The Hasselblad H4D-40 is an evolutionary model building on their already fine medium camera the H3DII-39. The new model features a new sensor and a new critical focusing system, True Focus.
The H4D-40 is part of the latest generation of medium format cameras from Hasselblad and shares technology and accessories with their top end 50 Megapixel camera.
The Hasselblad is H4D-40 is partly a marketing exercise to attract interest from emerging professional photographers by providing a more affordable entry into the new H4D generation of cameras. In their press statements, Hasselblad spent more time comparing medium format cameras in general to 35mm DSLRs than talking about the H4D-40’s features.
“Most high-end photographers understand the advantages that a Medium Format system has over smaller formats,” explains Hasselblad CEO Larry Hansen, “but many younger photographers have never been exposed to larger format photography. Most everyone in the photographic world is aware, for example, of the dramatic developments that have taken place in the 35mm in recent years,” he continues, “but many of the younger generation of shooters are not aware of the fact that Medium Format DSLRs have evolved equally dramatically, maintaining – and even in some cases increasing – the quality gap that has historically existed between small format and larger format systems.”
“The fact that our large sensors have millions of pixels more than 35mm sensors is known, for instance,” Hansen continues, “but the superior image quality that results, in terms of color, detail, and clarity, is not as well known. Likewise, many photographers are not aware of the fact that the larger format of the H System cameras provides a considerably shallower depth of field range, making it much easier to utilize selective focus to creative effect. When combined with True Focus, this opens enormous creative possibilities and technical accuracy. Add to this the modularity of the H4D-40 with its choice of bright image viewfinders and an extensive accessories program, and you get a feature set that makes a Hasselblad system, today, more than ever, a crucial component of any professional photographic toolbox.”
The H4D-40 Sensor
This is a new sensor for the H4D entry-level model and is up slightly to 40 Megapixels over the older 39 Megapixels from the H3DII model. The most significant difference is the ISO range now extends from 100 to 1600 making the new model more tolerant of low light conditions. Particularly it may allow greater freedom to hand hold the camera rather than relying on tripod. This means a greater freedom for landscape and location photographers.
True Focus
Hasselblad introduce a new approach to auto focus in with their True focus technology. Rather than offering selectable multipoint autofocus sensors, Hasselblad stuck with single point central autofocus sensors. They did give it a twist for those occasions when the centre point of the image is not the desired focus point.
Hasselblad say that the traditional practice of focusing on the off center point then recomposing can cause focus problems. “In short distances, this re-composing causes focus error, as the plane of focus sharpness follows the camera’s movement, perpendicular to the axis of the lens.”
Hasselblad’s solution is to use a movement sensor to measure the camera movement during re-composition and then automatically adjust the focus point to compensate for any errors.
In a camera system capable of achieving shallower depth of field than 35mm DSLRs, accurate focus is more critical, but with selectable multipoint autofocus system photographers can avoid the issue of re-composing errors. Hasselblad say that their true focus system allows more accurate focusing on points towards the edge of the image because DSLR multipoints do not go to the extremes of the image.
However, for most close up work with such critical focusing many photographers prefer to manually focus anyway. Here Hasselblad do have a definite advantage with their larger and brighter optical viewfinder systems.
The Launch
Hasselblad is releasing the H4D-40 with a worldwide fanfare including a series of dealer demonstrations and events in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
The H4D-40 starts at 13 995 Euro / 19 995 USD / 12 995 GBP for camera body, viewfinder, and 80mm lens, and is available for immediate shipping.
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