The Hasselblad Lunar is coming in April and it will cost you over $5.000 to get one. And as you may remember from photokina Hasselblad also showed this sketch of a Hasselblad SLT FF camera. According to a new source Hasselblad will not launch an SLT camera but focus fully on the NEX system instead. And unlike the Lunar Hasselblad also has the plan to work on some really unique products (cameras and lenses) that are not simply S
ony cameras with a lot of luxury around. The Lunar is just the start….
Just my two cents. If I would be in charge at Hasselblad I would push to make a digital and modular [shoplink 17505 ebay]500c styled camera (here on eBay)[/shoplink] with Sony medium format sensor. Capable of taking both A and E mount FF lenses and of course Hasselblad medium format lenses. Yeah I know, I should stop making such impossible dreams 🙂
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Reminder (SR = Sonyrumor):
SR1=probably fake rumor
SR2=rumor from unknown sources
SR3=50% chance it is correct
SR4=rumor from known sources
SR5=almost certainly correct!
54 Responses
Who would have bought it anyway? The A99 isn’t selling that well, who should buy the same camera at twice the price then? They finally must have realized that.
Just twice the price? That would be a Hasselsteal compared to the Lunar.
Yup. I’ll never buy an a99. And not cause of the price. I don’t like it cause I’ve shot with it and don’t like the camera as a professional tool. It’s not a professional camera. The a900 and a850, however, WERE professional cameras. SONY or Hasselblad need to create a camera that will replace the a900 or a850, not just an upgraded a77 with a full frame sensor in it.
It’s this bizarre contradiction. SONY has this amazing partnership with Zeiss, with some of the best autofocusing lenses ever made being exclusive to the A-Mount, and there’s only one camera that you can go into a store and buy that’d make use of these amazing lenses. The a99 just isn’t good enough. The control wheels for shutter speed and aperture feel plastic-y like they’ll break at any second. The articulating screen seems like it could break right off. And of course the EVF isn’t good enough to replace a world class OVF like the a900/Maxxum 9 OVF. Plus the a99’s Operating System isn’t as good as the a100/a700/a900’s Operating System. It feels like it’s a prosumer camera.
I now look to Hasselblad to properly replace the a900. Not SONY.
So much for the subjective stuff. Can it take good photographs?
Very bad news! Where am I going to throw my money away now?!
Thank goodness at least they will redecorate the NEX-7 and issue the Lunar! Some highway robbery to look forward to! LOL!
Admin, you better not to talk about this pathetic Lunar anymore. It’s nor alpha, nor sony.
why on earth should someone be thinking of launching a medium format camera with e-mount?
I think what Andrea is saying that you have a small camera that can grow from APS-C to MF via Adaptors. The camera base could be kept quite small. As far as I understood the idea, if e-mount lens is attached the sensor will use the image circle of APS-C, if FF lens is attached with adaptor the sonsor will use image circle of FF …..
Would be quite nice, but MF sensor would be quite expensive.
Not medium format but FF, square or not. There are FF E-mount lenses already, after all.
Hasselblad will know the future of SLT and A-mount. It’s probably why it’s been dropped after this years shift in focus to NEX.
Yeah, I am sure they know the future of the A-mount with all the updated A-mount lenses that are going to start rolling out shortly.
Those updates will have been in development long before now. If Sony have changed strategy *this* year, it’s what happens from *then* that matters, not some minor lens updates over the next few months.
There appears to have been a major shift in focus to NEX and E-mount, wake up people!
I have my doubts about that… Hasselblad are logically going to sell these to existing customers. An slt design doesn’t make business sense – these people already own medium format cameras, so why would they want an slt? It’s not like they’re suddenly going to start shooting sport…
On the other hand, a high end csc would make lot of sense in terms of portability, while allowing customers to stay within the brand.
Off topic – anyone else getting bored with the whole a/e mount debate? If one platform suits your needs better than another, good for you. But that doesn’t mean everyone else has the same needs or expectations from a camera…
The debate is about whether there is going to be future A-mount support, not which system is “best”.
Clearly the rumour about Sony dropping a new FF SLT and developing NEX FF instead is a shift in strategy that can’t be ignored. That’s pretty important to us A-mount users.
I do do not think sony will drop a mount.
I do hope they will keep in camera image stabilzation.
This is particularly well suited for Hassy who uses sensor shift to quadruple the sensor pixel density.
Hassy I love your thinking.
Can you also make an economy model?
You may or may not be correct about Sony dropping A-mount, nothing surprises me when it comes to any company. I Don’t think I will be going back to A-mount even though I have A-mount lenses. I really like the small and portable NEX system and when I need to I can use my A-mount lenses. This makes the camera bigger but I still have that option. Sony could possibly be pushing out whats left or almost finished. I believe if the FF NEX is a hit we will see what they are really up to as far as A-mount.
Would be wonderful, if Hasselblad would built SLRs with Alpha-mount. They would be made for photographers who actually make pictures, not for tech-geeks who claim on the Internet what they “need”. The would be made for still images in high quality not for video. They would have an optical viewfinder, maybe even a waist-level-finder. And you could use the wonderful Sony-Zeiss lenses on them!
I make pictures just fine on the A77 with its EVF. If you can’t, then there is something seriously wrong with your technique.
i also have an A77 and dont have any problem shooting in most environments! but i would like that sony offered a better (more generous) eye cup
“A few people are not yet ready for higher megapixels and they probably don’t want anyone else to have it.
Thats a shame especially if it prevents us from getting one. “
These people won’t buy any new cameanuonera they just dont want anyone else to have it.
There’s scientific term for people with that contition
JERKS
That very same a77 nex7n sensor you love can be scaled up to full frame square at 84 megapixels or ff at 56the megapixels.
Same great quality you now love.
Your objections are totally without any basis except to prevent other people from having a better camera than you.
You probably won’t buy thier new camera even if they did everything you want and priced it so you could afford it.
So why try so hard to prevent us from having one?
Youre definition of just fin probably matches my definition of garbage.
If you think that, then you can’t be seeing all of the fantastic work that the A77 produces. Tosser.
Frank you miss the point.
Just fine or Good enough is never ever ever good enough.
You lack the capacity to grow.
If your perfect you can’t get better.
If you know everything you learn nothing.
And good enough is never good enough.
I do actually agree with you that ovf and mirror technology will not have a place in the digital future. They were developed for film and we are outgrowing then.
The good work of others does nothing to improve your attitude.
In fact your willingness to hide behind thier work makes it even worse.
Your still s jerk but I quess for you thats JUST FINE.
Thers a mathematical formula for that.
Just fine= JERK
Some of those people have friends who also don’t want want anyone to have it.
That’s the also a shame especially when thier combined voices drown out those of us that really want it.
EVF is the sh*t dude… Can’t imagine shooting birds out in the wild without it… It’s an incredible help to get good exposures during difficult lighting! Can’t imagine going back to a camera without EVF after using the a77
Agreed.
Birds have a lot of detail so there can never be too much resolution too
Hasselblad could be the right company to develope the EQUINOX Camera Concept.
Yawn. I occasionally take a peek here in the forelorn hope that Sony might surprise me by releasing a serious DSLR with a sensor to rival Nikon. The message is now loud and clear that if Sony gives its best sensor to Nikon who proudly nominate the D800 as its premier DSLR flagship that Sony has no intention of developing the Pro end of its DSLR market. Theyve given their best shot to Nikon.
I was intrigued by the rumour of a possible 50 mpxl sensor popping up but the time gap now speaks volumes and the A99 though most probably a very good camera isnt of any interst to serious professinmals who always simply buy the best – Sony lost significant market to Nikon by doing this, so many now have bought Nikon D800s, they’ve made the investment, bought the lenses, Sony wont get them back. The Nikon 7100 (?) with its 24 mpxl sensor is the final nail in the coffin, maybe it should be called the ‘A’7100 and get it over and done with. Sony seems content to stick with the prosumer DSLRs and concentrate on the pro video market.
One of the most important things to a pro is RENTAL. Need a lens you don’t have for a job, just rent it. Need a couple of bodies for a shoot, just rent it.
That’s why Pros use Canon, Hasselblad and Nikon cammeras. It’s also the reason they use Broncolor and Profoto lighting. You can rent these brands anywhere in the world.
If Sony wants their cameras/lenses to be used by commercial shooters, they need to get their cameras and lenses into the rental houses. I wouldn’t buy an a99 for the simple reason that I can’t rent Sony cameras or lenses from any of the large Southern California rental houses. Simple as that.
who needs a nex7 in the custom body priced as luxury car at all… bye bye hb!
Here is the kind of camera Hasselbla could and should make in conjunction with sony.
Beginning with a nex7n like sensor the desighn can be expanded to a square ff sensor of either 81 or84 megapxels. This should go in a mirrorless a body with an a or e mount adaptable to the Hasselblad mount.
Sensor shift tecnology should be incorporated to both convert 6 exposures to on 326 megapixel exposure and sensor shift image stabilization.
The body itself should be relatively small so the new system can be used in the field.
This camera should be compatible with a mount lenses and hasselblad lenses which might also incorporate a tilt shift stepping extension tube combo adaptor as an option.
I really do like that idea and would add that a less pricey version with fewer features should be sold possibly with the sony label?
Sony or Hassy should also produce an entry level version with really high resolution.
The current step up from 35 to medium format is impossible for most people. By allowing people to get thier foot in the door with a camera body they can build a high end system one piece at a time.
This will greatly increase the market potential for all their products.
You have to understand that Hasselblad is not interested in manufacturing good cameras anymore. Since 2011 Hasselblad is owned by a Germany based private equity company. Their only interest is to blow up Hasselblad’s turnover for a year or so and then sell it to someone who is mislead by such straw fire. They simply try to squeeze out as much as possible from the still existing high reputation of the Hasselblad brand. If you look at their “design”, the Hasselblad brand appears about felt 200 times on each camera body, but the inside is a Sony. But costs 5 times as much. Now they have announced that the higly valued H4D-31 is discontinued. I suppose because the profit gain was less than 400% with it. Hasselblad is today down to bankers who try to make a fortune with shiny buttons. Bye bye, good old Hasselblad.
this
A digital Hasselblad 500 series camera exists now and has for many years.
Buy the Hasselblad CFV digital back from B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/737967-REG/Hasselblad_3034216_CFV_50_Digital_Back_50.html It’s compatible with all Hasselblad V System cameras manufactured since 1957. It’s switchable between either Square (38MP0 or Rectangular (50MP) format. For those not familiar with Hasselblad the 500 series was re-nemed V (for Victor) series when the H1 was introduced.
Most disappointing. Unlike what Admin said – Hassel was going to develop an SLR, not SLT. If they dropped this idea than well… so much for hassel being serious about expansion of the market. They’ll likely just keep on doing nexes, perhaps with some twiddles and gadgets in, but… still only nexes. Shame.
When I read this headline, I thought (or maybe hoped) just the opposite.
I would love it if Hasselblad would drop their plans to develop an SLT camera with an A-Mount and instead develop something new…
And by something new my suggestion is as follows:
– A-Mount medium format hybrid camera
– 20 or 30 or 40 Megapixels (doesn’t really matter to most portrait shooters which) it’s more important that it shoot at high ISO unlike most Phase One medium format backs
– SLR style body, modular isn’t necessary
– optical viewfinder with mirror lock up mode for live view/ EVF operation
– EVF via the accessory shoe like the RX1
– larger than full frame 24x36mm sensor, ideally square in the realm of 54x54mm (or whatever full frame 6×6 medium format is)
– existing manual focus Hasselblad lenses would work via an adapter, existing AF Hasselblad lenses would work via an adapter
– existing A-Mount lenses would work in crop mode
– black optical masks that slide into place when shooting with an A-Mount lens (like the “panoramic” black masks that slid into the OVF’s of consumer SLRs in the 90’s)
– black bars mask off your view when operating in crop mode and shooting with the EVF attached
– develop normal and wide Zeiss lenses that cover the entire sensor
– no need to develop telephoto lenses that cover the whole sensor, the A-Mount already has great telephoto lenses like the Zeiss 135mm f/1.8 and classics like the beercan and there aren’t really any visual gains associated with medium format telephoto photography
– what’s especially needed is a newly developed 80mm f/2 lens that’s better than the Contax 645 AF standard lens (because portrait and wedding photographers need to compete with Jose Villa and his Kool-Aid drinking, film-is-better-than-digital disciples! And what makes those Zeiss 80mm f/2 medium format film images look better than Canon and Nikon and Sony full frame digital images is the beautiful way that the Zeiss 80mm f/2 renders shallow depth of field and the flattering compression effect that an 80mm standard lens has on people’s bodies and faces versus a 50mm standard lens! It’s nothing to do with the fact that the image is created on film…)
The megapixel race is over, but I can only hope that the bokeh race is just beginning… Oh and the OVF versus EVF debate is NOT over, OVF stills trumps EVF in many ways, though the benefits of EVF are enticing too.
If Hasselblad makes a camera like this, I’d pay $10,000 for it.
“A few people are not yet ready for higher megapixels and they probably don’t want anyone else to have it.
That’s a shame especially if it prevents us from getting one. “
Hm… I really hope your interpretation is correct. TBH: I’d be delighted to see something like that. 10000$ is way too steep for me, but camera like that would probably be the thing to make me save all the money I can, sell all the lenses besides the key one, and get it as soon as possible. 🙂 😉
Combine that Hasselblad with the Sony 500/4 which has just been reviewed at DXO: http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Sony-500mm-f-4-G-SSM-The-longest-super-telephoto-prime-lens-ever-tested-by-DxOMark
The ultimate way to throw away your money!
umm, what’s up with putting the Sony kit lens in the picture? I don’t think an 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 is a good lens to use for a sketch.
If Sony would really make a MF sensor they should rather revive Bronica that was shut down after being sold to Tamron. As Sony is owning a 11% share of Tamron they would more likely profit from that.
Concerning Hasselblad you have to mention that a lot of backs exist for them and that there is no rational reason to trow some cheap e-mount lens onto an MF Camera. (Its just not understanding what a MF Camera is and how it works) Especially considering that the 500c isn’t really that great and mainly operated trough the lens. (A bit like most LF cameras)
Besides that the Hasselblads all have in lens Shutters and as a consequence of that slower lenses then the the Bronica S2 S2A EC and EC-TL. They offered Stuff like a MF 80 F2.4 MC Zenzanon or a 180 F2.5 Nikkor.
Well, I do agree with one part of this: Sony should make medium format sensors. The cost of even old and crusty MFDBs is prohibitive, and its what’s keeping a lot of photographers stuck in 135 format even though their photography could benefit from a larger one.
The sooner we get a small digital medium format system similar in design to the Mamiya 6, the better.
Think what you write dear Andrea. Just think before. Think, who would like to buy medium format camera to use it with Sony A/E glass? What for?
For something called photography.
I know it’s not popular when you shoot videos all the time, or run like crazy playing with tilting screen and showing everyone how your camera have an APS-C sensor and small body, but that’s not a domain of everyone. Some people actually do own a camera for purely photographic reasons.
Sony really should push out an MF SLT Camera.
Would be the smallest MF aviable and they could get 6500$ per Camera for it without problems.
The Lunar looks pretty much like a product of Sony not going medium format as it would jeopardize Zeiss’s arrangement to build Hasselblad compatible MF lenses. That would mess with Hasselblad’s market. Sony’s envelope hobbled for now so they concentrate on high end NEX in general?
Guys, I think we’re missing the point here! I would never buy a Lunar or a Hassy SLT, but it would be awesome to get some nice stabilized lenses for E-mount and some very nice Hassy glass for A-mount. That’s not going to happen unless lunar and Hassy SLT have at least some support.
All Alloy of Titanium for that matter, FF or APS-C, better buffer, A mount, 1000 images per battery with SD or CF cards, weather shield and 12 FPS. Re design this one a bit. There are too many drags. Thats it!