Silverpixel News

The DC Power grip, compatible with all H system models, allows you to ignore the need for a reserve battery grip or having to take inhibiting power-conservation measures when working untethered.
Applications can range from working in the studio to specialised set ups on location where timed surveillance or remote controlled situations, for example, require the camera to be on standby for long periods unattended. The grip fits the camera in the conventional manner but takes its power requirements from an exterior source, connected via the supplied transformer. The outlet can be a regular domestic type, a generator or a battery/transformer configuration that matches the specifications listed below. A conventional AC plug on the transformer allows the freedom to use a standard power cord suited to the requirements of the country of use.
In addition, the conventional DC plug on the grip also allows a direct connection to a suitable matching power pack (7.5 VDC / 6 A ) without the need for the transformer, for the optimum in flexibility.

Hasselblad is launching a new versatile zoom lens, the HCD 35-90mm, to join its expanding HC/HCD lens line. The HC/HCD lenses equal or outperform even the legendary Hasselblad/Zeiss lenses, including the iconic CF 3.5/100mm and CF 5.6/250mm SA, considered by most experts to be the finest lenses ever made for professional photographers.
Hasselblad boss, Christian Poulsen said at Photokina, “As part of our constant efforts to produce the world’s best lenses, our engineers have combined our advanced optical design models and the H System’s unique ability to digitally compensate for any aberrations with a new aspheric lens element design. The result is what we think will prove to be the highest performing zoom lens on the market today”.
The HCD 35-90mm Aspherical, which can be used with all H3D camera systems, is also the first HC/HCD lens to employ glass elements with aspherical surfaces, allowing more compact designs with fewer lens elements. Compared with the HC 3.5-4.5/50-110mm lens, not only does it provide a wider angle of view, but it is also thinner and about one third lighter, while still delivering an image quality far superior to a zoom lens on a 35mm DSLR, without any loss in the flexibility.
To achieve its compact form, the light projection of the lens has been designed for the ‘48mm full format’ sensor of the H3DII-39 and H3DII-50. At the wide-angle setting, in particular, Hasselblad’s designers have balanced improvements in lens performance with a slightly greater distortion and vignetting as these are eliminated by Hasselblad’s Digital APO Correction (DAC) without any compromise on quality. The outcome is a powerful tool that zooms from an impressive 83 degree, wide-angle to just beyond the fringes of a normal lens.
The Hasselblad HCD 4-5.6/35-90mm Aspherical zoom lens will be available from January 2009 at a price yet to be announced in Australia.

General lens data
Focal length: 36,3 (87) mm
Aperture range: 4,0 (5,6) - 32
Angle of view diag/hor/vert: 83°/70°/55° (39°/31°/24°)
Length/diameter: 167 mm/102,5 mm
Weight: 1410 g
Filter diameter: 95 mm

Close focus range data
Minimum distance object to image plane: 0.65 m
Maximum image scale: 1:13 (1:5,4)
Corresponding area of coverage: 64 x 48 (26 x 20) cm
Corresponding exposure reduction: 0 f-stop

Compatibility
The HCD 4,0-5,6/35-90 mm lens is not compatible with the converter H1.7x and the HTS 1.5 Tilt/Shift adapter.

The H3DII-50 is the top model of Hasselblad’s H3DII family, and as the fifth generation of our medium format DSLR camera system, sets a new standard for image detail. The 50Mpix sensor is implemented in the 48mm full-frame house also used for the renowned H3DI-39 camera. This 36mmx48mm sensor size has two advantages. It provides the basis for advanced and well balanced lens performance and it allows you to work with our revolutionary HTS 1.5 tilt/shift adapter which by enlarging the image circle make room for +/- 18mm shift and +/-10 degrees of tilt. With its unique large and bright viewfinders, its wide range of HC and HCD lenses, which match the best of the Hasselblad icon lenses from Carl Zeiss, and its wide choice of accessories, the H3DII-50 is the ultimate camera choice for the discerning professional photographer who will simply not settle for second best. In addition to the added-value options inherent in the Hasselblad camera system, it is Hasselblad image quality that stands out the most. The H3DII-50 has been developed around a new digital camera engine, which delivers increased lens performance and a new level of image sharpness. By focusing on the integrated digital camera architecture, Hasselblad is able to offer the full benefits of professional medium-format digital cameras with the ease of-use found in the best 35mm DSLRs. With the H3DII architecture as a base, Hasselblad has developed the ultra highperforming HCD 28mm and 35-90mm Zoom lens, designed and optimized solely for digital image capture. Image quality is lifted to a level yet unseen in digital photography, including automatic digital correction for chromatic aberration, distortion and vignetting. Hasselblad’s Natural Color Solution delivers out-of-the-box image quality only achievable in a true digital camera system.

The H3DII-50 camera system has been especially designed to meet the demands of the high-end commercial photographer who demands both flexibility and ultimate image quality. The H3DII-50 includes:
• highest image resolution from 50Mpixel sensor
• the freedom to choose between eye-level and waist-level viewfinders
• the choice of combining point-and–shoot and tilt/shift to solve creative commercial challenges
• the ability to combine working tethered and un-tethered to get the most of your camera system both on location and in the studio
• the option of processing your images in Hasselblad’s Phocus imaging toolbox, or working with your raw images directly in Apple’s Aperture.

The H3DII-50 features Kodak’s 50 Mpixel sensor, measuring 36×48mm, twice the physical size of the largest 35mm DSLR sensors. Basic ISO rating is from ISO 50 to ISO 400. Using H3DII-50 with Hasselblad’s Phocus software, the ISO can be bumped further to ISO 800. As withits fellow H3DII models, the H3DII-50 makes use of a new high speed capture architecture capturing full size, compressed 65 Mbyte images at the rate of 1.1 seconds per capture, working either mobile or tethered to a computer.

The combination of these features makes the H3DII-50 the natural choice for the professional commercial photographer wanting to work with the highest image resolution within a camera system that supports ultimate creative expression in order to deliver outstanding image quality to satisfy the most demanding customer.

Medium Format digital capture advantage
In digital photography, the advantages of large format cameras have become even more obvious. The 6×4.5 cm window allows the H3DII-50 to use the largest image sensors currently available in digital photography
– up to more than twice the physical size of a 35mm camera sensor. Consequently the sensor holds more and larger pixels, which deliver the highest possible image quality in terms of moiré-free colorrendering without gradation break-ups in even the finest lit surfaces.

An impressive lens line
The highly renowned HC/HCD lens line includes10 Auto-Focus lenses, all with central shutters. Range is from 28mm to 300mm, 50-110mm zoom, and 1.7X converter. The HTS 1.5 tilt/shift adapter delivers an easy to use, portable tilt/shift solution for 4 HC/HCD lenses ranging from 28mm to 80mm. The CF adapter allows use of the classic CF-lenses from the Hasselblad V-camera, with full use of their central shutters, allowing flash to be employed at shutter speeds up to 1/800s. The central shutter also improves image quality by reducing camera vibration. And thanks to the large format of the H System cameras, there is a considerably shallower depth of field range, making it much easier to utilize selective focus to creative effect.

A choice of large and bright viewfinders
One of the important traditional advantages of the medium format is the extra-large and bright viewfinder image, enabling extremely precise compositions and easy operation in dim lighting. The H3DI-50 comes with the HVD 90x viewfinder designed for full performance over the large 36×48mm sensor. Hasselblad has added an interchangeable waist-level viewfinder, the HVM, for the entire range of H system cameras. The bright and large viewfinder image is ideal for creative composing and the photographer is able to shoot in the fashion that suits them most; maintaining eye contact with the model, or gaining impact by shooting from a point lower than eye-level, for example.

Phocus software for the professional
Phocus provides an advanced software toolbox that has been especially designed to achieve optimum workflow and absolute image perfection from Hasselblad raw image files.
With the H3DII-50 camera system Phocus provides:
• Uncompromising Image Quality
• Special extended camera controls with which to operate your H3DII-50 camera. These features, such as live video for easier shot set-up and workflow, or the ability to control the lens drive for focusing when the camera is in a remote position or when the digital capture unit is mounted on a view camera, bring an entirely new level of flexibility to the way you shoot.
• Moiré Removal Technology automatically applied directly on the raw data, leaving image quality intact and eliminating the need to carry out special masking selections or other manual procedures, saving hours of tedious post-production work.
• Flexible Workflow. The Phocus GUI features easy-to-use options that allow you to customize your set-up to suit a range of different workflow situations, such as choice of import source, browsing/comparison functions, file management, image export in a number of file formats, pre-setting of options for upcoming shoots, and much, much more.
• New Metadata (GPS, etc). The extended metadata included in all Phocus images provides for accurate and detailed cataloguing and indexing, easy image management, and includes added GPS data functionality in order to allow a range of new functions. Phocus links GPS data directly to Google Earth, for example, making geographic reference a snap and image storage and retrieval much easier.
• Perfect Viewing Quality. The Phocus Viewer delivers image viewing quality that matches every detail of what you will see later in Photoshop. In addition, the Phocus Viewer allows you to customize layout and composition to suit your current or desired workflow, providing a wide range of options including full view, compare, browse, horizontal, or vertical view, and so on. You can have multiple folders open simultaneously for side-by-side viewing, comparison, and selection.

Ultra-Focus and Digital Auto Correction for image perfection
The H3DI-50 camera allows information from the lens and exact capture conditions to be fed to the camera processor for ultra-fine-tuning of the auto-focus mechanism, taking into account the design specifications of the lens and the optical specifications of the sensor. In this way the full HC lens program is even further enhanced, bringing a new level of sharpness and resolution. Digital correction for color aberration and distortion is also added. “Digital Auto Correction” (DAC), is an APO-chromatic correction of the images based on a combination of the various parameters concerning each specific lens for each specific shot, ensuring that each image represents the best that your equipment can produce.
Based upon these techniques, Hasselblad has been able to expand our lens program with a 28mm and 35-90 zoom lens that have been especially developed for the H3DII product family. The design of these lenses have been optimized for the actual 36×48mm area of the sensor to make it more compact and to work in conjunction with DAC. This is a critical part of the technology behind capturing perfect images with this extraordinary lens. The result is clear: DAC increases image resolution and delivers perfect pixels, thereby providing an ideal basis for optimal image rendering.

Hasselblad’s unique natural colors
Hasselblad’s Natural Color Solution (HNCS) enables you to produce outstanding and reliable out-of-the-box colors, with skin tones, specific product colors and other difficult tones reproduced easily and effectively.
In order to incorporate our new unique HNCS and DAC-features we have developed a custom Hasselblad raw file format called 3F RAW (3FR). This file format includes lossless image compression, which reduces the required storage space by 33%. The 3FR files can be converted into Adobe’s raw image format DNG (‘Digital Negative’), bringing this new technology standard to the professional photographer for the first time. In order to utilize DA C and optimize the colors of the DNG file
format, conversion from 3FR must take place through Phocus.

GPS Recording Flexibility
Hasselblad’s Global Image Locator (GIL) is an accessory for use with any Hasselblad H-System digital capture product. With the GIL device, all images captured outside are tagged with GPS coordinates, time and altittude. This data provides the key to a number of future applications involving image archiving and retrieval. One example is the direct mapping of images in Phocus software to the Google Earth application.

Instant Approval Architecture
Building on the success of its Audio Exposure Feedback technology, Hasselblad has created Instant Approval Architecture (IAA), an enhanced set of feedback tools, designed to enable the photographer to focus on the shoot rather than the selection process. IA triggers audible and visual signals for each image captured, notifying the photographer immediately of its classification status. The information is recorded both in the file and in the file name, providing a quick and easy way to classify and select images, in the field or back at the studio. IAA is a Hasselblad trademark and Hasselblad has a patent pending on the invention.
Extra large 3” display on the H3DII-50 provide a realistic, high quality and perfect contrast image view, even in bright sunlight.

Three modes of operation and storage
The H3DII-50 offers a choice of storage devices: portable CF cards, the flexible ImageBank-II or a computer hard drive. With these three operating and storage options, you are able to select a mode to suit the nature of the work in hand, whether in the studio or on location.

Options for working with tilt/shift
Two basic options are available for tilt/shift work with H3DII-50. A simple, portable adapter solution and the classic view camera solution. The HTS tilt/shift adapter for H3DII-50 allows for portable tilt/shift with
the HC/HCD lense range from 28mm to 80mm.
To further increase usability, the H3DI-50 has been designed to allow the digital capture unit to be detached and used on a view camera by way of an adapter.

H3DII with HTS 1.5 tilt/
shift adapter and
a HCD 28mm lens.

SPECIFICATIONS

 Sensor size: 50 Mpixels (6132×8176 pixels)
Sensor dimensions: 36.8×49.1 mm
Pixel size: 6.0μm
Image size: RAW 3FR capture 65 MB on average. TIFF 8 bit: 150 MB
RAW file format: Lossless compressed Hasselblad 3FR
Shooting mode: Single shot
Color definition: 16 bit
ISO speed range: ISO 50, 100, 200 and 400
3 storage options: CF card type U-DMA (e.g. SanDisk extreme IV), ImageBank-II or tethered to Mac or PC
Color management: Hasselblad Natural Color Solution
CF storage capacity: 2 GB CF card holds 30 images on average
Capture rate: 1.1 seconds per capture
Color display: 3 inch TFT type, 24 bit color, 230 400 pixels
Histogram feedback: Yes
IR filter Mounted on CCD sensor
Acoustic feedback: Yes
Software, included: Phocus for Mac; FlexColor for PC
Platform support: Macintosh: OSX version 10.5. Windows: NT, 2000, XP, XP64, Vista and Vista64.
Host connection type: FireWire 800 (IEEE1394b)
View camera compatibility: Yes, controlled via flash sync. Electronic shutters must be controlled from local panel.
Operating temperature: 0 - 45 ˚C / 32 - 113 ˚F
Dimensions: Complete camera w. HC80 mm lens: 153 x 131 x 213 mm [W x H x D]
Weight: 2290 g (Complete camera w. HC80 mm lens, Li-Ion battery and CF card)
Lenses: HC / HCD auto-focus lens line with integral central lens shutter. All C-type lenses from V-camera system available via CF converter, with full central lens shutter operation
Shutter speed range: 32 seconds to 1/800 second
Flash sync speed: Flash can be used at all shutter speeds.
Viewfinder options:
•HVD 90x: 90° eye-level viewfinder w. diopter adjustment (-5 to +3.5D). Image magnification 3.1 times. Integral
fill-flash (G.No. 12 @ ISO100). Hot shoe for SCA3002-system flashes from Metz™.
•HV 90x: 90° eye-level viewfinder w. diopter adjustment (-4 to +2.5D). Image magnification 2.7 times. Integral
fill-flash (G.No. 12 @ ISO100). Hot shoe for SCA3002-system flashes from Metz™.
•HVM: Waist-level viewfinder
Focusing: Autofocus metering with passive central cross-type sensor. Ultra focus digital feedback. Instant manual focus override. Metering range EV 1 to 19 at ISO 100.
Flash control: Automatic TTL centre weighted system. Uses built-in flash or flashes compatible with SCA3002 (Metz™). Output can be adjusted from -3 to +3EV. For manual flashes a built-in metering system is available.
Exposure metering: Metering options: Spot, Centre Weighted and CentreSpot. Metering range Spot: EV2 to 21, Centre Weighted: EV1 to 21, CentreSpot: EV1 to 21
Power supply: Rechargeable Li-ion battery (7.2 VDC / 1850 mAh). Optional cassette for 3 CR-123 Lithium batteries included.
Film compatibility: No

The revolutionary HTS 1.5 is a tilt and shift adapter that can provide a pivotal step-up for many hasselblad photographers. designed for the HCD28mm, HC35mm, HC50mm, HC80mm and the HC100mm lenses it, in effect, adds five different “tilt and shift lenses” to the range. With the extension tubes, H13, H26 or H52, the HTS 1.5 can also be used for close-up work. This simple device solves not only technical challenges, but also provides exciting opportunities for creative solutions as well. The combination of well-known optical principles combined with the latest in digital image control, provides a powerful package that will expand photographic expression to new levels.

“Shift” is the moving of a lens, up and down or to the sides, from its central position while retaining its perpendicular orientation to the film plane. simply put, the adapter expands the diameter of the projected image circle at the film plane. This allows for much greater freedom in “placing” the image area within the now much broader circle before vignetting takes effect. and most importantly, all this happens without moving the orientation of the camera in relation to the subject. so if verticals, for example, are acceptable in the viewfinder, they will remain so whatever the amount of shift to include the “hidden” parts of the image. Simple but ingenious.
“Tilt” differs from shift in that the normal perpendicular orientation of the lens to the film plane is changed resulting in a change in the plane of focus. This means that at any given aperture/focus setting, the depth of field in the subject will not remain as simply the space between two measured points from the camera as is normally the case, but increased or decreased. This amount is user controlled. Once again, simple but ingenious.
By combining these two laws of physics, the doors of creative solutions are thrown wide open. The list of situations that could advantageously exploit tilt and shift is probably longer than it might first appear to be. for some professional photographers it could rapidly become an essential item for all work.
But the story doesn’t end there. Large-format users have been using tilt and shift for many years, partly because they could, but partly because they had to. some photographic solutions unfortunately, have also created problems, lens edge performance, for example, being one of them. The dilemma that arose forced photographers to find a compromise, between the “illness” and the “cure”. Hasselblad has now eradicated this dilemma.
With the introduction of automatic chromatic aberration correction computation (DAC), significant improvements strike the viewer immediately. all calculations and adjustments take place in the background monitored and governed by sensors in the adapter. The sharpness at the edge of the frame, despite the fact that the lens is pushed to its limits, remains stunning.
On the creative front, it has long been standard practice for photographers to break the rules in order to produce images that show something just a little different. Large-format users were well-acquainted with the imaginative possibilities that arose from making the “wrong” camera or lens movements. And now Hasselblad Users can enjoy this stimulating freedom as well. fascinating and captivating images are easily conjured up and controlled with just a few slight movements. The combination of large sensors and razor sharp lenses – and now tilt and shift possibilities – Hasselblad has brought some of the creative aspect of former large-format world to the digital medium format.
Take a look at this revolutionary accessory at Silverpixel.
Try it yourself out to see how this new product could rapidly become an essential part of your photography toolkit. The powerful combination of tilt, shift and DAC can bring new perspectives to your photographic vision and provide a marked change in both the technical and creative aspects of your work.

COMPATIBLE LENSES AND EXTENSION TUBES
HCD28, HC35, HC50, HC80 and HC100
Extension tube 13mm, 26mm and 52mm

MOVEMENTS
The lens can be shifted 18 mm, either upwards or downwards, and it can be tilted 10 degrees up or down. Tilt and shift can be combined according to the diagram.

HTS settings are presented on camera grip LCD and are also embedded in the image file.

MOVEMENTS - ROTATION
The HTS 1.5 adapter can be rotated 90 degrees to the left or right to enable free placement of sharpness plane and shift direction.

USE OF TILT

By tilting the lens in relation to the image plane, you can effectively tilt the plane of sharpness in the subject. Depending on your idea of the final image you can either use tilt to enlarge the apparent depth of field or reduce it.

USE OF SHIFT
For perfect parallel vertical lines in the image, the camera needs to be parallel to the subject. Tilting the whole camera would produce converging parallel lines. But by shifting the lens parallel to the image plane, you can raise or lower the view without tilting the camera. If the subject is a building as in this example, the camera should be placed level.

STITCHING
The HTS 1.5 lends itself extremely well to automatic stitching to create a panoramic image in super high quality. With most subjects it will be impossible to detect any dividing line between the separate images. The main reasons for this are:
• The lens is shifted sideways and therefore does not produce any distortion of the subject
• The DAC lens correction for distortion and vignetting ensures perfect images that can easily be stitched together
The resulting image can be created in any high-end stitching software, e.g. the “Photomerge” function in Adobe Photoshop CS3 or later.

PROCEDURE
Place the camera on a tripod and aim it at a subject. Then set the HTS 1.5 in the normal position with no tilt or shift. Rotate the HTS 1.5 with the controls facing up to allow for sideways shift. Make the first exposure in the mid position. Shift to both end positions and make an exposure in each position. Develop the three images with DA C turned on. Import the images into the stitching software and follow the instructions.

In the case of Adobe Photoshop CS3, use the following procedure:
• open the three images
• Go to menu: “File - Automate - Photomerge”
• Click on “add open files” and check “interactive layout”
• Click OK
• In the preview that appears you can choose to modify the
layout, but in most cases there will be no need for any manual
interaction.
• Finally click OK and the final stiched image will be processed.
If the stitch is not perfect, you can modify the layer masks for
each layer.

HCD28 and HTS 1.5 – The three images above have been merged into one image using Adobe Photoshop CS3 “Photomerge”.

In April myself and Charlie Waite from the UK conducted a 10 day workshop in the Kimberley region of Western Australia (http://www.nickrains.com/Kimberley%20Workshop.html). I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a Hasselblad H3Dll to take away with me and I thought LL readers would be interested in my impressions of this high-end camera.

First Impressions

David Roche at Silverpixel in Sydney sent me a brand new body, 80mm and 28mm lens and it was a pleasure to see how well they were boxed. It was the work of moments to pull out the camera and lenses, assemble the kit and get shooting.

The H3Dll feels very solid, as you would expect from such a venerable brand name.. The grip is quite ergonomic and the weight of the camera is countered by this to some extent. It’s not a light camera and hand holding for extended periods could be a chore. I used it on a tripod most of the time and had no problems with steady shots when I chose to grab a shot hand-held.

On the tripod the camera is easy to use but the eye-level viewfinder means you have to have the camera higher than one would expect from a medium format camera. The issue here is that you cannot see the LCD panel on the top of the grip if you have the camera at eye-level, and if you have it low enough to see the LCD, then you have to crouch to see through the finder. I’d have preferred to have the grip camera settings data available on the rear LCD or a viewfinder with an angled eyepiece like the earlier Hasselblad viewfinders

One brilliant aspect of the H3Dll,(and a continuing bone of contention with Canon) is that there is a mirror-up button right under one’s forefinger when holding the grip. Press for up, shoot, and press for down – so easy. What’s more, there are 4 user definable buttons so you can customise the camera to your own needs very easily. Good one Hasselblad.

I’m not a big fan of medium format cameras that need to be turned on their sides when shooting vertical – it’s fine for hand held but not so good on a tripod. I loved my old Mamiyas for their rotating backs and wish the Hassy could offer something similar – even a two-position mount like the Horseman SWD. Tilting over such a heavy camera makes it necessary to use a tripod head heavier that one might like – or to use an “L “ bracket from RRS or Kirk.

Working with this camera was a breeze, it can be used perfectly well as an oversized 35mm camera for situations where a tripod is not possible – and it can be used in a more traditional way for landscape work as a tripod camera.

Features-wise, there is little lacking. There is auto-bracket, spot metering, aperture priority, shutter priority 1/800 - 32 secs, program, basic intervalometer etc. I’d really like to see a LiveView on the back, and some way to shoot longer exposures than 32 secs. (There is a firmware upgrade due which will take the max shutter speed up to 60secs (and add 800asa) but I’m told that a LiveView option would be such a drain on batteries as to be impractical.)

Battery life is great for this sort of camera, I got well over 150 frames before the first beep, and then there was still 30% left. Keep a spare handy and a full day’s shooting will be no problem.

Image Quality

In a word, awesome. With no AA filter to soften things up, the image straight out of the camera is pin sharp and only minimal extra sharpening is needed. Tones are smooth, with that 4×5 film tonality, and there is detail into the deepest shadows. I did see some noise in the ¾ tones but not having access to the new Phocus software I am happy to accept that this may well improve on re-processing.

I’m not going to pixel-peep, but I have posted some 100% sections which were exported as a DNG file from FlexColor 4.8.5 and opened in Adobe Camera RAW. The  images has no sharpening applied so can only get better!

I had use of the 28mm lens too. This is a sensational lens, the widest of all lenses for MFDB cameras with a diagonal angle of 95 degrees – only the Schneider 24mm Digital is wider on a view camera or similar. Corner sharpness is remarkable for such a wide lens and I shot about 80% of my images on this lens whilst I was away.

Software

Until I get my hands on a Mac I cannot comment on the Phocus software, only on FlexColor 4.8.5.

FlexColor is the same as runs the Flextight range of film scanners so anyone familiar with this software will be right at home. Simply browse a folder, import the data into FC and use the same tonal adjustments as you would have done on a film scan. It’s very easy to use and the results are very nice indeed. I’ll add an update when I reprocess the files in Phocus which adds some lens specific corrections and more sophisticated demosaicing algorithms for a superior result.

Overall

My overall impression of this camera is one of smooth ease-of-use. I took to it right away and found very few niggles with the handling apart from those mentioned above. It’s logical, the menus are easy to navigate, and the camera controls are where they should be. Optically it is as excellent as you’d imagine from Hasselblad, and whilst the supplied software is dated, the replacement, Phocus, promises great things.

It’s not a perfect landscape camera, but what is? As a general purpose camera of the highest possible image quality it is a winner and I’d have no hesitation in recommending it to all but the most hard-core of landscape photographers who genuinely need tilt / shift movements.

Following the success of the Hasselblad H3DII-39, the market’s most advanced DSLR, Hasselblad is taking its H camera system even further and today announces the launch of the Hasselblad H3DII-50, featuring a new Kodak 50 megapixel sensor, which is twice the size of the largest 35mm DSLR sensors. A new 645 sensor will also be launched in 2009.
“We are very excited to announce these two ultra-high resolution sensors,” says Christian Poulsen, Hasselblad Chief Executive Officer, “but having huge amounts of megapixels does not help your photography much if you are not using a camera system that can reap the benefits of these resolutions. What we are most proud of is the fact that the unique resolution and optical quality of our H-system lens line, combined with our digital lens correction and UltraFocus accuracy, has made it possible for Hasselblad to take our system even further with regards to the accurate capture and recording of image detail.”
Full details on the 645 sensor will be part of Hasselblad’s Strategy and Technology seminar at Photokina 2008 (23rd to 28th September, Cologne, Germany). Poulsen continues: “We will discuss the new 645 sensor and other system additions, our overall view of the Medium Format market, its future development, and our role in driving that development, at this seminar.”
Poulsen adds, “Both the H3DII-50 and the new 645 sensor are designed to serve the photographers who require the highest possible image quality and resolution, and are part of Hasselblad’s ongoing commitment to continue pushing the boundaries of high-level photography.”
The new Kodak KAF-50100 image sensor, which measures 36×48 millimeters, will be implemented in the same size housing as the H3DII-39 camera and will comprise the core of the new H3DII-50. The new sensor size is also optimized to work with Hasselblad’s new HTS 1.5 tilt/shift adapter (patent pending), which enlarges the image circle by 50% to bring the benefits of tilt/shift photography into medium format DSLR cameras. An impressive 83 line-pairs/millimeter are resolved over the full, large area of both today’s 36×48 millimeter sensor and of the upcoming larger 645 sensor.
Kodak has also added a set of entirely new features on the 50Mpix sensor, such as new dyes, which will result in even better, richer colors and take full advantage of Hasselblad’s R&D in the area of color rendering technology. The new sensor also includes a range of other new features, including quick flush technology to enable faster capture and lower power consumption, resulting in longer battery life.
Poulsen concludes, “The H3DII camera line has been specially designed to meet the challenging demands of high-end photographers, and these two new products will take the line even further, providing ultimate resolution for photographers who require the best in image quality, performance and creative freedom.”

Victor by Hasselblad, the exciting and visually stimulating magazine in a large, professional format, has proved a huge success amongst top class photographers since its launch in the autumn of 2006. In order to allow a wider audience to enjoy this exclusive publication in future, Hasselblad is pleased to announce that Victor is today being launched in an online version – providing all the content and all the quality of the paper version, plus the advantages of an online publication.

Not only will Victor online include the entire content of the printed magazine, but its interactive media facility will enable readers to search all articles and content from the current issue, access tutorials and ‘behind the scenes’ videos and subscribe to Victor Podcasts. In addition, those wishing to get closer to some of the world’s finest photography will be able to zoom in on image details.

“Victor online is not intended to be a substitute for the printed version, but rather to act as an added dimension.” Says Andreas Brakonier, Corporate Brand Manager for Victor by Hasselblad.

Issued quarterly, the glossy, full size printed version is currently produced in seven languages, with a circulation of 20,000. To ensure that photographers continue to receive maximum value from the printed version, future issues will contain additional premium content, such as interviews or additional images and an archive will be available on the website for subscribers only.

Andreas Brakonier adds, “The launch of the new online version of Victor is an exciting addition to the world of Hasselblad. There are many advantages afforded by Victor online, although the printed version will continue to be the best way for professional photographers to see the benefits of high-end photography and to view some of the world’s most stunning images.”

Victor online will be free of charge and can be viewed by registering on the Hasselblad website: www.victorbyhasselblad.com. Visitors to the website will also be able to subscribe to Podcasts of the Victor music compilations 1 and 2.

Update concerning risk of damaged 3F files when running Leopard.

February 8, 2008 we informed about the risk of damaged 3F files after abnormal computer shutdowns when running Leopard.

Since the release of OS 10.5.2. we have not registered any cases where imported 3F files are damaged after incidents where the Mac has lost power or encountered some kind of irregular shutdown.

Moreover, Hasselblad has not been able to replicate the problem under 10.5.2, and we are therefore very pleased to announce that this issue has been solved.

Best regards

Carsten Kronborg
Corporate After Sales Manager

In response to market demands to continue the development of DSLR technologies for new applications, Hasselblad announces the H3DII-39MS, a multi-shot version of the recently announced H3DII-39 DSLR that will deliver digital images of the finest quality for architectural and still life photography. Previously available only on Hasselblad multi-shot digital backs, much of the multi-shot technology in the new H3DII-39MS comes from the extremely popular 39 megapixel Hasselblad CF-39MS digital back. Combining the benefits of the CF-39MS’s multi-shot technology with the full functionality and integration of the H3DII-39 DSLR, the H3DII-39MS completely eliminates the need to interpolate images and enables both single- and multi-shot DSLR capability, giving photographers the ultimate in flexibility and moiré-free image quality.

H3DII-39MS users will gain the full benefits of the all the key features of the new H3DII DSLR system, providing outstanding pixel resolution, better colors, and improved detail rendering. Such features include a new RAW converter; Ultra-Focus™, which compensates for minute changes in the plane of focus resulting from changes in aperture; and DAC-Digital Auto Correction™, which offers digital APO correction, digital distortion correction, and now anti-vignetting to deliver for the first time full digital lens correction, when used with Hasselblad HC and HCD lenses.

The H3DII-39MS will not be film compatible, but, as with the H3D and H3DII product families, will offer photographers the ability to use the digital magazine, which contains the sensor unit and related technology, on a view camera via an adapter.

Christian Poulsen, CEO of Hasselblad, comments: “For more than fifty years, it has been Hasselblad’s mission to enable photographers to create the finest images possible, and it is clear that today the best way to accomplish this is with an integrated DSLR. An integrated system produces the highest image quality, due to the fact it enables the integration of all key components, including the lenses, within the camera system, and in the H3DII also enables features such as Ultra-Focus and DAC-Digital Auto Correction, allowing Hasselblad to offer customers full digital lens correction for the first time ever.

Further acknowledging the specific demands of film photographers, Hasselblad is also announcing the H2F, a simplified, film-only version of the H2 camera, which it is replacing. By removing the high-end digital imaging technology found in the H2, which is unnecessary for shooting with the film-only H2F, and therefore simplifying the manufacturing process, Hasselblad is able to offer the H2F at a substantially lower price than the H2. The H2F offers full compatibility with H System HV viewfinders, film magazines, and HC lenses.

It is Hasselblad’s strategy to excel in the high-end segment of the photographic market and offer camera systems that deliver the best image quality and the most flexibility. While the company offers the premier DSLR solution with the H3DII product line and will support the legacy of film photography with the H2F camera, market demand does not justify the cost of maintaining the additional manufacturing line for the dual-platform H2. In keeping with its customer-centric modus operandi, Hasselblad will, however, continue to offer service and support for H1 and H2 owners for a minimum of 7 years from date of purchase. Meanwhile, the H3DII, H3DII-39MS and the H2F are being assembled in Copenhagen, Denmark and Gothenburg, Sweden, on new production lines engineered specifically for their unique designs and assembly requirements.

The H3DII-39MS will be available from January 2008 and the H2F from November 2007 worldwide.

An attractive trade-in program has been announced that enables current Hasselblad users, as well as users of third party digital backs, to upgrade to the H3DII system, including the H3DII-39MS.

With the update of Apple’s Leopard operating system to OS X 10.5.2, Apple now includes official support for the Hasselblad raw files (3FR, FFF and DNG) that are produced from a range of the Hasselblad digital camera solutions. The new Aperture 2 release also includes support for these Hasselblad raw file formats.

The free Leopard update includes support for Hasselblad raw image files in the 3FR, FFF and DNG format, created with any Hasselblad digital camera product with a 16Mpix, 22Mpix, 31Mpix or 39Mpix sensor.

This update means that Hasselblad raw files (3FR, FFF and DNG) will now be visible in Finder and able to be opened directly from popular applications such as Preview, iPhoto, and Aperture. An added benefit of the new OS X support is the creation of thumbnails for both FFF and 3FR files, enabling quick file inspection via Quick Look.

This most recent news from Apple is yet another indication of the increasing compatibility of Hasselblad raw 3FR and FFF files in a wide range of photographic applications and workflows. Apple’s raw file processing is very fast, and delivers images with a generally high image quality, resulting in a level of image quality sufficient for standard application.

The quality of the images produced, however, will not equal that of those processed via Hasselblad’s proprietary FlexColor or Phocus software, which provide a number of quality parameters not attainable from third party software, including:

- Digital lens corrections (not included by Apple, with the exception of chromatic aberration correction on exported DNGs)
- Moiré removal
- Color handling
- Noise reduction