Hasselblad : The Worlds First Mirrorless Camera
Instant fact of the day: there are currently twelve cameras on the moon, and all twelve are Hasselblad. A thirteenth camera returned down to Earth once following an Apollo 15 mission, and this subsequently auctioned for nearly $1 million two years ago. Where specifically are those other twelve...?
Of the utmost superior quality and expensive taste, the Swedish brand is far from a household name by comparison to the likes of Canon or Kodak, but this is justifiably so given that a typical Hasselblad H System camera costs in the region of £20,000. Unsung heroes of some of the most iconic landscape and action photos of our time, Hasselblad is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and have just released the world's first compact mirror-less digital medium format camera, the X1D, to celebrate.
Founded in 1941 by Swedish inventor and bird photographer Victor Hasselblad, since the company's conception out of the desire of Hasselblad to give photographers the technical excellence needed to realise their creative vision, the brand's vision has always been to produce the finest camera equipment known to man. Hasselblad's brand proposition is 'Create To Inspire', and you can more than see why such a three-word argument is justified.
The compact X1D camera promises to be an absolute game changer in medium format photography, and the lightweight camera is equipped with technical features that will dazzle any amateur and professional photographer alike. With a 50 mega-pixel sensor, no internal mirrors, a body weight of just 725g, HD video capabilities, Wi-Fi, GPS capability and an electronic viewfinder with touch-screen functionality, the camera's software is as impressive as its hardware, and together make the camera incomparable to any other medium format camera.
Despite a rocky road and identity crisis of late, with Hasselblad seeing brand transformations, a brief partnership with Sony and a return to its European ownership after being helmed by Hong Kong-based group Shiro, the company has been carried through by virtue of their insane designs and products.
Arguably the first time Hasselblad have actually created a product specifically aimed at the prosumer market (a person who consumes and produces media), Hasselblad CEO Perry Oosting explains "...the X1D marks a pivotal point in Hasselblad's rich 75-year history. This camera makes medium format photography available to a new generation of Hasselblad users, while pushing the existing limits of photography to new heights."
Without championing the brand too much, SATORI & SCOUT reckon the X1D is pretty much the ideal travel companion, and as Oosting concludes, "Hasselblad draws the true creators..." Available for purchase at select stockists, learn more about the X1D at Hasselblad.com.
Photography credit : Hasselblad.com