Hasselblad just unveiled the Hasselblad X2D 100C, the venerable Swedish company’s latest medium format camera and this one’s a doozy. The Hasselblad X2D 100C boasts a 100MP sensor with phase-detection autofocus; 5-axis, 7-stop in-body image stabilization (IBIS); and 1TB of built-in SSD storage.
The Hasselblad X2D 100C also features an updated camera design from its predecessors with what the company says is an improved electronic viewfinder (EVF) and a tilting touchscreen, which will help photographers shoot from different angles including low shots and overheads. In addition to the terabyte of on-board SSD storage, the camera has a single CFexpress Type B memory card slot.
Hasselblad also announced three new X system lenses: the XCD 38mm f/2.5 V, XCD 55mm f/2.5 V, and XCD 90mm f/2.5 V. The new lenses feature updated exterior designs along with improved autofocus performance, a more intuitive AF/MF switching design, new customizable control rings, and lighter, more compact builds, Hasselblad said.
It’s been a while since Hasselblad has released a new medium format camera, the last being the X1D II 50C from 2019. The new X2D 100C doubles the pixel count of that model, with a 44 x 33mm BSI CMOS sensor that has a lower base sensitivity from the X1D, now at ISO 64 vs ISO 100; and a reported wider dynamic range of 15 stops vs 14 stops with 16-bit color depth.
While we haven’t tested the new Hasselblad X2D 100C yet, what should be key to its success is the new autofocus system, which includes 294 phase-detection zones to, hopefully, produce better accuracy and focusing in a variety of lighting conditions. The previous models suffered from slow and often inaccurate AF, particularly in low lighting. (Read our review of the Hasselblad H1D-50c here.)
Also important is the Hasselblad X2D 100C’s IBIS, which is a sensor-shift stabilization that the company claims will compensate for 7 stops of camera shake. The camera’s IBIS should also help the X2D 100C when shooting in low-light conditions at slower shutter speeds.
Other notable upgrades included the EVF, which now has a 5.76m-dot resolution OLED panel and 1.0x magnification for what should be a larger, clearer viewing experience. The 3.6-inch touchscreen, as mentioned, now has a tilting designed, which should be better for working from low shooting angles.
All these improvements, however, don’t come cheap. You can order the Hasselblad X2D 100C today for $8199 though it’s unclear when the actual ship date of this compact yet powerful medium format camera will be.
