Hasselblad X1D - 50C

Find out whether the image quality of this radical new mirrorless camera matches that divine exterior

- Rod Lawton

Hasselblad is best known for its professional medium format camera systems – and their £20K+ price tags – but the X1D is a radical new step. Its mirrorless design means it’s a fraction of the size of a regular medium-format camera, and scarcely larger than a 35mm full-frame model. And while it’s still a long way from cheap, its price puts a Hasselblad within the reach of more professionals and well-heeled enthusiasts.

So what’s the big deal about medium format? It’s all about image quality. At 50 million pixels the X1D seems to have no inherent advantage over Canon’s 50MP Eos 5ds, for example – but there’s more to it. The bigger sensor means bigger photosites, which should mean less noise and a wider dynamic range – Hasselblad claims up to 14 stops.

The larger sensor also delivers a very different ‘look’, with a much shallower depth of field for any given effective focal length. The X1d has an unusual crop factor of 0.82x, so the 45mm f/3.5 XCd lens supplied to us for this review is equivalent to a 37mm lens on a full-frame DSLR.

The design, look and layout of the X1d is also quite unique. This is a contemporary camera, built from milled aluminium to produce a strong and durable body. Round the back is a modern touch screen display, which is just as clean and minimal.

Hasselblad has launched a series of XCD autofocus lenses for the X1D (although its h system lenses work via an optional adaptor). Each lens has an integral leaf-type shutter – the X1D does not use a focal plane shutter. This means less vibration, plus flash synchronisation right up to the top speed of 1/2,000 sec.