Hasselblad Continues to Reshape Medium-Format Photography
From the dynamic X1D II 50C camera to the future-defining CFV II 50C digital back and 907X camera body
Hasselblad‘s latest series of releases and announcements succeed two-fold. As the brand improves upon previous products—like their groundbreaking X1D mirrorless medium-format camera from 2017—they also reinvent the potential of their historic camera roster. With the less expensive X1D II 50C, consumer feedback powers a second-generation model. For both the CFV II 50C digital back and 907X camera body, past and future collide for unexpected functionality. All the while, the Swedish brand’s revamped their iOS app, Phocus Mobile 2, for faster sharing and on-the-fly editing.
To best understand our appreciation for the X1D II 50C, we must revisit our thoughts from the previous X1D model. Field-testing that camera, we noted its sublime ergonomics and the exemplary size and weight—which made the medium-format category far more mobile. All of this holds true with the newer model, only with a livelier start-up and response time and an upgraded electronic platform. The latter includes a higher resolution 3.6-inch 2.36-million-dot touch display and an OLED electronic viewfinder, itself with a faster refresh rate. When coupled with the new XCD 3,5-4,5/35-75 Zoom Lens, it addresses our action-photography needs. Truly, this is a point-and-shoot and lens combination of immense capability.
It’s hard, however, not to obsess over the announcements pertaining to the future-defining CFV II 50C digital back and 907X camera body. The former connects with the majority of iconic V System film cameras dating all the way back to 1957. The CFV II 50C replaces the original film module with a digital one that contains a medium-format 50-megapixel CMOS sensor. This tool lends new life to generations of Hasselblad products. Further, the CFV II 50C can physically connect to the forthcoming 907X camera body—the brand’s smallest medium-format camera body ever. Together the CFV II 50C and 907X form an ultra-slender, sleek medium-format system.
The X1D II 50C will retail for $5750, with shipment expected in July. More CFV II 50C and 907X product information will be released later this year.
Video and images courtesy of Hasselblad
