In my time with the initial prototypes back in June 2016, and whilst producing the video – I took away the impression that the X1D was really a distillation of the critical bits of digital photography. Individual sensor calibration also means consistency is excellent – my H5D-50c, H6D-100c, CFV-50c and X1D all produce identical tonal response (with the exception of course of the H6D-100c, which has a bit more dynamic range extension at either end). Color accuracy is one of the main reasons I switched those of you who have Workflow III will see that the Hasselblad profiles have almost no adjustments, and by far the least HSL adjustments of any camera included. I believe Hasselblad is the only company to do this – it’s one of the reasons output is so spectrally neutral and tonally natural across the sensitivity range, and no dark frame subtraction is required even on exposures up to one hour. In fact, each camera has nearly half a gigabyte of calibration data in it. Like all Hasselblad cameras, sensors used in the X1D are individually profiled to a fixed reference color standard at all ISOs – I shoot the X1D comfortably to ISO 12,800. So, whilst electronic shutter is possible and is now offered from FW 1.19, it must be used with caution especially with moving subjects.Īll in all, this means that image quality is a known quantity: it matches that of the H5D-50c and H6D-50c, which is to say – short of the 54x40mm 100MP sensor, is about the best you can get today. This results in exposure shifts and bending of verticals if the camera or subject moves during the readout period. Whilst individual lines can be read out at up to 1/10,000s, it takes 300ms to read the entire sensor. The fact that both Hasselblad and Fuji managed is quite a feat, and required several engineering workarounds. Important takeaway number one: this was not designed from the beginning as a mirrorless camera’s sensor. Unfortunately, the sensor design lacks phase detection photosites, and is severely limited in two areas: live view readout (at reasonable resolution) is only 37fps, and a full sensor flush takes 300ms*. It is a native 14 bit sensor, but we do the data handling in a 16 bit space (as with previous cameras, and the H6D-100c, which has a true 16 bit sensor). It’s a tried, tested and proven sensor with a good 14-15 stops of dynamic range, very low noise properties and fairly large pixels for forgiving diffraction characteristics. The X1D uses the same Sony 44x33mm 50MP CMOS we know and love from previous cameras since 2014 including the H5D-50c, CFV-50c, H6D-50c, Pentax 645Z, Fuji GFX and Phase One IQ250/350 series. I myself have not had a chance to use final production hardware for an extended period until a few months ago simply because there were no spare cameras – everything went to filling customer back orders. That, and trying to reorganize production to be efficient enough to fill the very large number of back orders. Some of the design and engineering choices made back then were a consequence of those constraints, but have lead to some complications to implement things later on – one of the reasons why a ‘final’ firmware has been so delayed. The X1D was developed on a shoestring at a time when there was very little going for Hasselblad, and the team did a remarkable job to put out not just the X1D but also the H6D at the same time (they use the same platform). Whilst some of those limitations are functional, others remain a work in progress and affect stability or basic operation. It’s normal in the consumer electronics industry to launch products with incomplete firmware – think of how many updates your iphone will receive in the course of its lifetime before you eventually upgrade. The two main reasons for the delay are because I also have a H6D-100c in the stable, which serves as my primary camera (and whose files are understandably seductive to both photographers and clients – and yes, I probably need to do a mid term on that one, too) – and, at the risk of getting fired – until recently, I haven’t felt like the X1D is fully complete. But I’ll remain a photographer first and foremost, and I have the luxury of a little distance as the X1D as a product predates my tenure, but the harder task to assess what the real impact of the X1D as a new product category has been some time after release. It’s been a long time coming – over a year since I first used the camera – and I will apologize for two things in advance: both the length of time it’s taken to complete, and the absence of any kind of objectivity since somebody will point out I work for Hasselblad.
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