Hasselblad Capture One

Phase One Vs Hasselblad
Hasselblad 907x Capture One

I have spent years carrying around and shooting with a Hasselblad H4D-60 with a selection of beautiful Hasselblad (Fujinon) lenses, and the results have been outstanding. The image files are razor sharp, have wonderful smooth tonal transitions and are an absolute dream to work on. So why have I gone over to the dark side, traded the faithful Hasselblad for the Phase One black box?

Film to Digital

OnePlus 9 is available in Winter Mist, Astral Black and Arctic Sky colour options. OnePlus, as a brand, has been working on providing users with top-notch specifications and a bloatware-free user. Same here, I have a Fujinon XF16-80mm F4 R OIS WR and I'm surprised that this lens is still not supported by Capture One yet. This lens came out in 2019. In September 2019 I believe, and to be precise. Thank you for feedback on Capture One - this is always welcomed and encouraged among our users and we appreciate the time you've taken to contribute towards the development of the software. I have forwarded your comments and suggestions on to our Product Management team as something to consider in a future release. Hasselblad has updated the popular H platform for Phase One/Leaf digital back owners. Compatible with HCD Lenses (28, 35-90) Widely available from rental houses throughout the world; Provide the same extensive functionality as the H1 and H2 cameras. Number of available Profiles increased from 4 to 8; More programmable button options.

It all started some years ago when I was considering the move from large format film to medium format digital and the choices were the Hasselblad H4D-60 and the Phase One DF+ with the recently released Phase One IQ180 digital back.

There was a lot of backwards and forwards for me between the two as both had plusses and minuses. The brand new IQ180 was a lovely creation with a touch screen, friendly user interface (UI) and menu, 80mp of awesome image quality with the beautiful tonal transitions that only a CCD sensor could give.

The Hasselblad back was 60mp, also with beautiful smooth tonal transitions and stunning image quality… but with a small poor quality preview screen that made your image look terrible, funky rubber buttons of indeterminate use and a primitive menu system that looked like it came from the early 80’s. Needless to say it wasn’t a touch screen.

That’s plus 1 for the Phase One, and minus 1 for the Hasselblad.

A bit of Medium Format History.

The cameras themselves were a different story. Remember this is a component system, the digital back and the camera body are separate machines, at least theoretically. Phase One were originally making medium format digital camera backs for a variety of camera manufacturers. Hasselblad, Rollei, Contax, Pentax, Mamiya ect…

Then Hasselblad started making their own digital backs… actually Imacon bought Hasselblad and closed off the Hasselblad system to other manufacturers, like Phase One. This wasn’t a popular decision in the photographic world as many professionals were at that time using a Phase One back with a Hasselblad H1 or H2 camera. In response Phase One partnered with Mamiya and the Mamiya 645AF became the Phase One AF, then the DF then the DF+… And that’s where the problem lay for me.

The Phase One DF+

The DF+ was not a great camera, putting it mildly. It seemed to be forever in conflict with the Phase One back, locking up frequently and just generally failing to perform. The autofocus was very slow and of questionable accuracy, the back had very little communication with the camera, they even had discrete batteries and you had to turn them on and off separately. And unbelievably, the camera actually required AA batteries, the type you buy from the chemist.

Phase One were quickly making up ground with lenses, partnering with Schneider Kreuznach to produce some exceptional Leaf Shutter lenses to match with their exceptional back. Plus 1 to Phase One for the lenses. If only they had a better camera… Minus 1 for Phase One.

The Hasselblad H System

The Hasselblad camera on the other hand was already a mature system. Although it was the H4 by the time I was looking to buy, it was really just the H1 with a few minor modifications. Hasselblad get criticised for this often, that their “New” camera is just the old camera with a new paint job. Which I’m pretty sure it is. But they really got this camera right at the start, it just works. It’s super ergonomic and balanced to hold, the auto focus is fast – For a medium format – and accurate, the exposures are spot on, the camera and back are in full communication, just like an integrated system should be.

The camera and the digital back switch on and off with one button and share the same battery. Hasselblad has a complete lens collection of truly amazing lenses from 24mm (Super wide) to 300mm, with macro, extension tubes, teleconverters and even a Tilt Shift adaptor that works on many of the lens range. The lenses have been resolving up to 200mp on the 50mp multishot (200mp final file) for some years, so they are proven performers. +++ for Hasselblad.

Leaf Shutters and Shutter Speed Limits

On the down side, the Hasselblad leaf shutter lenses have a maximum shutter speed of 1/800 sec, which was fine for my landscape work, but not great for moving targets or aerial photography. Minus 1 for Hasselblad

The Schneider Leaf Shutter lenses had a top shutter speed of 1/1600, and the DF+ also has a focal plane shutter built in which automatically takes over above 1/1600 sec to give a much more respectable shutter speed up to 1/4000 sec. Plus 1 for Phase One.

The Final Choice

After many sleepless nights I concluded that the Hasselblad seemed like the better option. The UI on the digital back was a big let down, but as disappointing as the images looked on the back of the camera, on the computer they were stunning, and I just couldn’t get past that DF+ camera.

So I bought the Hasselblad, and loved it, it is a beautiful camera to use. I even took it to Bhutan, Cambodia and Vietnam and shot street portraits, dance festivals and fishermen with it. In fact I shot my favourite shots from Bhutan on the H4D-60 from all of my many visits there. I have to say that the Hasselblad H4D-60 never missed a beat and was a joy to use.

So that was about 5 years ago, Now everything has changed… That will be in the next post… HERE>>

Privacy Policy

Monk Art Photography is fully committed to protecting the personal privacy of visitors to this website. We promise to keep your personal information secure and use it for internal purposes only. We will never pass on your details to third parties and will only contact you regarding information you have asked for.

Should you feel we have not adhered to these principles, please feel free to contact us any time here...

Terms of Use

Monk Art Photography reserves the right to change specifications, prices and availability of images without notice. Any price variation will not affect existing orders.

Shipping & Delivery Policy

Orders must be paid for in full before shipping.

All prices stated include worldwide postage, packaging and full insurance. Images are packed rolled in reinforced postage tubes and sent via registered post or courier. All images are unstretched and unframed. In the rare event that any damage should occur in transit, you should advise us here at Monk Art Photography immediately and we will have a replacement shipped to you as soon as the damaged item is returned.

Delivery of your order is within 4-6 weeks from the date of purchase.

Phase One Vs Hasselblad

Cancellations of orders cannot be accepted once your images have been printed and shipped.

When placing an order please ensure your shipping address is correct. Orders returned due to an incorrect address will incur an additional re-shipping charge.

Insurance

All orders are fully insured door to door.

Returns and Refunds

We do not normally accept returns or offer refunds, but should you have any concerns please contact us and we will do our utmost to resolve them.

Adobe Camera Raw, which lets you import and enhance raw images, has been a must-have tool for professional photographers right since it was first released in 2003. Applications that support Adobe Camera Raw include Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, After Effects, and Bridge. Additionally, Adobe Lightroom is built upon the same powerful raw image processing technology that powers Adobe Camera Raw.

For a complete list of all the cameras and lenses that Camera Raw supports, see:

Frequent updates provide support for the latest cameras as well as new features available in Adobe Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC.

Camera Raw (2.3 or later) supports raw files in the Digital Negative (DNG), a raw file format made available to the public by Adobe.

For troubleshooting camera support, see:

For documentation on using Adobe Camera Raw and the DNG Converter, see:

Take your best shot and make it even better with the Creative Cloud Photography plan. Get all the essential tools, including Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop, to craft incredible images every day, everywhere — whether you’re a beginner or a pro. It’s all your photography. All in one place.

Go more in depth: