Onewheel+ and the Hasselblad X1D, an Unlikely Pairing
We photograph the latest self-balancing board in the desert with a medium-format point-and-shoot
Off-roading with a “hoverboard?” Outdoor action photography in lowlight with a Hasselblad? None of this makes sense, but we tried it anyway. When the original OneWheel launched in 2015, we took it for a spin on the Las Vegas strip and fell in love with the floaty feel and precise maneuverability. Their latest version, the OneWheel+ has refined that feel with an upgraded electric motor, shaped footpads and more customizable software. Riding the new board on- and off-road during a recent desert jaunt, we were impressed by how these enhancements truly evolved the feel, fun and control of the self-balancing electric deck. Pre-order the Onewheel+ for $1500—deliveries start in May.
To photograph this little dusk adventure (see slideshow above), Hasselblad let us loose with their new X1D mirrorless medium-format camera and a new XCD portrait lens. The camera’s ergonomics are sublime: the aluminum body and rubber grip feel so good in both shooting and resting positions. And the sharp, metallic sound of the shutter release is extremely satisfying. While the size and weight of this camera affords much greater portability than a typical medium-format camera, it’s not tuned for action photography thus adding a bit of complication of our shoot. Not having a continuous autofocus option we chose to focus manually or to prefocus on a specific point ahead of the action entering the frame. Lowlight performance was impressive and, considering the 50MP sensor and giant files it records, the camera software was super-fast. Even though we took the X1D out of its native studio environment, it was fun to shoot with and flexible enough to figure out how to make it perform in an unfamiliar situation. The Hasselblad X1D body is available for $9000 or a with a 45mm lens for $15,000 from Adorama.
Slideshow images by Josh Rubin, X1D product photo courtesy of Hasselblad
