ever for high-end work.

"but do Hasselblad mention this in their publicity?"

Yes.

They mention it briefly in their spec sheets, but nowhere else that I have seen.

[Dick Roadnight]

Dick, do you have any customers?  I'm just trying to put your comment in context.

I am a retired engineer...
I had done quite a bit of part-time professional commercial photography for about 4 decades
I had accumulated 3 Sinars and 3 film Hasselblads before I bought the Digital Hasselblad in April,
but I have been too ill to do anything with it.
My health is now improving, and I hope to be doing some work soon.
I have the option to upgrade to the H4D-60.
...but this has nothing to do with the H4D-40

[Dick Roadnight]

...with Phocus and the 60Mpx back and a digital view camera we will have the best camera ever for high-end work.

You've already had this for more than a year with other backs...

My mistake - I meant Phocus 2, which is a big improvement... and, of course the 39 or 50 multi-shot is excellent for static subjects.

I am thinking of getting a 39CF as a backup second system for my Sinar P2 and Hassy V-system, and the multi-shot might be worth the extra money

[eronald]

Yes, there is a brave new world of iPads and 100dpi max.
Also, IMHO, inkjet is actually 100dpi too.

So why doesn't someone make a still-video camera for this brave new world? This is the camera that NYT, TIME etc are going to be using for the 2012 Olympics.

Edmund

I always wanted to cut the Imacon logo sticker off of my old Imacon Flextight Photo scanner, and tape it over the logo on the H bodies. Compared to the film Hasselblads, the H body always felt more Imacon than Hasselblad.

(And if anyone knows of a mint Flextight Photo, I'm sure looking).

- Barney Rubble

PS. If making money and staying alive is the goal of any large business, and Hasselblad sees the 5DMarkII absolutely flying off the shelves, hard to find even months after the ship date, someone tell me why Hasselblad wouldn't want to have at least one model that followed in the spirit of the 5DMarkII? Just one model? And I'm not talking video here at all; I'm just talking Fast and Nimble and somewhat Minimalist. Bad analogy -- but something easy, like a Camry or a RAV4 -- fast on its feet, and not overburdened with features that drive up the price. Hasselblad can still make the Lexus, in the 50-60MP range, but why not something to compete in this New World of incredibly fast turnaround and even a non-print world? Let's look to the real future here -- which does not include an argument between an 8x10 print and a 40x60 print -- were' talking about a New World of no print at all! Think 72dpi; think iPad. Everywhere I look, that is where the world is heading. My position is: This is not an argument between Hasselblad and Canon/Nikon -- this is an argument about Old World versus New World, which requires everyone to really step back and see how fast things are changing.

This about sums it up -- a hollow hardbound book that's designed to be a carrying case for the Apple Tablet:  http://longlivebooks.com/index.html

I just can't help from feeling that, when I see Phase and Hasselblad marching forward (backward?) deeper into the Megapixel Cold War, the car analogy that I think of is the Hummer. Yes, it'll take on anything and everything, but running at an inefficient and expensive six miles per gallon, how long will the mass market want that?

[KevinA]

The biggest threat to any MF back is going to be image end use. Sure there will always be a need for big print somewhere, but it will get less and less. As more products like the iPad filter into everyday life as 3D takes off (Lenticular) etc resolution and DR will take a back seat, add in the ability to show moving images on things like iPad and end use for the MFDB starts to shrink. I can see only landscape shooters wanting those big pixel backs and to be honest I think the World already has enough hi-res images of Yosemite, mono lake, death valley ............ etc.

Kevin.

[BernardLanguillier]

I can see only landscape shooters wanting those big pixel backs and to be honest I think the World already has enough hi-res images of Yosemite, mono lake, death valley ............

And... landscape is one domain where stitching is overall a better option for those interested in really high quality prints.

Cheers,
Bernard

[tho_mas]

And... landscape is one domain where stitching is overall a better option for those interested in really high quality prints.

so a well captured single shot of, say, a P65+ is not really "high quality"? That's new to me.
Stitching is far to often not an option if you really care about certain image details (i.e. a specific moment). This applies escpecially to changing light or moving objects due to wind and the like.

[Dick Roadnight]

And... landscape is one domain where stitching is overall a better option for those interested in really high quality prints.

so a well captured single shot of, say, a P65+ is not really "high quality"? That's new to me.
Stitching is far to often not an option if you really care about certain image details (i.e. a specific moment). This applies escpecially to changing light or moving objects due to wind and the like.

A well captured single shot of, say, a P65+ is "high quality" enough for many purposes, and it is nice to have that much res for moving subjects, but for very large prints, especially murals e.g. 3m * 5m, I will shift and stitch with a 60Mpx, and Kapture Group say that they expect to produce a stitching back for 60Mpx sensors this Spring.