HASSELBLAD

'Hasselblad' is a Swedish manufacturer of high-quality still photography cameras based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company was established in 1841 as a trading company. In the 1890s, Hasselblad began distributing photographic products from Eastman. The photography branch grew, and during World War II Victor Hasselblad was commissioned to develop an aerial camera for the Royal Swedish Air Force. After the war, camera production changed into civilian cameras. Introduced in 1948, the ''Hasselblad 1600F'' was a medium format SLR that became the camera of choice for many professional photographers.
Perhaps the most famous use of the Hasselblad camera was during the Apollo Program missions when man first landed on the Moon. Almost all of the still photographs taken during these missions used specially modified Hasselblad cameras.
Hasselblad cameras are still widely used by professional and serious amateur photographers. One reason is the superior image quality of 6x6cm size rollfilm over smaller film and digital sensor formats, along with a reputation for long service life and quality of available lenses.
In January 2003 Hasselblad was acquired by Hong Kong based company Shriro.
In August 2004 Hasselblad merged with the Danish company Imacon A/S. Imacon is a manufacturer of digital photography equipment, e.g. digital camera backs.

Contents

V Series

XPan

H Series

See also

References

External links

V Series

Model	Year
500C	1957-1969
500C/M	1970-1994
503CX	1989-1994
503CXi	1994-1996
501C	1994-1997
503cw	1996-Present
501CM	1997-2005

The Hasselblad V series evolved out of Victor Hasselblad's desire to develop a flexible camera system. This system includes interchangeable bodies, lenses, viewfinders, winders, film magazines and holders, and other accessories. Problems with the focal plane shutters in the 1600F and 1000F cameras and especially the increasing importance of electronic flash led to the development of the manual leaf shutter based medium format 6x6 (6x6 cm or 2¼x2¼ in.) 500C SLR camera in 1957 which offered flash synchronization at all shutter speeds. The 500C was joined by the motor driven 500EL SLR camera in 1965. These two cameras, together with the Superwide Camera (SWC) which was introduced in 1954 as a wide angle camera using the excellent Carl Zeiss Biogon 38mm f/4.5 lens and built-in levels for exacting architecture photography, formed the core of the V-system and shared most accessories (with a few exceptions). All accessories are extremely robust, and well-designed.
Throughout the life of the V Series, Hasselblad has been incrementally updating the cameras. The 500C gave way to the 500C/M, the 501C, and finally the 501C/M as the basic manual. The SWC was replaced by the SWC/M, the 903 SWC, and finally by the 905 SWC. The 500EL's replacements included the 500EL/M, 500ELX, 553ELX, and the 555ELD. Added later to the line were cameras that included TTL/OTF (through the lens/off the film) flash metering the 503CX, which was replaced by the 503CXi and the 503CW. Also added was the 2000/200 series of focal plane shutter cameras starting with the 2000FC, 2000FCM, 2000FCW, 2003FCW and then followed by the 201F, 202FA, 203FE, and 205FCC, which added a level of automation to the V series. There were also two series of medium format view cameras developed related to the V series: the FlexBody and the ArcBody. Twelve modified Hasselblad 500EL bodies and attached lenses remain on the moon.

XPan

The Hasselblad XPan and XPan II are rangefinder cameras that allow the creation of panoramic photographs on 35mm film. They are re-branded versions of the Fuji TX-1 and TX-2. The XPan II has every feature of the original, but grants the user the ability to record thirty minutes exposures compared to the old max of three minutes. Electronic exposure information in the viewfinder is another additional feature of the XPan II.

H Series

Featuring auto-focus and a smaller 6 by 4.5cm format (both firsts for Hasselblad), the H1 marked an end to further V series development. As with the V series, most H series components are compatible with another. The H lineup has progressed including models packaged with a digital back (film backs are still usable)^[1][2][3]:

Model	Sensor	ISO range	Capture speed	HC lens factor	Eq. focal length	Display	Storage	Price
H3D 22	49×36.7mm, 22 megapixels, 16 bit	50-400	1.4 seconds	1.1	28	2.2" OLED	CF	$27,000
H3D 31	44.2×33.1mm, 31 megapixels, 16 bit	100-800	1.2 seconds	1.3	31			$25,000
H3D 39	49×36.7mm, 39 megapixels, 16 bit	50-400	1.4 seconds	1.1	28			$32,000

Hasselblad DSLRs are currently the most expensive commercial cameras available.

See also

★ Hasselblad Award

★ List of Swedish companies

★ Zeiss

★ Medium Format

References

1. http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Hasselblad-H3D-31-First-Impressions-Review.htm
2. http://www.hasselblad.com/products/h-system/h3d
3. http://www.hasselblad.com/media/362051/uk_h3d_v2_datasheet.pdf

External links

★ Official site.

★ Shriro Group acquisition announcement.

★ Hasselblad Historical.

★ Hasselblad Historical's V-System Close-Up Calculator.

★ http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Hasselblad

★ Hasselblad's Xpan A brief run-down of Hasselblad's Xpan by New Zealand panoramic photographer, Matthew Joseph.

★ Xpan Review - by Chris Groenhout