(John Warkentin)
John Warkentin here from the Michael’s Camera Social Media Team. You might recognise my colleague beside me, Paul Daniels. He is our resident medium-format expert.
(Paul Daniels)
Oh, thank you!
(John)
So, what have we got on the table in front of us today?
[Gestures to the boxes]
(John)
You guessed it… it is…
(Paul)
Today, we’ve got the absolutely “unobtainium” Hasselblad X1D. Waiting quite a while for this one; and finally, we’re going to have a little unboxing!
(John)
So, we’ve not only got the camera, we’ve got two lenses as well. Tell us a little bit about these two lenses.
(Paul)
Ok, so we’ve got, here we’ve got the 45 and the 90; which, basically, equates to about 35 and 70.
(John)
Okay.
(Paul)
There is also a 30 mm, but that’s bit invisible at the moment.
(John)
Okay, so, we’ll get that eventually.
(Paul)
Eventually! Hope so!
(John)
What are the speeds of these two lenses, Paul?
(Paul)
Um, actually, this one I believe [picks up 90 mm box] – if I can see the front of the box, here we go – is the 90 mm; they’re about f/4, I believe, and these ones [points to the 45 mm] are about f/3.5.
(John)
Ok, so just a little bit faster, 30 stops or so.
(Paul)
Yeah, but that’s pretty normal if you look at any sort of medium-format cameras, they rarely exceed 2.8, or in the singular case in each brand, f/2. So, that’s pretty standard speed for this sort of thing.
(John)
Ok, now, for those of you that have been living under a rock; the Hasselblad is a 50 MP, medium-format camera, but it’s not huge medium-format, and it basically shares some common DNA with a few other cameras.
One of which, we’ve got right here. [Picks up a camera from the table behind them – I think it is the Fuji GFX] So the sensor is the same size.
But of course, each of these manufacturers brings a little special sauce to the party.
[Paul agrees]
And, we’re quite excited to see what the Hasselblad is capable of doing.
Obviously, we haven’t opened the box yet!
Now, I’m going to be completely honest with our viewers here – we’ve not even peeked inside!
(Paul)
No, as much as we’d like to.
(John)
We’ve just taken the plastic off them. So, as we unbox these lenses and the body, it’s going to be new to us, and new to you!
We, unfortunately, haven’t had a chance to do an unboxing of the Fuji, because somebody else got it, got to it before I did!
But, anyway! So let’s put the lenses over here behind us for a sec, and let’s cut to the chase! [Paul and John place the lens boxes on the table behind them]
And we’re going to open up the body here!
(Paul)
Ok, now… find our way into the box… here we go!
[Opens box]
(John)
More cardboard.
(Paul)
More cardboard, there’s a surprise.
[Laughs]
Ooh, this goes that way… ooh, be careful!
[Flips box over]
Throw it all over the floor!
And a lovely picture on the top. [Shows top of box to camera]
Look at that!
Hopefully, there’s one of these inside!
(John)
So this must be… what is this, is this… Oh! It’s the getting started guide. Okay. Create to inspire. That’s good.
[Reads small manual book]
Oh, we’ve got a little welcome letter in here. “Please note” Okay.
[Paul holds up the box to show the plastic-wrapped body safely ensconced in cardboard]
(Paul)
And you notice straight off the bat, that it’s considerably smaller than the Fuji.
(John)
I think the box is actually smaller too. Okay.
[Paul removes the body from the box]
(Paul)
Hmm, it feels solid. Have a feel of that. [Passes body to John]
(John)
Yeah! Oh yeah, that is, that’s amazing. Ok, I’m going to let you have the honours of getting it out of the plastic!
(Paul)
Okay! [Takes body back after putting the box aside]
Well, I’m going to put this back over here.
(John)
So, anything else below there? Must be something…
(Paul)
Oh, there must be some cabling and that sort of thing.
(John)
There must be a charger down there or something.
(Paul)
Oh yeah, something like that. Let’s have a look-see. What else have we got in here? [Removes cardboard sections from the box]
(John)
Oh, okay, there’s another box!
(Paul)
Oh, another box! [Removes box]
Oh, sensor cleaner!
(John)
Oh, that’s good! Okay.
(Paul)
One would imagine there’s a charger in there. [Removes small white box]
(John)
Okay.
(Paul)
And, connection cable.
(John)
Oh, this has got, yeah, a two-cell lithium ion battery charger.
(Paul)
And a strap!
(John)
Oh, okay!
(John)
Ah, USB-C cable!
(Paul)
Oh, good. I like them.
(John)
So that’s the new format. And, strap. Ooh, nice foam actually. I like the foam. That’s good strong stuff.
[Handles the foam from the box]
(Paul)
Good density. [Closes the box]
(John)
Oh, got a microfiber cloth. Hasselblad. That’s good. Oh, look at this!
(Paul)
Oh! What have you found?
(John)
A thumb drive!
(Paul)
Ooh! Okay! Oh, one would imagine.
(John)
Yeah, probably the user manual on there.
(Paul)
Yes, I’d say so.
(John)
Yeah, that looks nice!
[Paul agrees]
(John)
Yeah, those will end up on eBay!
(Paul)
Very stylish.
(John)
Yeah. How big is it?
(Paul)
Doesn’t say the capacity.
(John)
It’s not 10 TB?
[Laughter]
(Paul)
Unfortunately, not. Now, let’s pop that back in there for now. [Returns thumb drive to foam]
(John)
Yeah, that’s good.
Ok, we’ll put these things aside here.
[Gathers foam and boxes and puts them on the table behind them]
Let’s open that.
[Places white box in front of Paul]
(Paul)
Okay, let’s see what’s in here.
Ok, so we’ve got a variety of different plugs for whatever country you happen to be in.
(John)
Oh, that’s good.
(Paul)
Oh, there’s one for Australia and a British one.
(John)
Somebody who buys this [picks up Hasselblad body] would be a travelling photographer I would imagine, so you’re going to need various plugs.
(Paul)
And that’s Japan and America. [Places converter plugs on table]
[John agrees]
And, also, here we go, the actual charger. Oh, it’s got a bit of weight to it. And that would be your European and Asian plug.
(John)
Ok, let’s see how this works here. Do these things come off and then the other ones go on?
(Paul)
Yes, yes. I would imagine so, yes. Unclips off of there, I’d say.
(John)
Some sort of switch here of some sort. [Fiddles with charger box]
(Paul)
A Little guide to who uses what. [Reads small manual]
Should just slide straight out.
(John)
Yeah, well it’s… here you try.
(Paul)
Okay! [Takes charger box] [Slides plug out of charger box]
(John)
Oh, there it is. Just needs a little bit of a firmer touch.
Oh, ok! That’s good! Oh, and it’s just a standard figure-eight! So if you don’t want to use these, you can take any standard figure-eight cable and plug that in.
(Paul)
Oh yeah, good, good. You can just use that one. That’s actually quite sensible, isn’t it?
(John)
Yeah! And it looks like, the way these go on, if we plug the Australian one in here – this is going to, I’ll get it, oh there it is. Oh, this has got good strain relief! Yeah, so that’s just going to sit on the wall socket, just perfectly. That’s nice.
Very thing micro-coaxial cable here. Okay, then. And that’s just going to plug into the charger.
(Paul)
Ok!
(John)
So! Let’s cut to the chase!
(Paul)
Yes, indeed! [unwraps body]
[Holds Hasselblad body in hands]
Wow.
(John)
Oh, I guess the battery… where’s the battery? Is it in the camera already?
(Paul)
Oh. That’s a good point. Yes, it is! Look, they’re using a similar design to the other camera that starts with “L”.
(John)
Ah, yes I’ve heard of that brand.
(Paul)
Yes. And if, yes, it’s the exactly the same battery design. [Removes battery from body]
(John)
Oh, that’s a beefy cell!
(Paul)
Yeah, and in fact, that is remarkably similar to a Leica S battery. Oh look, I said it now.
(John)
Oh, ok. Well pull that off [Points to thin transparent plastic bit sticking out] – that must be on the contacts.
(Paul)
The isolator.
(John)
Yes, yes, they’re actually in the contacts. Pull this off. Pop that back in. Now, it probably only goes in one way. I’m sure it must.
(Paul)
Yes, it does. See the groove running down the side? That’s where that lock is.
(John)
Oh, that finish is nice on the side of that, too. Okay.
(Paul)
So you see here, actually, to actually take the battery out you have to push and hold. [Presses button on the bottom of the camera] And it still won’t come out, so you can’t drop it on the floor; you actually intentionally have to push that in, and then you can take it out that way.
(John)
And that’s not going to conflict with the mount over here?
(Paul)
No, no.
(John)
If you put a plate on there, you’re fine.
(Paul)
Yeah, exactly, you’ve got plenty of room there.
(John)
Kind of, guess if you put a big (arca-swiss plate) maybe, but a regular small plate.
(Paul)
Even then, there’s still a fair bit of space. Look at that – solid metal inside.
(John)
Oh, that’s beautiful, yeah.
Now is it aluminium (or aluminium) or is it…?
(Paul)
I don’t know, is it aluminium or aluminium?
(John)
I’m not sure. I guess it depends! I mean, it can be aluminium for you and aluminium for me. [Pronouncing it differently]
(Paul)
Ok, that sounds nice.
Ok.
(John)
Well, let’s just see. Does it power up, has it got any juice?
(Paul)
Oh, well, we just have to give it a try.
[Presses power button on camera]
Yes, look at that! [Picks up camera]
(John)
Oh, okay. Let’s see the back of the screen.
So, here it is, it’s launching.
[Camera zooms in on review screen which shows a large H centred on black background]
That’s a big screen!
[Paul agrees]
(Paul)
Well, that’s interesting.
(John)
So, this has got – from what we understand – a brand new user interface that has basically got the DNA of a smartphone!
[Paul agrees]
(John)
You know, so it’s got swipe gestures; touch screen; so it’s a true re-engineering of how a camera can work.
(Paul)
It feels really nice!
Now, let’s see. So, there are your contacts, there. [Shows side panel of camera]
Headphone output; microphone input; USB; HDMI; and, is there anything under here as well? [Opens a flap]
Oh, yes, there’s the card slot. Yeah, I thought so! Because I could see, when we brought the display up before that it actually gave me a figure. So, there we go.
(John)
Oh, they give you a card?
(Paul)
They actually give us a card. Oh, 16 GB.
(John)
Oh, wow.
(Paul)
That’s not bad for you start with.
(John)
Well, now that we know we’ve got power, I think we need to put a lens on.
(Paul)
Yes, I think that’s a very nice idea.
(John)
What focal length would you like to go with today?
(Paul)
I think we’ll start with 45, actually.
(John)
Oh, 45, sounds good! We’ve got one right here!
(Paul)
Oh, thank you. How very convenient!
[John grabs the box for the 45 mm lens]
(John)
Let’s bring right over, fresh off the grill!
Is there anything interesting we need to see in our Welcome letter?
(Paul)
What have we got in here? [Looks for opening point for lens box]
(John)
Oh, they’re excited to deliver it to us!
(Paul)
Oh, that’s very nice of them!
(John)
I like excitement. Oh, here’s something else!
[Grabs piece of card paper]
This must be our, oh, our certificate!
Oh, they’re giving us an additional 12 months warranty!
(Paul)
How every kind!
[Paul has opened the box and is removing the Styrofoam cover]
(John)
They care. Good stuff!
Ok, what have we got in the lens (box) here?
(Paul)
Ok, let’s get this out from here.
(John)
Let’s get this out of the way – we don’t need this little bag.
[Paul pulls the Styrofoam (I think it’s Styrofoam) from the box]
(Paul)
Ok, so what have we got?
(John)
Oh, that’s a different type of foam.
Well, we’ve got a little certificate.
(Paul)
Your lens pouch. [Holding plastic covered black pouch]
(John)
So there’s our serial number. It looks like it’s been signed by…
(Paul)
Not by Victor? No? Probably not.
(John)
It’s a card.
One hand out of the grave.
[Laughter]
(Paul)
Now… [Takes plastic wrapped lens out of the bag and unwraps it]
(John)
Oh, we’ve got a hood!
(Paul)
Yes! [Taps hood]
(John)
So this would be sort of the general walk around lens?
(Paul)
Well, you’d think so. This is equivalent of a 35.
(John)
Yeah, 35, yeah, so street photographers; the famous guys from yesteryear – that’s what they all loved on the Leica.
(Paul)
Absolutely.
[Removes lens from plastic bag]
(John)
Oh, so how does that feel in the hand?
[Holds lens in one hand]
It’s not that heavy; feels nice though.
(Paul)
No, not too heavy; feels solid.
(John)
Okay. And I assume it’s got always full-time manual override for focus?
(Paul)
Oh, you’d think so, yes.
(John)
Yes, ok.
(Paul)
Ok, now.
(John)
Ok, we’ve got everything we need from that. What have we got? We’ve got a little pouch; we’ve got a hood. [Removes hood from box]
(Paul)
Now, in deference to the other brand, I believe these are actually leaf shutter lenses; unlike this one here. [Gestures to the Fuji]
Okay.
[Removes body cap from camera body]
(John)
Ok, so that’s the body cap. Interesting how that is.
Just show the inside of the sensor. [Paul shows the camera a close up of the inside of the camera without the body cap]
I’m actually curious – let’s just compare the lens mounts here.
[John removes the lens from the Fuji]
(Paul)
One would tend to think they’re a very similar size.
(John)
Yeah, well they should be, but let’s just sort of hold them up.
[John places the Fuji next to the Hasselblad]
(Paul)
Funny, the Fuji looks a little larger, but perhaps I’m… no, should be about the same size. If you look at the flange sizes, yeah.
(John)
Let’s try to Vulcan mind-meld them here. [Holds the back of the Fuji to the back of the Hasselblad]
[Laughter]
(Paul)
No, I’d say that’s about the same size. Let’s compare the base of the lens.
(John)
Ok, here we go. [Places the lenses next to each either]
So, the diameter of the barrel of the Fuji lens is a little bit more, but now, that’s a 50 mm equivalent versus a 25; but also a faster lens.
(Paul)
But, um, the actual flanges of the bayonet on both lenses look almost identical. Yes; quite similar. [Holds lens rings together]
(John)
It’s the $64,000 question! Can you fit it?
[Laughter]
(Paul)
I’ll try!
Now, let’s see. One would tend to imagine that that goes there… and then… [Inserts lens into body and twists]
Yes, ok!
(John)
There’s your body cap; I’ll just put those two together.
(Paul)
Now, are we still on? [Looks at camera to see if it’s powered]
(John)
Oh, and we’ve got a memory card; we’ve got juice; we could take the inaugural picture.
(Paul)
Yes! Yes! We could even take photographs with that!
(John)
We could take a picture of our cameraman, Matt, here.
[Paul lifts camera to his eye and aims at the cameraman]
(Paul)
Now, what is that line? Look at that! Beautiful!
(John)
Autofocus is just fine, yeah.
(Paul)
Oh yes, and it focuses nicely too.
[Takes photo]
Seems to do quite a nice job!
Now, what I would like to adjust is the white balance, because it’s terribly yellow at the moment.
So, let’s go into here… [Presses button on the top panel of the camera]
That’s it…
(John)
See if you can do this on camera a little bit.
[Paul turns the review screen to the camera]
(Paul)
So, this little button switches between the ISO. I pressed it once and it gave me ISO, and I pressed it again and it gave me the white balance. And let’s just go – it was in daylight – and we’ll just try on auto and see how we go from there.
Now, you were terribly yellow, Paul, when I took a picture of you. Let’s see what you’re like this time.
[Takes a photo of Paul? Thought it was Matt?)
That’s better! Yes. [Shutter click]
Actually, that is quite a bit quicker. I tried out one of the pre-production models, and the time between actually taking the shot and it displaying on the screen was quite long.
(John)
Ok, so hit Play.
(Paul)
Ok, now, because I didn’t do anything sensible like adjusting the exposure, it’s very dark.
(John)
Ok. But that’s alright.
Oh, it’s very, very dark.
Are we in manual mode?
(Paul)
Yeah, I’d say we possibly could be. Look, there we go.
So to adjust the mode on this – you push that in [presses button on the top panel] and it raises up. [Dial raises up]
(John)
Well, put that into like, AV 8 or something.
(Paul)
I think aperture priority should do us.
Pop that back in there, and we’ll try that again. [Raises camera to eye again]
[Shutter clicks]
Ah, yes.
(John)
It’s a very interesting shutter sound.
(Paul)
It is an interesting shutter sound. I am wondering if I took more than one photo then!
Flaring nicely into the lights which are shining straight into the front.
But quite a nice look.
(John)
Actually not bad at all!
(Paul)
No, no, very neutral. And, let’s just… [Shows review screen up to camera]
(John)
And I assume you would do a pinch gesture to zoom in on that.
(Paul)
Oh, actually, I would imagine so. But, such a delightful photograph of you, Matt. [Speaking to cameraman]
(John)
Can we zoom in?
(Paul)
Yeah, I’d say we could. Look at that.
(John)
Look at that, we can move around. That’s exactly what I expected it to do.
[John uses swipe motions and pinch gestures on the review screen of the camera]
Yeah, it flared rather nicely!
(Paul)
Yes. It’s just, well considering I’ve got spotlights coming straight at me, straight into the middle of the lens.
(John)
Yeah, six of them!
(Paul)
Now.
(John)
How are things looking through the electronic viewfinder?
(Paul)
That is actually quite good. Have a look yourself, see what you think. [Hands camera to John]
(John)
Okay!
[Removes glasses]
Ooh, well, ok, that’s the first time I’ve held it. It feels like a solid chunk of aluminium in your hand.
(Paul)
It does, doesn’t it, yes?
(John)
The screen is beautiful. It’s just focusing in real time, as I am moving around. Or is it… oh, no, have to half press.
(Paul)
Ooh, I don’t know, I’d say you have to half-press to do that.
(John)
Ok, let’s take a look through the viewfinder here. [Raises camera to eye]
Okay. Let me get the focus. [Shutter clicks]
Oh, that’s not too bad.
(Paul)
Interesting range of clicks that it gives off as it takes the image.
[Shutter clicks]
(John)
Not bad! Yeah, very interesting.
So it’s reporting at f/5.6.
(Paul)
What shutter speed are we getting?
(John)
Shutter must be a ¼ of a second, couldn’t be any more.
(Paul)
Yeah, no, we need to ramp the ISO up.
(John)
Right, ISO 100. Ok, let’s go ramp the ISO up on that.
[Hands camera to Paul]
(Paul)
Ok, that’s fairly straight forward I believe.
So, just a single press of the button there to get out of there; and, ok, and let’s dial her up to something a bit more useful inside. Let’s see how that goes.
I’m going to take a shot of you. [Turns to face John]
[Shutter clicks]
Ok, so that was quite reasonable.
[Shows image on review screen to camera]
Now, no surprise, but it’s still a bit yellow even under these lights, but that’s working quite nicely.
And… [Pinches to zoom in on the photo]
It’s a bit free floating, actually. Let’s see if we can zoom in on it that way. [Uses dial]
(John)
What aperture was that at again? Still at f/5.6?
(Paul)
Yeah, I think it’s still. So, what is the lens? It’s 3.5 as we thought.
(John)
So let’s open up to 3.5 if we can. Let’s figure it out. Well, I guess we’re in aperture…
(Paul)
It’s actually damn sharp, that, it’s very nice.
Ok.
(John)
So, I assume to change it, it must be just one of these touch screens.
(Paul)
Well, yes. So, let’s just take it back in there.
(John)
Oh, that’s beautiful! [Looking at image on the review screen]
Well, other than the subject, it looks like a good photo!
[Laughter]
(Paul)
Not too much subject failure.
(John)
So, what do you figure, what do you p-
(Paul)
So I’m in aperture priority; I’m pretty sure turning this dial here should…
(John)
Well, that’s changing ISO, it looks like. Okay.
(Paul)
Ooh, yes.
(John)
Well, it must be something on the touch screen.
(Paul)
Maybe we’re still… that’s um, actually exposure compensation.
(John)
Oh, is that what it is?
(Paul)
So, have we got? Ah, look, there’s another dial on the front! So this one here is exposure compensation; and then on the front, of course, is your actual aperture; makes more sense.
(John)
Ok, so we can get it at 3.5.
(Paul)
Ok, so we’re wide open now.
(John)
Ok, get in as tight as you can. How close can it focus?
(Paul)
Well, that’s a good point, let’s see. [Focuses on John]
(John)
Focus on the closer eye. So, we’re about, what, that’s maybe 40 cm?
(Paul)
Ok, it’s saying “No” there, but there is ok.
[Shutter clicks]
So that was f/3.5 at 320th; and, this way, so a single tap – so let’s just find there…
So I obviously focused on his eyelashes…
Let’s come back out again. [Zooms out on review screen]
So… to see where it’s actually focusing. I think I was a bit off the mark.
You see I’ve actually focused up there.
(John)
Okay.
(Paul)
I’ll have to try that again.
(John)
Yeah. Well, what do you say we put another lens on this, Paul?
(Paul)
Ok, yeah, that’s a good idea.
(John)
Luckily, we’ve got one on offer!
(Paul)
Oh, that’s very handy, isn’t it?
(John)
What would you like? Maybe a 90 mm?
(Paul)
A 90 sounds like a nice choice!
(John)
Let’s try that. Okay!
It’s not even Christmas!
(Paul)
It is to me!
(John)
Oh, here, try putting the hood on that one; see what it looks like.
(Paul)
Ok, let’s do that.
(John)
Is it a metal hood?
(Paul)
[Taps hood]
Ooh, I don’t know. It sort of feels cold; I hope it is, because although other people are not – and YES it is!
[Taps hood again – metallic sound]
(John)
Ooh, that does look nice!
(Paul)
Indeed it’s… I’m going to put it on there just to give it a try.
[Puts hood on camera]
How about we actually put it on at the right spot?
Look at that. That’s alright, not too big. Still, gives good coverage.
(John)
We don’t have the hood; there is a hood for this lens we just don’t have it on right now. [Picks up the Fuji]
But still… do your A-B comparison there. How does your hand holding feel?
[Gives Paul the Fuji to compare]
(Paul)
Well, I do like the way the grip works on the Fuji; that is nice, it sits in the hand well. But…
(John)
There’s no doubt about it, the DNA in these cameras is completely different. I mean, this [pointing to Fuji] is a box with a lot of square angles on it and a control for everything; whereas this is a software based camera, and it’s just a chunk of milled aluminium; and it really is a beautiful camera. [Points to the Hasselblad]
(Paul)
Sits in the hand very nicely. And actually, the balancing is quite different. See what you think. [Hands cameras to John]
It does sit in the hand very well; the way that grip is next to your thumb.
(John)
Yeah, I like that, that sort of, there’s this little spot here so that the weight comes through, you know, that moment, that sort of balances it.
Now here [taking the Hasselblad] … oh! Wow! That’s interesting! That really is interesting. It just feels it’s not that heavy.
(Paul)
No, and the balance is quite good.
(John)
A low profile body cap.
(Paul)
Makes sense. Ok, we have a little additional 12 months warranty.
(John)
I think this is signed by the same guy.
(Paul)
Now, that’s interesting; the Hasselblad XCD lens is supplied with a 12-month warranty, or 1,000,000 exposures, whichever comes first.
(John)
So, they’re saying the shutter is good for 1,000,000 actuations.
(Paul)
Yes, which is quite considerable, compared to anything else!
(John)
Yes!
(Paul)
So, I’d imagine in total, 2 years warranty; but, 1,000,000 exposures?
(John)
Wow.
[Paul removes the foam cover from the new lens box]
(Paul)
Would you do the pleasure? Thank you. Woo… come out! [Struggles a bit to remove the foam]
Yes, try your side.
[John tries to grab his side of the foam]
(John)
It’s a bit slippery, isn’t it?
(Paul)
Yeah, let’s go… now I’ve got it at an angle.
(John)
Oh, now you’ve got it. Right.
Takes two people to open a box!
(Paul)
Well, it takes us; two of us to open a box.
[Laughter]
(John)
And here’s the hood. [Removes from the underside of the foam]
(Paul)
Oh, yes, I was about to say, where has the hood gone?
(John)
Yeah.
(Paul)
There we go. Right! [Unwraps lens from plastic covering]
(John)
I tell you, my thinking is that these were boxed at two separate facilities, because of the white Styrofoam, versus that blackish high-density on the body.
(Paul)
Well, I know the optics are actually manufactured in Japan.
(John)
Yeah, so I think that probably explains the totally different sort of packaging style.
(Paul)
So, I’m not sure if the glass is made in Japan, and then they’re transferred to Sweden for production into lenses; or the whole thing is produced in Japan.
(John)
So, we’ve got a lens pouch there.
(Paul)
Nice little pouch, like the other one. Let’s pop them it over here for now. [Places box on the table]
(John)
Now, what’s the weight here?
(Paul)
Well, you feel that.
(John)
It’s a little heavier, a little longer; but physically, I mean, it looks like the barrel diameter is about the same. So that’s not bad.
(Paul)
Well, I’d imagine they’re going for similar sort of size with the um… so that’s a 67 as well. Oh, good. Ok, well let’s just have this on here.
(John)
Well, that means filters will be very affordable; and of course, there’s a 67 mm (focal) is very, very common.
(Paul)
Absolutely. See, that mount feels solid too. [Swaps lenses on the Hasselblad]
(John)
Oh, ok. Gee, I like that body cap; that’s really flush.
(Paul)
Oh, now I’ve lost the red dot.
There it is!
You can actually grip the camera quite well, like that.
So, just at the top, like old Hasselblad, and it clicks in nicely.
Let’s just put that back onto there. [Places lens cover back on the other lens]
(John)
Well, go ahead, put the hood on.
(Paul)
Let’s do that. [Unwraps hood from plastic]
Also metal! Nice and cold.
(John)
Nice finish.
(Paul)
It really has a stylishness to it, doesn’t it?
(John)
It certainly does!
(Paul)
Ok, there we go. [Turns camera back on]
On, and click whirr. Takes a bit longer to start up than the Fuji. I would say the Fuji is pretty much instantaneous.
(John)
[Agrees]
What’s that, I mean, five seconds?
(Paul)
Well, not that long; maybe a second and a half; so not that bad.
(John)
Oh, ok.
(Paul)
Well, we’re going to need to give her some charge soon.
Ok, let’s see what the minimum focus distance is. [Turns to face John]
(John)
So, we’re probably about, maybe 50 cm to 60 cm there; maybe 60.
(Paul)
Hmm, interesting.
(John)
Oh, I’ll take my glasses off…
(Paul)
[Focus beeps]
Oh, slightly further away.
[Focus beeps]
[Shutter click]
Ok, that was … so it’s obviously wide open.
(John)
Now, that sounded a lot different.
(Paul)
Now, actually, this lens is faster than I thought it was. This is 3.2, so it’s very little difference away from 2.8; it’s only about a third of a stop.
So that’s actually quite a quick lens for a medium-format, then.
Let’s have a look at that.
[Shows lens to camera]
(John)
Interesting a longer lens is the faster lens.
(Paul)
Yes. Surprising, isn’t it?
(John)
Yeah.
(Paul)
There we go. There you are. [Shows image of John on the review screen]
(John)
Oh, wow! The out of focus areas in the back look …
(Paul)
Yes, nicely diffused. Now, let’s just um, while the battery is going to…
Ah, that’s more like it! Look at that!
[Zooms in on John’s eye in the review – crystal clear]
So, absolutely nailed the corner of the eye there.
Probably too much detail, really.
(John)
Nah, you can’t have too much. [Laughs]
(Paul)
No. There we go! So, yeah, that worked very nicely. And it’s quite quick. [Takes another shot]
Yeah, that’s not bad at all. That’s much, much faster; and forms in a reliable way, The demo version, the pre-production one I had before, was nothing like this.
(John)
Well, it’s interesting because, of course, there’s the leaf shutter in the lens, and when we changed lenses, the sound is different.
(Paul)
Yeah, that is interesting; noticeably different sort of click to it. So, let’s try that again.
[Takes another photo of John]
It is, yeah, quite a different sound.
But still, a reasonable sort of delay in between the actual picture being taken and the shot registering.
Let’s have a look. [Shows review screen to camera]
Hit playback here.
I tell you what, these are very easy to use, these controls.
[Zooms in on John’s eye in the image]
No, I missed a bit by the look of it, must have had too much movement.
(John)
And what shutter were we at?
(Paul)
Um, 350th.
(John)
Okay.
(Paul)
So, let’s see. [Zooming in again on the image]
Where was I?
Or maybe they just haven’t processed?
Because, actually, it’s damn sharp.
(John)
Well, it has to render, so.
(Paul)
Yeah, yeah, it obviously hadn’t rendered. Now, that’s actually very good; much more of your actual eyelashes this time.
Now, as you can see, a little red dot on the battery symbol, we need to do a bit of charging.
(John)
Yes. I think we’ve opened a box and we’ve powered up a camera.
(Paul)
Yes, we seem to have done that!
(John)
I was very happy there was a bit of charge in that battery.
(Paul)
And I’m very happy with the way this works and how it sits in the hand.
(John)
Yeah. I mean, there are not an awful lot of medium-format cameras that you can just open a box and shoot.
[Paul agrees]
(John)
I mean, if you pulled open a brand new Phase-One kit, I mean, you might need to dive into that user’s manual for a little while.
(Paul)
You’d probably be mucking around for a while; but this is very much in the character, pretty much, most cameras; the way you can just take it out of the box and just use it!
(John)
Exactly!
(Paul)
Feels beautiful. Oh dear, I might have to have a play with one of those a bit more.
(John)
Well, now, we’ll sort of close out this video.
Conveniently, we’ve got Melbourne’s Photo Show, coming up on Saturday, April 8th. So just in a week and a bit, and Paul Daniels is going to be on hand to demonstrate, in person, to anyone who is interested – this brand new Hasselblad X1D. And of course, we’ll have the Fuji as well.
(Paul)
Yes, right alongside in comparison.
(John)
It’s worthwhile to compare each, and you know, figure out what camera might be of interest to your shooting style.
[Puts glasses back on]
It’s definitely an exciting time for medium-format!
(Paul)
Absolutely!
(John)
You’ve got these brand new entries, and they’re both mirrorless, and this is a first in the realm of medium-format.
[Paul agrees]
(John)
We hope that other companies, kind of, join the fray! There is certainly an awful lot of talk about alternate lenses, and mounting them to the Fuji, and I think we’re going to see the same thing happen with the Hasselblad.
[Paul agrees]
So, it’s a very exciting time to be a photographer at the upper end; and these are beautiful cameras to use, and of course, once you’ve dived into the image – now, keep in mind, we’ve only looked at the back of the images on the Hasselblad; but we have processed and taken a look, and I’ve printed now, done some big prints out of the Fuji – it’s incredible!
So, yeah, we certainly want to recommend that you come down to Melbourne’s Photo Show on Saturday, April 8th. We’re open from 8 am until 6 pm on that day. We’re going to have all sorts of guest lecturers; we’re going to have photo walks we’re running; we’re going to do a scavenger hunt; Paul will be here with the medium-format cameras – the Hasselblad and the Fujifilm – we’ll have… what else will we have? Oh, yes, super-tele lenses on the roof! We’ve got all sorts of fun stuff!
(Paul)
Oh yes, that’s good! I like that last one.
(John)
So, hopefully, we’ll have good weather; and we want to welcome everybody to Michael’s camera on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Lonsdale, in the heart of Melbourne’s central business district.
Remember, follow our YouTube videos; hit Like; give us your comments; give us your feedback; and tell us what you’d like to see and hear about in the future; and we’ll have some more reports on the Hasselblad as soon as we get a chance to get it charged up, get a few sample images. I know there are an awful lot of photographers on staff here who are dying to take this out for a little walk around the streets. We’ll probably have to pry it out of their hands when they’re done; possibly even your hands.
(Paul)
Oh no, oh yes, because I’m definitely first!
[Laughter]
(Paul)
So, we’ll see you on…
(John)
Anyway, thank you very much for joining us on YouTube, and we’ll see you next time!
(Paul)
Yup, thank you!
