New Toy!

London Headshots said:
Hi, thought I'd post a couple of example shots. Nothing special.

Both straight out of the camera. f8.0 ISO200 (ISO is very different on MF format, and the noise difference between 100 & 200 is very noticeable, so this is not 100% quality, but this is just about sharpness)

Full shot resized:

100% crop ("ultrasonic" is the focal point)
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Amazing! Although that 5d and 85 is a work horse also :)

Staggering detail, one day I will join you. Give it 10 years I think before I can afford one
 
Hi,

Loving the First shot, really see the Fibres near and around the Shutter button, on the Second.

Don't forget to take a Micro fibre cloth with you on your Future jobs, if that makes sense.

Regards.
 
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Richard, tell me about it. I had to shoot a silicon prototype of a launch product the other day, and it picked up pieces of dust and hair that I couldn't even see with my eyes. With the 120mm Macro, the detail is unbelievable.
 
However what does slightly puzzle me is that he advertises this new business investment as a "New Toy" when quite clearly it is not and this does sound a little conceited.[/QUOTE said:
New toy, more like a 'new nob':love: I would keep that in a sporan close to my other favorite 'toy' and probably want to Guiness dance around it.

Bloody good luck with it, lets hope you can afford a spare soon:thumbs:
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Ignore the jealous types.

I hope this purchase helps to move you into the area you want to be in. With all the doom and gloom I read in many posts here, it's refreshing to find someone with the determination and self belief to make such an investment to increase their business.

Good luck with your plans.
 
John, I admire your commitment to improving your business. I dread to think what your monthly overheads are but the fact that you are striving to "get there" suggests you are making a pretty good fist of things. I really hope that this investment brings the new work in.

I have a couple of questions if you get chance. Firstly what is the operating learning curve like, I would guess that any error in focus stands out like a beacon!

Secondly, what software will you be using? Also what sort of computing power is needed to handle the files? Is it the sort of thing that Photoshop CS6 and a decent, up to date PC can handle?

Finally and sorry for the extra question, what are you doing storage wise as a days shooting will no doubt fill up most "normal" SSD's lol!

I'm looking forward to your next "toy" by the way!!!

Andy
 
Fantastic image quality! The pictures just ooze a higher quality feel that you can't get with a DSLR. It's good to know that there are companies out there who still value image quality like that, especially in the current cost cutting climate.
 
Steve - Thanks man, appreciate the kind words :)

Andy - Learning curve is actually way harder than I first thought. Worst problems are it's ability to resolve colour. It will take the slightest yellow cast from a cheaper softbox, and it will almost look like you gelled the light with CTO. It's actually quite a hinderance. Shooting with hot lights is appearing to be the worst challenge of all, as all lights seem to emit a lightly different spectrum, which the camera picks up with intensity. Whereas the bare bulb of my Protofo heads appear completely white on a Canon 5D2, or any 35mm DSLR for that matter, on the Hasselblad, they have a very blue hue to them.

With the modelling lights on, 35mm gives a yellow hue, but with the Hasselblad, a very deep unflattering purple. It's not a case of "Oh, this is how it REALLY looks!", it's actually quite irritating and hard to deal with.

There's no Auto WB, and while that may not affect some purists, it's annoying if you just want to pick up the camera and shoot some tests.

Other things like focus are very difficult. When using the HTS 1.5 tilt & shift adaptor, the visibility through the viewfinder is obscured quite dramatically, and since there's no real Live View mode, focusing can be very tricky. It's really made me appreciate some of the automatic features of a 35mm DSLR that I took for granted.

Auto focus is crazy accurate. I'm off the opinion that this camera is practically incapable of missing focus. Problem is that there's only one focus point, so care is needed to make sure you activate the pitch/yaw sensors to recalibrate the focus when you recompose.

Software-wise, I use Phocus, which comes with the camera, and is amazing, and I use Photoshop CS6. In my studio, I'm tethering to a late-2012 i7 Mac Mini with 16gb, which is plenty fast to process the files, but not fast enough to work them in Photoshop. For that I use my 2013 iMac at some, which has 32gb of ram. It's very capable of handling the files, but I'm not sure I'd want to use anything less powerful. You probably could, but I don't think you could have anything else open at the same time.

Funnily enough, storage is not hugely different from a 35mm DSLR. While the file size may be double, the speed you can shoot as it reduced by 500%, so a day's shooting is yielding less pictures. With a DSLR I can machine gun shots at whatever recycle rate my lights are at, but with the MF camera, I'm limited to 1.1 FPS.

Overall, it's a steep learning curve, but the overall quality of the images outweigh its difficulty in use.
 
London Headshots said:
Steve - Thanks man, appreciate the kind words :)

Andy - Learning curve is actually way harder than I first thought. Worst problems are it's ability to resolve colour. It will take the slightest yellow cast from a cheaper softbox, and it will almost look like you gelled the light with CTO. It's actually quite a hinderance. Shooting with hot lights is appearing to be the worst challenge of all, as all lights seem to emit a lightly different spectrum, which the camera picks up with intensity. Whereas the bare bulb of my Protofo heads appear completely white on a Canon 5D2, or any 35mm DSLR for that matter, on the Hasselblad, they have a very blue hue to them.

With the modelling lights on, 35mm gives a yellow hue, but with the Hasselblad, a very deep unflattering purple. It's not a case of "Oh, this is how it REALLY looks!", it's actually quite irritating and hard to deal with.

There's no Auto WB, and while that may not affect some purists, it's annoying if you just want to pick up the camera and shoot some tests.

Other things like focus are very difficult. When using the HTS 1.5 tilt & shift adaptor, the visibility through the viewfinder is obscured quite dramatically, and since there's no real Live View mode, focusing can be very tricky. It's really made me appreciate some of the automatic features of a 35mm DSLR that I took for granted.

Auto focus is crazy accurate. I'm off the opinion that this camera is practically incapable of missing focus. Problem is that there's only one focus point, so care is needed to make sure you activate the pitch/yaw sensors to recalibrate the focus when you recompose.

Software-wise, I use Phocus, which comes with the camera, and is amazing, and I use Photoshop CS6. In my studio, I'm tethering to a late-2012 i7 Mac Mini with 16gb, which is plenty fast to process the files, but not fast enough to work them in Photoshop. For that I use my 2013 iMac at some, which has 32gb of ram. It's very capable of handling the files, but I'm not sure I'd want to use anything less powerful. You probably could, but I don't think you could have anything else open at the same time.

Funnily enough, storage is not hugely different from a 35mm DSLR. While the file size may be double, the speed you can shoot as it reduced by 500%, so a day's shooting is yielding less pictures. With a DSLR I can machine gun shots at whatever recycle rate my lights are at, but with the MF camera, I'm limited to 1.1 FPS.

Overall, it's a steep learning curve, but the overall quality of the images outweigh its difficulty in use.
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Thanks for taking the time to write this. Great to see someone telling it how it is with actual practical reasoning.

One question if you don't mind, I'm about to pick up a i7 Mac mini (fushion drive, 16 gig ram) how is that computer for processing files from the 5dm2 and Lightroom, photoshop. Plenty fast? Just worried it will not be enough for day to day editing and surfing, emailing all at the same time.

Thanks
 
From Answer above.


One question if you don't mind, I'm about to pick up a i7 Mac mini (fushion drive, 16 gig ram) how is that computer for processing files from the 5dm2 and Lightroom, photoshop. Plenty fast? Just worried it will not be enough for day to day editing and surfing, emailing all at the same time.

Hi,

Just bought a 27" iMac with 8 Gig Ram / Fusion Drive.
I find it plenty fast though I am only using PSE10 when doing other Tasks as well.

So with your extra 8GB you should have no Problems.

Was going to Max it out to 32GB but shying away from that for now, as its more than capable for the use I give it.

Regards.
 
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AndyHayball said:
Thanks for taking the time to write this. Great to see someone telling it how it is with actual practical reasoning.

One question if you don't mind, I'm about to pick up a i7 Mac mini (fushion drive, 16 gig ram) how is that computer for processing files from the 5dm2 and Lightroom, photoshop. Plenty fast? Just worried it will not be enough for day to day editing and surfing, emailing all at the same time.

Thanks
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I have the same Mini, minus the Fusion Drive. From what I understand, the Fusion Drive completely transforms the performance of the Mini, which is already plenty fast. Only difficulty I have, and this is with 5D2 files and Lightroom, is the difficulty the Mini i7 seems to have processing when you have a bunch of programs open. I'm not particularly technically inclined, but there is a definitive performance difference between the Mini and a comparatively spec'ed iMac.

It seems to become a bit sluggish if you have a moderate-size catalogue and a couple of tiffs open in CS6.

But that's without the Fusion drive. Apparently, the speed of that thing is incredible.
 
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London Headshots said:
I have the same Mini, minus the Fusion Drive. From what I understand, the Fusion Drive completely transforms the performance of the Mini, which is already plenty fast. Only difficulty I have, and this is with 5D2 files and Lightroom, is the difficulty the Mini i7 seems to have processing when you have a bunch of programs open. I'm not particularly technically inclined, but there is a definitive performance difference between the Mini and a comparatively spec'ed iMac.

It seems to become a bit sluggish if you have a moderate-size catalogue and a couple of tiffs open in CS6.

But that's without the Fusion drive. Apparently, the speed of that thing is incredible.
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Great thanks guys for your thoughts, indeed I come from music studio background and so I know the potential for SSD is incredible. Literally transforms machines.

Thanks again for your comments I'm going to get myself one of those. For a thousand pounds its not a bad deal also. Even PC machines seem to be expensive for what you get. Can't wait to use USB 3 as transfer rates of 17megs a second is killing me. Also I have a calibrated IPS screen so as much as I'd like an imac the double price point is not in its favour.

Thanks again!
 
Aesthetically, at least, I prefer the old Hasselblad cameras made of metal rather than plastic. Maybe it is just me but for the price I would have preferred a better built/better looking camera! :)
 
Plastic? It's made of stainless steel, just like every other Hasselblad. It just had a plastic coating on the H4 and H3, but the shell was pure steel.

There's no coating on mine, it's brushed steel and weighs a ton. What do you mean by better built? Have you handled one yet? I only ask because there's only a few of these in the country. IT's about the most well-built camera Hasselblad have ever made, and I've personally ever held. It's weather sealed, solid, completely rigid, with absolutely no rattles, noises or movement anywhere in the body/back/lens.
 
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AndyHayball said:
Great thanks guys for your thoughts, indeed I come from music studio background and so I know the potential for SSD is incredible. Literally transforms machines.

Thanks again for your comments I'm going to get myself one of those. For a thousand pounds its not a bad deal also. Even PC machines seem to be expensive for what you get. Can't wait to use USB 3 as transfer rates of 17megs a second is killing me. Also I have a calibrated IPS screen so as much as I'd like an imac the double price point is not in its favour.

Thanks again!
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Hi,

USB 3 Amazingly Fast, no need to fall Asleep anymore.

Regards.
 
I have a 3 year old PC that I added a 240GB SSD drive and it can handle 75MB raws from my D800 easily with LR4 and CS6 open no problem.
 
My only worry with that marvelous camera is that it looks very futuristic - like something Tron would use!

Congrats though - must be great to use and see the quality of the images you get from it.
 
Leica S2 was never in the running, it was between the IQ140 and the H4D-40.

Eventually chose Hasselblad because of the TrueFocus, the more complete system, and files which were - in my opinion - a little nicer. Though others prefer PhaseOne's files.
 
Congratulations on your purchase, certainly looks the business. Quick question that is slightly OT, I read in EVO way back about one of the photographers setting up his Hasselblad (in editorial text) - are any of these medium format cameras suitable for action or do magazines use FF SLR's for that?

Stevie
 
It all depends on how much effort you make or what the restraints of the shoot are. I can use a £20 laser trigger to fire the camera if I'm able to manual focus, and on the new H5D, the focus is actually pretty fast (I was wrong about what I said earlier about it being slow, it's actually just the TrueFocus that's slow).

It's obviously not going to be as fast as a 35mm camera if you're shooting in natural light, but when studio lights are in play, there's nothing better than an MF camera and a laser trigger. Especially when using fast lights such as Profoto or Broncolor.
 
Stevies said:
Congratulations on your purchase, certainly looks the business. Quick question that is slightly OT, I read in EVO way back about one of the photographers setting up his Hasselblad (in editorial text) - are any of these medium format cameras suitable for action or do magazines use FF SLR's for that?

Stevie
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Maybe I might help answer that one? I am the Sales Manager at a Porsche specialist in Malton, North Yorkshire, and we do a lot of photoshoots of the rarer stuff with the Porsche mags, Evo, Octane etc.

I've never seen MFD used on these shoots, bearing in mind for editorial use like that the quality requirement isn't that high, mainly it is full frame 35mm digital, usually 1Ds or the Nikon equivalent, one guy who does some very good stuff uses a 1Ds Mk1 still, another chap a 5D2 etc.

When you say action bear in mind the closest we get on most photoshoots is a panning shot or car to car stuff which can be repeated easily enough there isn't the requirement for a million frames a second.
 
I wouldn't say it was "creeping into medium format territory". Medium Format territory is super fast sync speeds, 16-bit colour, unique depth of field, etc. The D800 is simply similar in pixel count.

Not saying the D800 isn't an amazing achievement, just that regardless of what Alex claims in his title (and then proves wrong in his tests), the D800 doesn't compare to a medium format system in any way other than similar print sizes.
 
markmullen said:
Maybe I might help answer that one? I am the Sales Manager at a Porsche specialist in Malton, North Yorkshire, and we do a lot of photoshoots of the rarer stuff with the Porsche mags, Evo, Octane etc.

I've never seen MFD used on these shoots, bearing in mind for editorial use like that the quality requirement isn't that high, mainly it is full frame 35mm digital, usually 1Ds or the Nikon equivalent, one guy who does some very good stuff uses a 1Ds Mk1 still, another chap a 5D2 etc.

When you say action bear in mind the closest we get on most photoshoots is a panning shot or car to car stuff which can be repeated easily enough there isn't the requirement for a million frames a second.
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Thanks for the reply, surprised that they aren't on the latest Canon/Nikon kit but I buy a fair few car magazines the guys from EVO and Octane certainly know how to use their kit - stunning photographs.
 
Stevies said:
Thanks for the reply, surprised that they aren't on the latest Canon/Nikon kit but I buy a fair few car magazines the guys from EVO and Octane certainly know how to use their kit - stunning photographs.
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They rarely have any attraction to kit, it is just a tool for a business, and as long as it is still doing the job they tend not to replace it.
 
I want that camera, I'm jealous, I hate you, go crawl into a cave and stay there forever (but leave me your camera)...

There, I've said it! :lol:

Nah, only joking. You're an immensely talented photographer and my jaw hits the floor every time I go to your site for a nosy around, I can only imagine the kind of results you'll get from this thing of beauty. I have massive respect for anyone who's worked themselves into a position where such a high end camera will have a genuine effect on their work and hopefully bring more!
 
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PMN, you are definitely invited to my birthday party!

No seriously dude, that's a really kind thing to say, thanks a lot.
 
London Headshots said:
Plastic? It's made of stainless steel, just like every other Hasselblad. It just had a plastic coating on the H4 and H3, but the shell was pure steel.

There's no coating on mine, it's brushed steel and weighs a ton. What do you mean by better built? Have you handled one yet? I only ask because there's only a few of these in the country. IT's about the most well-built camera Hasselblad have ever made, and I've personally ever held. It's weather sealed, solid, completely rigid, with absolutely no rattles, noises or movement anywhere in the body/back/lens.
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A pleasant surprise then! :) I am a bit in love with the old made-to-last cameras. I certainly wish Hasselblad remains among the leaders in quality as Leica is in 35mm format!
 
Stevies said:
Thanks for the reply, surprised that they aren't on the latest Canon/Nikon kit but I buy a fair few car magazines the guys from EVO and Octane certainly know how to use their kit - stunning photographs.
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depends who does the shoots. I know a couple of guys that use MF ( but also FF too) for automotive stuff
 
It's beautiful. Congratulations. I hope it does everything for you that you require :)

Of course, I am withholding final judgement until you post a wire wool spin shot!
 
Norters, what's a wire wool spin shot?

Is that a way of testing detail? I'm happy to do so if it is. I am not a technical shooter as far as cameras go, so testing for ultimate sharpness is not my forte, but someone else asked if I could post a raw to see how sharp it was, but I don't really know the best thing to shoot. Are we talking an actual piece of wire wool?
 
London Headshots said:
Norters, what's a wire wool spin shot?

Is that a way of testing detail? I'm happy to do so if it is. I am not a technical shooter as far as cameras go, so testing for ultimate sharpness is not my forte, but someone else asked if I could post a raw to see how sharp it was, but I don't really know the best thing to shoot. Are we talking an actual piece of wire wool?
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It was a cheeky joke :) A lot of people are obsessed with them the same as all that long exposure from a motorway bridge stuff!
 
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