Breaking the format

Next-gen: Hasselblad announces the groundbreaking X1D

Hasselblad's new mirrorless creation could be a pioneer among next-gen cameras

Hasselblad has just introduced what could be a gold standard in the digital camera universe — the X1D is the first compact mirrorless medium format camera to be released in the market. This means that you can grab the perfect stills of your favourite holiday locales, be it at Machu Picchu or the French Riviera. Every detail and aspect, from natural hues to the lighting that is unique to each locale can now be magnified with this amazing camera. Its features are especially crafted to suit the needs of the chronic outdoor shutterbug, thanks to its incredibly small size. It measures 150.4 mm x 98.1 mm x 71.4 mm and weighs just 725 grams, which may be bigger than a standard DSLR, but it more than makes up for it in terms of capabilities, namely the lens!

An add-on lens may add some mass to the ensemble but it still does far better than full-frame models, while offering the capabilities and results that the latter do. The X1D comes very close to offering what the Sony A7R II does as well, but easily wins over it, due to it being lighter, more compact size.

Armed with an incredible 50-megapixel CMOS sensor, which is clearly among the biggest to be found in a medium-format shooter, you can be assured that each pixel captured has appropriate light gathered and goes on to construct stills. For shutterbugs who are time-insensitive when it comes to photography, the X1D also captures stunning images with a greater dynamic range and is rather impressive when challenged with low-lit photography. It can capture up to 14 stops of dynamic range and offers an ISO range of 100 to 25,600. This makes it a great capture tool, especially for intermediate photographers who could do with a more compact piece around their necks.

Another interesting aspect of the Hasselblad X1D is the electronic viewfinder, which is considered commonplace in cameras of this genre. The subject can be monitored conveniently on a three-inch touchscreen LCD that offers a generous 920k resolution. This reminds one of the brand's bigger H6 variant to a large extent. However, the X1D does throw in a pair of SD slots, WiFi, GPS and shoots videos at 1080p. The slow boot-up and card storage speeds makes one thing clear - the X1D isn't for sports photography.

Given that it is designed to be an avid traveller's companion, the X1D is built for ruggedness. It can do a fair job keeping dust and moisture at bay. Hasselblad is sweetening the deal by offering two autofocus lenses that will be sold as standalone accessories. Both, the 45 mm and the 90 mm lenses, come with integrated shutter mechanisms and can shoot up to 1/2000th of a second.

As expected, the Hasselblad X1D doesn't come cheap. While we do not have an India-specific pricing at the time this was written, the body is priced at $8,995 (around ₹6,00,500). For those seeking a compact mirrorless camera, the price wouldn't be a benchmark as much as the advantages of this compact shooter could ever be. This could truly be a momentous launch for the Swedish brand which has entered its 75th year, and has a history of producing remarkable cameras.

(This article was published on August 22, 2016)

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Source: Breaking the format