Hasselblad reduces prices of HD5-50C by 40% - feeling the heat from the SL

[wlaidlaw]

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I see that today, Hasselblad have announced they are reducing the price of the HD5-50C with standard 80mm lens by 40% to €12,500 or only a little more than an SL with the 24-90. Are they worried about the competition, albeit that the S range is probably the more natural competitor than the SL. I wonder if this will spur Leica to reduce the S price. It must also mean that either the HD5 was very over priced before or that Hassy is selling the body and standard lens as a loss leader in order to sell their other lenses at a later date. It cuts the price for entry into the digital modular medium format world dramatically from what it was a few years ago, of close to €30,000. 

 

Wilson

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[ramarren]

That's getting into the "only one pay grade beyond mine" range... 

[svenjosh]

Hasselblad was losing market share steadily for quite some time. Their first mistake was to make their modular system closed (meaning only H backs for H cameras). Phase one forced them back by acquiring Mamiya and developing their own camera systems. Moreover phase backs were better in many ways than H backs. With the introduction of Nikon D800 series and Pentax 645, they further lost share. This is further made worse by Sony a7R2 and Canon 5Dsr. Now its only a question of time before Hasselblad gets sold in bits and pieces or declares bankruptcy. Leica SL does not have anything to do with this as Hasselblad had already started looking for a partner (read buyer) earlier this year.

[earleygallery]

I doubt it has anything at all to do with the SL which is a completely different proposition. 

 

Leica also reduced the price of the S did they not? 

 

Medium format was the natural choice for studio/advertising photographers but cameras like the Canon 5DS are clearly having an impact on those traditional MF markets. 

 

I saw the Hasselblad DSLR the other day, based on a Sony model, it honestly looks like some sort of toy camera. It even has a faux sapphire on the shutter button! They've clearly lost the plot. 

[keithlaban.co.uk]

Hmm, Hasselblad running scared from the Leica SL, you think? Really?

 

Let me think...Hasselbald HD5-50c or Leica SL, Hasselbald HD5-50c or Leica SL, Hasselbald HD5-50c or Leica SL...

[IkarusJohn]

Hmm, Hasselblad running scared from the Leica SL, you think? Really?

 

Let me think...Hasselbald HD5-50c or Leica SL, Hasselbald HD5-50c or Leica SL, Hasselbald HD5-50c or Leica SL...

 

Hasselblad is a lost cause, in my view.  Rebadging Sonys at ridiculous prices was the start of the end.  If I was in the market for that sort of system (I sold my Hasselblad gear to get into Leica, so the SL analogy probably isn't far off the mark for some), I'd go for the XF in a heartbeat.

 

But I'm not ... and the XF makes the SL look like a bargain.

[ramarren]

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Modern Hasselblads are mostly Fuji technology. I loved the Hasselblad V system, but the modern digital models leave me cold. 

 

That said, I use my 500CM kit so infrequently now that I've decided to let go of it and put it on the market. The only piece that I won't let go of is my 1978 generation Hasselblad SWC—it's just such a unique camera and superb performer, I won't let it go. 

 

If I wanted to get into medium format digital at some point in the future, I'll go with the Leica S system. Both because I like the shape and control design, and because S lenses, with an adapter, will interchange with the SL too. 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Probably more of a reaction to the Pentax 645Z than anything Leica does. Same sensor after all.

 

Gordon

[keithlaban.co.uk]

Hasselblad is a lost cause, in my view.  Rebadging Sonys at ridiculous prices was the start of the end.  If I was in the market for that sort of system (I sold my Hasselblad gear to get into Leica, so the SL analogy probably isn't far off the mark for some), I'd go for the XF in a heartbeat.

 

But I'm not ... and the XF makes the SL look like a bargain.

 

If I was going back to medium format digital I'd go for the Hasselblad, in that proverbial heartbeat ... and of course the XF makes the Blad look like a bargain. 

[farnz]

.... I wonder if this will spur Leica to reduce the S price. ...

Either way, I was surprised to discover that the price of a new Leica S-E (Type 006) complete with 70/2.5 Summarit-S SC is £7999.  For a medium format digital camera and compared with the price of the S (007) it is surprisingly well-positioned although not something I'm currently considering.

 

Pete.

[IkarusJohn]

The prices of this kit is extraordinary, isn't it?  I don't feel even remotely guilty about the cost of my SL.

 

Thankfully, price isn't the only limiting factor!

[pico]

I am still stuck in like, if not love, with my Hasselblad V system: three bodies, five backs, the ground glass w/viewer and a couple SWCs. It will take a lot of digital to move me, perhaps a FF 56x56. Leica's SL does not tempt me when comparing what exists in the Hasselblad. Film still rules there.

.

[lct]

Comparing a 50MP medium format camera to a 24MP miniature format camera really? 

 

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[IkarusJohn]

Where's the manual focus magnifier button on that? 

[Jon Warwick]

The price of several MF digitals have come down in the last year.  Megapixel competition from 35mm cameras in the 40-50mp range, and the lower cost of the Pentax MF, are perhaps among the various reasons -- the introduction of the super-fast (and low megapixel) SL is perhaps very far down the list of reasons for this move by Hassie.

 

After playing with the Leica S, for large prints, I think there are several image quality benefits of digital MF over 35mm ..... ie, a very 3D rendering on the back of very smooth tonality that partly owes to 16 bit files, and sharper looking images that partly owe to higher pixel acuity (less over-cramming of many pixels into a small space).  The S lenses are also utterly flawless.

 

If one produces only smaller prints (up to 16x20"), or just posts to the internet, the differences between 35mm and MF are less obvious.  And the same megapixel count, whether 35mm of MF, will capture similar levels of "Fine Detail".  If one focuses on just "fine detail" capture (ie, pixel peeping), as many reviews do, then high megapixel 35mm cameras are competing better now with MF. But "fine detail" capture is just one metric, and there are many factors that drive the technical beauty in a print.

 

For example, I've not managed to get the M240 (even with a 50 APO) to produce anything like the 3D'ness of look, or smoothness and richness of tonality, that I have see in large prints from the S.  I feel like I can walk into an S print - not dissimilar to how prints from large format film gave that impression over 35mm.

[hydet]

I finally sold my Nikons and glass because of the SL, but wouldn't consider selling my HD5-50c, or all the Hasselblad lenses.  Love the SL, especially off the tripod, but when I need to make big prints for real paying clients, it's usually the Hasselblad system.  

[lct]

Where's the manual focus magnifier button on that? 

 

No crappy EVF there, just optical VFs for real photographers .

[IkarusJohn]

I still have an SWC, and it's very much frame and hope. However, it is such a unique camera, I'd never sell it. 

 

The HD5, PhaseOne XF and the like look amazing, but overwhelming. Sadly, though, it looks like Hasselblad is on a slow but inevitable trajectory. There was little of Victor Hasselblad's vision in rebadged Sonys, and the price was ... surprising, to say the least. 

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[keithlaban.co.uk]

The rebadged Sonys were a product of a misguided and long gone CEO.

 

Hasselblad has moved on and is offering now what many professional photographers consider to be the finest medium format camera on the market.

 

Perhaps there are a few camera pundits here who also need to move on?

[pico]

I still have an SWC, and it's very much frame and hope. However, it is such a unique camera, I'd never sell it.

Temporarily replacing the back with a ground glass and 45 degree finder has made some architectural photos a dream.