For years, imaging companies have been avoiding mirrorless technologies in their consumer or prosumer grade cameras. Canon, Nikon, and even Hasselblad has fallen on the same boat for years since their inception. While they are not in the same playing field, they recognise the benefits of a DSLR, a camera with a single reflex mirror sitting in front of their sensors. The system was simple, and rather accurate, since you are looking at a mirror, not a digital representation of images. You are not looking into a pixelated display that offers subpar image qualities and resolutions to frame your images. Once you are ready, the shutter button pulls a lever that lifts the mirror mechanism up to reveal the sensor to your desired frame and captures your image.
Technology of mirrorless cameras have progressed plenty though. Sony’s Alpha division have championed the mirrorless camera technology for far longer than any major camera manufacturer and made it their brand. With every iteration, the mirrorless camera takes not only a new form, but also some kind of major evolution. The mirrorless camera from Sony has proven to be some of the most versatile and reliable cameras on the planet. Major news outlets have also started to adopt mirrorless cameras as their sole go to when it comes to imaging purposes. Even Canon and Nikon had to admit defeat by introducing their EOS R and Z series cameras and lenses, and then announcing last year that they are going to focus on mirrorless cameras instead of developing new DLSRs.
Hasselblad is the latest to join the band of camera makers that is abandoning the DSLR. They are not the only medium-format camera maker to go mirrorless exclusive though. Fujifilm has also championed mirrorless cameras, especially with their GFX medium-format cameras which has proved to not only be the more affordable option for that time of camera, but also more popular amongst photographers.
For Hasselblad, they have announced (not directly) that the latest Hasselblad H system will be the last of their DSLR product. According to the third-party announcement, Hasselblad will not take any more orders for the H system. They also mentioned that the H system line-up or products has officially all sold out and will not be replaced. The third-party vendor that pushed the announcement even mentioned that they cannot even replace their old malfunctioning parts. That also means that Hasselblad is completely and decisively abandoning the entire H series and its user base.
So, what if you want a Hasselblad for your studio? They have the X2D system. It is not like the H series camera though, at least not in modularity. For the X2D system, you go back to the camera body complete with its grip and sensor built-in and choose a lens for it. You get to choose between the 100C or 50C; either 100-Megapixel sensor, or 50-Megapixel sensor. The biggest upside to this and mirrorless camera is the reduction in camera size. The Hasselblad X2D series of cameras look more like a normal full-frame camera instead of a behemoth sized rig. While the sensor size prevents the camera from getting smaller, the Hasselblad X2D cameras are a lot more portable and simpler to handle. That means that you can technically take it out to the field for some stunning and highly detailed images on-the-go. It is still bulkier than modern mirrorless cameras from the likes of Canon and Nikon though, so you want to keep that in mind.
You might think that the X2D system might be more affordable. You would be right if you compare it to the H system. It is still EUR€ 8,699 (MYR 42,592*) for one X2D 100C though, which is not exactly a small amount of money, considering. The X2D 50C starts at EUR€ 6,000 (MYR 29,377*), which is slightly more affordable than the 100C, but still not what you want to call cheap. Then there are the lenses which starts off at EUR€ 1,199 (MYR 5,870*) at the very least. Still, better than paying EUR€ 34,680 (MYR 168,785*) for just a camera body. More information on Hasselblad’s latest products can be found on their website.
*approximately based on the exchange rate of EUR€ 1 = MYR 4.90 as of 16/05/2023 on xe.com
