Hasselblad XCD 21mm sample gallery

Looks good to me. Thank you.

Jun 12, 2018permalink

Excellent quality from the x1d.

Jun 15, 2018permalink

Double post. Apologies.

Jun 15, 2018permalink

The Name is Bond

Yet again confirms for me that ultra-wide is not for making attractive pics or fine art but pure function; interiours etc.

Makes me want to go out and take architecture pics with my 50mm, and landscapes with 135mm.

Jun 11, 2018permalink

Slouch Hooligan

Many posters have mentioned hand-held vs tripod for sharp shots. A page from military marksmanship training:
BRASS—
Beathe
Relax
Aim
Slack
Squeeze

This assumes a stable posture standing, kneeling, squatting,sitting, or lying.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Slouch Hooligan

SP—Breathe

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Merida

How come Breathe and not Open Eyes?

Jun 12, 2018permalink

Slouch Hooligan

Merida: That was a spelling correction. But do, by all means, open your eyes while doing photography, or marksmanship.

Jun 12, 2018permalink

It would be of interest to know if you do the shots handheld,tripod,mono stick,a post to lean on.Comments seem concerned about stability handheld.Lot of keepers in that sample gallery.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Medium format image quality shots are great.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

SmilerGrogan

Ah, Bournemouth!

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Beautiful pictures, excellent photography, especially the dudes getting their freak on in Spandex bunny and Ninja Turtle costumes. I remember the 60s so I am sure that I would dig where they're coming from and would be 100 percent supportive of whatever message they're trying to send.
But captions would be helpful in understanding what got these buff dudes so riled up that they decided their only course of action was to don skin-tight costumes and scandalize British families out for a quiet day at the beach.

Jun 10, 2018*permalink

Nikoncanonfan

How could you handhold a 100mp medium format camera without at least lens stabilisation? I cant see that going well...

Jun 9, 2018permalink

(unknown member)

Maybe the kind of photographer who buys this equipment uses a tripod, stand, or boom with gimbals.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Nikoncanonfan

Quite honestly it would need to be set in concrete before an attempt at a sharp picture..

Jun 9, 2018permalink

MyReality

It is easier to use a heavy camera and lens combo for better results, because their is more mass and weight to be moved(inertia). Also better for vibration damping.
How did the photographers 30 or 40 years ago ever take pictures at in NFL game?

Jun 10, 2018permalink

It's all in how you hold the camera. I think of it as an iron hand in a velvet glove. You hold the camera gently with your fingertips but at the same time keep your arms and shoulders tensed like you're going to hoist a 100lb bag of cement. When you do it right, you can feel the camera vibrations propagate into your hands where they dissipate instead of shaking the camera.
It also helps to push the shutter release very slowly and softly, as though you were trying to kiss a sleeping baby without waking it up.
Or you can use the old neck-strap-across-your-shoulders-and-pull-taut technique. But forget monopods. They're useless in my opinion. Tripods, only if they're gargantuan, but then they work amazingly well.

Jun 10, 2018*permalink

MyReality

@MrBrightSide - No matter what kind of camera I am using, I use the classic technique from years ago. First I check the direction of the wind, then place my body sideways into the wind and separate my two legs apart. Keep my arms together and elbows to me sides. Hold my breath and gently tip the shutter. In the past, this was known as the tripod stance.
I can take very good pictures using this technique at 1/30 sec. with no IS or VR in the lens.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Jon555

Pixels aren't that tiny due to larger sensor, so level of steadiness required isn't that great. The smaller 100MP MF sensor has 3.76um Pixels, which is very close to a 24MP APS sensor (Fuji/Nikon/Sony 3.9um, Canon 3.7um). Just add a factor of 1.6 into the shutter speed vs focal length calculation.

Jun 14, 2018permalink

dmanthree

Looks like a class optic, but as the "bunny guys" shot shows, sometimes you want *less* detail. A lot less. :-D

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Mateus1

4:3 ratio is not nice for landscape, architecure shots. 3:2 would be much better.
Then why to bother with this" tiny" MF sensor? A7r3 seems better choice.

Jun 9, 2018*permalink

obsolescence

I think just the opposite is true for architecture. That could be because I spent many years shooting 4x5 and 8x10 formats that are even closer to square, but it's also because most publications would have to crop the 3:2 images. This Hasselblad quality is approaching that of 4x5" film, however much more versatile and practical than film.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Yake

I really like the 4:3 ratio for everything. But I probably wouldn't use this ultra-wide lens for people pics.

Jun 10, 2018*permalink

Sorry, 6x6 as in the Rolleis, Yashicamats and other real cameras is the only acceptable format.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Tyson Poeckh

I find 4:3 much more appealing for portrait orientation landscape and architecture shots personally.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Astrotripper

How hard is it to crop a digital photo? Seriously...

Jun 10, 2018*permalink

NemanRa

obsolescence,

i'm not impressed that much with this camera. i prefer fuji gfx samples. especially the fuji's telephotots - 110 and 120mm the samples look "deep" and ridiculously sharp.

speaking about large format, i would say that LF is still the king.
i have sent a 4x5 provia to the pro photo lab, the results are impressive. over 200mp of details... even the mamiya-leaf 80mp can't come close... moreover, the prints are literally 3d, i feel as if i'm standing there... :)

regards

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Einride

3:2 is the amateur small picture format. 4:3 is the format of painting, of large format cameras, of mighty Mamiya RB67’s.

4:3 makes much better use of the image circle from a lens. A square format would give the smallest lenses in relation to total image area but 4:3 isn’t bad.

3:2. You’re basically throwing away most of that circle with every press of the shutter.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Mateus1

"3:2 is the amateur small picture format" - you must be kidding.

For landscape I use all 3:2 format (6x9 in MF) which I find beneficial for landscape shots.

Jun 10, 2018*permalink

You guys are kidding, right?
The aspect ratio of the picture is subordinate to the subject. It doesn’t really matter what the sensor aspect ratio is, you shoot the composition you want and then crop as needed. Circles, for instance, triangles, amorphous blob shapes, you can glue your photos on those wavy Fiberglas roof panels....

Jun 11, 2018permalink

JackM

“Approaching 4x5 film”??

Jun 11, 2018permalink

ozturert

The sample pictures look incredible. I don't remember seeing this performance in FF super-wide lenses. Even at f4 it is good, at f8-f11 it is flawless.
Some FF lenses are really good. I have used Nikon 14-24mm and it was also fantastic on 12 and 24MP sensors. But this Hassel looks... better behaved.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Fly18

It looks an excellent lens to me.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

panther fan

The samples look great no doubt. But isn't that the same with other modern lenses? Mix in a shot of the Fuji 23mm F4 or the Batis 18mm and nobody would have noticed.

For such high end lenses I think a full review would be more helpfull than a sample gallery

Jun 9, 2018permalink

deep7

Until you zoom into 100% and maybe add in some tricky lighting...

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Tape5

The lens is in a class of its own.
I particularly love the way it documents testosterone in action.
No need for crystalline xray photography.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Gavin Wade

Sharp as a tack, but it has so much distortion.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

sop51

I'm still trying to unsee those guys in the bunny costumes...

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Roland Karlsson

You mean the turtle costumes? Take the first one and choose 100% and you will be looking straight at a close up of a bearded and sandy mouth through a hole in green cloth. Scary! My deep dream state will have a tough time erasing that tonight.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

KrisAK

Mr. Pink has moire on his thighs.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

sop51

And his package is distorted.

Jun 9, 2018*permalink

Roland Karlsson

Oops --- there were some bunny guys. And now my sleep will be even more disturbed. Why did you tell me this? And why did I look?

Jun 9, 2018permalink

onlyfreeman

Curiosity. The only weakness of photographers and cats, and also their greatest strength.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

RootX

Some experts, like Sigmund Freud, concluded that humans are naturally bisexual

Jun 11, 2018permalink

RootX

Some experts, like Sigmund Freud, concluded that humans are naturally bisexual.

Jun 11, 2018permalink

Arca45Swiss

Costs more than my Nikon D850 ! Ridiculous

Jun 9, 2018*permalink

D logH

But why would I want to mount a Nikon D810 on a Hasselblad X1D? A lens would be much better...

Jun 9, 2018permalink

(unknown member)

How is this related? How did Nikon slip into the evaluation of a Hasselblad lens? Why do you care what the price is?

Jun 9, 2018permalink

brendon1000

^^At some point maybe the op has a thought of upgrading to MF. But considering the price point he may be pointing out in his own way that its just too expensive at this point in time at least to remain a small niche for a few photographers.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

ozturert

Costs also more than my Bose headphones

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Arca45Swiss

No I have been there done that. Medium format digital that is. Sold off my IQ180 for a Nikon D850. Best decision I ever made

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Can u say more on the 850 versus the medium format.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Arca45Swiss

Everything about it is better except less resolution. D850 has better dynamic range, high ISO capability (IQ180 only good to ISO 400), live view focus peaking, much smaller and lighter. The D850 still has plenty of resolution for say 30x40 prints

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Nereo

You're comparing the IQ180 (released in 2011) to last year's D850, and you seem somehow surprised that a MF lens would cost more than a FF body.

How are these comments even relevant?

Jun 10, 2018permalink

I see that the 850 does more things than the medium format,but looking at the finished photo taken in the same condition at what the medium format excels in,I would go for the medium format finish.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

jnd

I would compare it to Canon's 17mm f/4 tilt shift which costs half and offers more functionality.

Jun 11, 2018permalink

D logH

Why would you compare two different focal lengths from two different systems with two different market sizes and two different development times? I could compare both those to the Fuji 14mm f/2.8, which is much cheaper and lighter!

Jun 11, 2018permalink

bluevellet

What kind of party was this...?

Jun 9, 2018permalink

ProfHankD

Looks good, although the sensor also looks sort-of noisy even at 400 -- did somebody turn-up microcontrast? I see some CA wide open, but it's better overall wide open than my old Sigma 12-24mm... but then, I usually stop-down an ultrawide and isn't 21mm on that sensor just 16mm on FF? It actually doesn't look as good as my Sigma 8-16mm @16mm on my A7RII (yes, APS-C lens on FF). In sum, I'm not awed -- in fact, I'm left wondering if a designed-for-FF 21mm lens on a GFX couldn't match this.

The other thing here is that these shots don't make good use of the ultrawide lens. Most of them are the classic "try to fit it all in" shots people think ultrawides are for rather than the forced perspective or foreground/background stuff that they really shine at. The first shot is the only one, and it's just a moderate forced perspective.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

ozturert

So your 8-16mm APSC lens is better on a FF A7RII with an adapter, then this state-of-the-art Hasselblad lens?

Jun 10, 2018permalink

ProfHankD

ozturert: Depending on how you weight the various IQ factors, I think it is -- but only at 16mm. The 8-16mm vignettes pretty severely on FF much below 16mm. In fairness, despite targeting APS-C, the 8-16mm is a larger lens and quite awkward to use. My point is not so much that a modestly-priced zoom can compete on an A7RII (I'm sure more than a few lenses can at 16mm), but that this 21mm doesn't seem like it would blow-away some FF 19-21mm lenses that can cover a GFX-sized sensor.

Put another way, 21mm is a slightly long minimum focal length for a modern lens covering that size sensor. Remember, it isn't really a "medium format" sensor -- it's more of a multi-aspect 135 size.

Jun 10, 2018*permalink

EskeRahn

What do you mean sharp? I can not even read the type number on the Zarges plate on the ladders on the first one... /S *LOL*

Seems like an amazing lens,

Jun 9, 2018*permalink

rondom

0.79×21=16.59mm (35 mm equiv) in case anyone is curious to know.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

panther fan

If you calculate so precise use the precise focal length of the lens, which is 21.8 mm according to Hasselblad ;)

Jun 9, 2018*permalink

rondom

Don’t know where you read this, but most likely that’s the physical focal length which corresponds to a larger image circle than what the sensor captures. In other words, the calculation above still remains correct in terms of equivalence.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

panther fan

Hasselblad lens release: https://m.dpreview.com/news/1899137602/hasselblad-unveils-its-widest-lens-ever-the-xcd-21mm-f4-lens

Focal length: 21.8 mm
Equivalent Focal length (24x36): 17 mm
Aperture range: 4 - 32
Angle of view diag/hor/vert: 105°/92°/75°
Length/diameter: 106 mm/83 mm
Weight (excl. covers and lens shade): 600g
Filter diameter: 77 mm

Jun 9, 2018permalink

rondom

Thanks. Interesting. Not sure why they picked such an odd focal length. I also found this:
https://cdn.hasselblad.com/0cabede4-7cb9-446d-8f92-d320ac3a5838_xcd21+datasheet+uk+20180509.pdf

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Impulses

What's so odd about it? A ton of other lenses that purport to have a classic FL are often a few mm off and the manufacturer just rounds up or down arbitrarily, or they focus breathe at certain distances... Maybe Hassy is being more honest than average. 14-18mm EFL in 35mm for ultra wides is not exactly uncommon...

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Indohydra

This is an interesting camera. But frankly, these kinds of "sample galleries" do not allow anyone to understand anything. It is not the execution. The pictures are fine. It is the whole concept of " sample galleries" viewed on a computer monitor. They all look fine even to a trained eye. Anyone who claims to see the difference is a Trump supporter.

I would like to see DPR compare (in some way that we can appreciate) a Sony A7R FF at 42MP with a Hasselblad medium format which comes in at 50MP (which will no doubt become over 100MP soon enough). Sony, after all, is going to be popping out their full frame to over 100MP at around the same time. So, I would like to know from DPR what the useful difference is between FF 50/100MP and MF 50/100MP in principle. I don't care about the brand.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Wrong

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Michael_13

I am not sure if simple real life samples would help much here. The studio shots already suggest that there is not a huge difference between a 40 MP FF and Hasselblads 50 MP.
Professional users still have their reasons why they choose it over FF, but I doubt that these will become apparent in such a simple, yet still cumbersome, comparison.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

PLShutterbug

The article isn’t about the camera. It’s about the LENS.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

You are missing the point.
D850 = 14bit camera
A7# = 14bit camera
GFX = 14bit camera
X1D = 16bit camera
There's much more data in the RAW files.
The lens itself may not be the best there is, but it's a leaf-shutter lens designed for that system. It's a Hasselblad (which means expensive), it's not perfect (usually) and it's made for a specific audience. Things like the cheap looking angular aperture in a $3000-5000 lens are just too crazy for me. But the image quality really is above any FF camera. It's just not my type of camera, mostly because of its price.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

PLShutterbug

Ecka84: “You” ... who?

Jun 9, 2018permalink

https://www.hasselblad.com/news/hasselblad-x1d-firmware-update-1.19/

Those who are trying to compare these cameras.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

TenPoundTabby

Don't you mean lens? This was a review of a lens, not a camera. Careful. People are going to infer things about your politics (since you went there) because you missed something obvious and were not on topic. :)

Jun 11, 2018permalink

north w

@ecka84

I have tested the camera and pixelpeep the files with 45 and 90mm, and they are at least on par with my best Zeiss and Nikon lenses, think of "Otus" grade sharpness. And now X-lenses dont have the odd "bokeh" any longer and they
got another 1/4 stop by SW, so an f3,2 lens is now effectivly f2.8

You are crrect that HB got picture quality, but my D850 is to close because X1D have an old outdated slow sensor. The X1D needs a new high res EVF, the 100mp sensor and a better releasebutton that have 2-steps. X1D should also give away data for 3-party adapter builders like Fuji does so one can bring over ones lenses that are over 85mm.
If HB do these upgrades they will increase sales many times over todays sales, i assume 3-5 times increased sales.

Jun 17, 2018permalink

First, smaller sensor requires sharper lenses just to catch up with larger sensor and less sharp lenses. The results of putting the same Otus lens on the X1D might surprise you.
Second, color bit-depth isn't about sharpness, or lenses, or even pixel-peeping.
Third, if you don't need a better sensor, it doesn't mean that the sensor in your current camera is just as good. And the biggest reason why this "medium" format is not much sharper than FF, is that it is not much larger than FF. However, the bit-depth is an entirely different quality dimension. It's just like the difference between 8-bit JPEG and 14-bit RAW, only here it is 14-bit RAW vs 16-bit RAW. Or maybe you see no difference between JPEG and RAW either?
If you put Fuji lenses on X1D, then you will only have the electronic shutter.

Jun 18, 2018*permalink

Wow, this is probably the sharpest super-wide-angle lens I've ever seen. And it is sharp right from wide open, including the corners. This system is getting more and more interesting, in particular regarding the probably coming 100 MP X2D, or whatever Hasselblad will call it.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

BlueBomberTurbo

Easier to make sharper lenses when the pixel density is lower. Same as why sharp FF lenses look soft on APS-C. Want to make this lens look horrid? Put it on a 1" sensor. ;)

Jun 9, 2018permalink

nickolas84

A middle format 21/4 lens has a diffraction limit close to 200MP and AT THE SAME TIME can have everything in focus between 1.5m to infinity (not everything with 200MP sharpness offcourse but acceptable sharpness).

Who said MF is all about shallow depth of field huh?

Jun 9, 2018permalink

This so-called medium format is not that much larger than 35 mm to really make such a difference. We are not talking about a 4 x 5 large format lens here. This is simply a really, really good lens, as is easily demonstrated by other lenses for this format both from Fuji and Hasselblad that are not nearly as sharp, in particular towards the corners.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

nickolas84

They are still like ~70% bigger in terms of surface area than FF, so there is a difference.
It is interesting to me that they did not make it an 21/1.4 or something similar like we see on full frame. I am sure they did that to make as little sucrifices as possible to where it counts for the lens.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

That's about a 30% increase linearly - and that's what counts. A good 21/1.4 with the necessary image circle would be huge because of all the correctional elements needed.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

digilux

at Nickolas...did you look at the old guy holding up the cakes...even at f8 only the cakes are in focus...not the guy. So yes MF has shallow DOF.

Jun 11, 2018permalink

StephanBG

Love love love those FF shooters - 'so called MF'. Or should I say 'so called FF'?

Jun 11, 2018permalink

BlueBomberTurbo

@StephanBG

Current FF is as close to true FF as is needed. 35x24, vs 36x24 of a film frame. Roughly a 3% loss in capture area.

Current MF isn't anywhere near what MF originally started at. It used to be 60x45 at minimum, with 60x60 also popular. It went up to 60x90 normally, and as crazy as 60x170 (drool). Nowadays, it's a tiny 44x33. That's a hair off of a 50% loss in area on the smallest original MF size. That's why it's "so called MF".

And no, I don't shoot FF. ;)

Jun 12, 2018*permalink

Actually, the frame inside a, let's call it '35 mm' to avoid that somewhat confusing 'FF' monicker, camera was never really 36 x 24 mm, as you, StephanBG, could easily check if you still have slides or negatives from the film area. Quadratic medium format also was never 60 x 60, but more like 56 x 56. Anyway, the small digital medium format is nowhere near that, there are really only a few, exceedingly expensive digital cameras, that are similar in size to the former film-based small medium format, which was in practice something like 56 x 42. That, plus the fact that, in linear terms that is resolution, the small digital medium format is only 30% larger than 35 mm, makes it legitimate to call it the 'so-called' MF - this is really a marketing term to suggest a huge increase in IQ.

BTW, this was true of all film-based formats: 4 x 5 also never had 4 x 5" of usable film area.

Jun 12, 2018*permalink

Joel Benford

I've never used a lens that wide. I get the impression that keeping the camera level would be a benefit in many pictures. Possibly you want it absolutely square to the architecture rather than roughly square, too.

The pictures with no important geometry, like the guys in bunny ears, seem happier. And I like the sense of being right in among them that you get from the wide lens.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

mbradich

Photographing architecture from a lower angle in order to capture a desired scene (e.g. include a larger portion of a ceiling etc.) will inevitably lead to vertical perspective distortion, unless you use a so called tilt/shift lens. That is easily fixed in post, but you end up losing resolution and lower corners in the process, so not ideal for a detailed review, which was a priority in this case.

Jun 9, 2018*permalink

J A C S

There is nothing in those shots that makes me want to own that system. Poor colors, bland photos. On the other hand, every Fuji GFX gallery makes me envious.

Full disclosure - I did not pixelpeep.

Jun 9, 2018*permalink

shigzeo

Kind of a photographer problem.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

I'd have to agree - output from the GFX is compelling.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

GFX glass is something else. Especially the 110. Strongest reason to go there.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

@J A C S, @shigzeo, @Lars V, @Elonlukatski - Nonsense!

Jun 9, 2018permalink

J A C S

@ecka84 - Nonsense!

Jun 9, 2018permalink

shigzeo

I've not seen a single piece of evidence showing the GFX glass to be better than the X1D glass. Faster, yes, but sharper, or better resolving, or better colour gradation, no. GFX has the advantage of Fuji colours, though. This gallery is torched by the quality of its photos, not of the equipment taking them.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

@shizgeo Hasselblad glass is of course top quality, no argument there. The Fuji 110 is in a class of its own when it comes to rendering though, nothing like it in the Hasselblad lineup, and few lenses at all come near it. Take a look at portraits shot with the 110, there is a translucency to the transition from focal plane to rear defocus.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

shigzeo

I'll not argue with you there; I'm not necessarily a fan, or not a fan of that lens. I'm glad you really like it.

Jun 10, 2018permalink

Vassilis Skopelitis

I will wait for MK2

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Thank you for no high ISO samples :)

Jun 9, 2018permalink

misspiggy01

Which would be extremely useful in a lens review!

Jun 9, 2018permalink

No. Keep the high ISOs for camera reviews.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

Indohydra

Actually, I think the high ISO (versus lower ISO in equally dark spaces) - may become the only justification for using medium format in the long run.

Jun 9, 2018*permalink

The glass, man. The glass.

Jun 9, 2018permalink

PhotoKhan

Wow!...Simply, wow!

Jun 9, 2018permalink