THE LEGEND CONTINUES
Hasselblad X2D 100C Sets New Standards For Performance And Portability
Back in 1948, Victor Hasselblad revolutionised medium format photography with his innovative modular SLR camera design. It combined unmatched portability with high image quality and, after it evolved into the legendary 500 Series, was extensively used by professional photographers for over 60 years. The same pursuit of performance and portability is behind Hasselblad’s medium format mirrorless camera system, as expressed by the new X2D 100C which delivers 100 megapixels imaging performance in a compact and stylish package.
The X2D 100C has the same smart-looking, hand-crafted aluminium bodyshell as the 50 megapixel models, but it’s finished a new dark grey tone which makes it even more elegant in appearance. There are, however, a number of upgrades compared to the two 50 MP X series bodies, including a new monitor design and top deck info panel with a full colour display.
On the inside, the sensor is BSI-type CMOS with an imaging area of 43.8x32.9 millimetres with an effective pixel count of 102 million and a claimed dynamic range of 15 stops. The sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 64 to 25,600. Images can be captured as 3FR RAW files with 16-bit colour (at around 250 MB in size) or fullsized JPEGs at 11,656x8742 pixels. Continuous shooting is possible at up to 3.3 fps and the
X2D 100C has a built-in SSD with a massive 1.0 TB of storage capacity. It’s supplemented by a single memory card slot for CFexpress Type B memory devices.
A new feature for the Hasselblad X series line is in-body image stabilisation with five-axis movement and up to seven stops of correction for camera shake. The stabilisation is optimised for the focal length of the fitted XCD lens. Also new is phase-difference detection autofocusing which is made possible by the 100 MP sensor and provides 294 measuring zones. Obviously the new hybrid autofocusing is a lot faster than the contrast-only system in the 50 MP bodies so Hasselblad has introduced a new series of ‘V’ XCD lenses which use linear stepper motors to deliver a three-fold increase in their focusing speed compared to the existing models. Initially, three primes are available – a 38mm f/2.5, a 55mm f/2.5 and a 90mm f/2.5 – which also have more compact designs and introduce new external styling (see separate new item).
The X2D 100C also gets a new EVF module which uses a 1.27 cm OLED panel with 5.76 megadots resolution, a refresh rate of 60 fps and 1.0x magnification. It also has built-in refractive error correction to ensure corner-tocorner sharpness. Eyepiece dioptre correction is now performed digitally rather than mechanically. Fixed on the 50 MP cameras, the X2D’s monitor screen is adjustable for upward tilts and has a resolution of 2.36 megadots. The touch screen implementation includes menu navigation, image browsing and review, AF point selection and an AF ‘touchpad’ for AF point selection when using the EVF.
Other notable features of the X2D 100C include in-camera charging via USB-C, an intervalometer, auto exposure bracketing, weather sealing (and insulation to allow shooting in subzero temperatures), WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and TTL flash metering which supports selected Nikon SB-series flash units.