A list of highly thought, curated, and under looked improvement points to their digital system. 8 things that if I knew, I would probably not get a Hasselblad digital camera.
Rafa, congratulations for this extensive analysis of the 907X. As a previous owner of the 907X/CFV II 50C and now a proud owner of the 907X/CFV100C, I want to share my experience on some of the points you highlighted so well. Let's start:
When I got my first 907X, back in 2021, I immediately tumbled upon most of the details in your list. For instance, the lack of a separate dial for either shutter speed or aperture, depending of the mode you're in. To counter for that, I purchased the original Hasselblad grip, and that was a big mistake. It has, indeed, additional controls solving that one issue, but lacks in ergonomics. For instance, you can't hold the camera with your right hand comfortably wrapped around the grip and at the same time press the shutter button on top of it. For that and other reasons I ended up selling the whole package (that had grown meanwhile from the original 907X/CFV II 50C + the 45P/4 lens combo by adding the grip and the 80/1.9 monster). I was more than happy with the IQ of the files but decided to wait until Hasselblad fixed some of the issues.
Going back to issue #1, I totally agree: converting that button to a toggle function (aperture/shutter speed) would solve the issue, and it's a mere firmware mod that could come in a future update. Let's hope so. As I don't own any of the more expensive lenses (and don't intend to for now), this would be of great help.
Haptic feedback isn't probably possible for lack of hardware, but the beep is available, so again, just a firmware mod. Hey, Hasselblad, are you listening?
As I rarely use the CFV100C on my V-system backs, I hadn't noticed that the camera doesn't default to leaf shutter when an XCD is mounted. When using the CFV100C on legacy Hasselblad bodies one must choose from a list that starts with the 500 and ends with Any (in two variations, flash synchronization and electronic shutter). These two options are the ones you should use if you want Live View with legacy bodies. If you select a 500 body, for instance, you're bound to composing and focusing on, if you're lucky, an Acute Matte D through the optical path. You'll be able to see the finished photo later on the LCD, or immediately after the shot, according to a selection in the Display/Preview section. But I digress... It was only after reading this post that I noticed, as said above, that the camera doesn't default back to leaf shutter when mounting it to an XCD lens; you have to switch on the menu, which is a little cumbersome. Electronic shutter is fine for static subjects (for instance, if taking architecture photos on a FlexBody or an SWC); for everything else, leaf shutter is a must. Again, Hasselblad should read this post!
I don't have any of the more expensive lenses, so I'll pass on the customization of the rings on the lenses. I became used to the limitations of the 907X version and I'm happy with my current set.
Lossless compression should be a welcome addition to the RAW options, no doubt. 200MB files are huge and take up a lot of space in my Synology HDs!
The gyro thing is a great idea. I have other digital cameras with different approaches to subject focus lock but just locking on a certain point in the scene in front of it would definitely help.
As to the last item, I managed to get my LCD blank after each shot with my 500C/M body but it's a cumbersome process. I can take shots using just the focusing screen and treat the CFV100C as a film magazine but I don't see the point of a Hasselblad version of the Leica M-D digital bodies. I value being able to check immediately how the shot looks like in the LCD, so I can fix something on the spot.
All in all, Rafa, I can definitely sign at the bottom of your list of improvements, if you manage to get it to the guys at Hasselblad who can implement them. Do you participate in any Facebook group of Hasselblad addicts? I think that's one of the ways to get your list up to Hasselblad's decision circles.
Again, great review, and keep up with the excellent work here!
What a stellar feedback, Walmyr! And it’s great to see that someone with your Hasselblad knowledge enjoyed the list I put together. Thanks a lot for taking the time and effort to comment out!
Rafa, after I wrote my comments above, I tried again the last item (blank screen after each shot), and found out it wasn't really writing the images to the card! It behaved as it was taking the shot, the screen was black before I pressed the shutter, then flashed the image for a fraction of a second and went black again. Then I checked the memory card, nothing in it... :-/
Rafa, congratulations for this extensive analysis of the 907X. As a previous owner of the 907X/CFV II 50C and now a proud owner of the 907X/CFV100C, I want to share my experience on some of the points you highlighted so well. Let's start:
When I got my first 907X, back in 2021, I immediately tumbled upon most of the details in your list. For instance, the lack of a separate dial for either shutter speed or aperture, depending of the mode you're in. To counter for that, I purchased the original Hasselblad grip, and that was a big mistake. It has, indeed, additional controls solving that one issue, but lacks in ergonomics. For instance, you can't hold the camera with your right hand comfortably wrapped around the grip and at the same time press the shutter button on top of it. For that and other reasons I ended up selling the whole package (that had grown meanwhile from the original 907X/CFV II 50C + the 45P/4 lens combo by adding the grip and the 80/1.9 monster). I was more than happy with the IQ of the files but decided to wait until Hasselblad fixed some of the issues.
Going back to issue #1, I totally agree: converting that button to a toggle function (aperture/shutter speed) would solve the issue, and it's a mere firmware mod that could come in a future update. Let's hope so. As I don't own any of the more expensive lenses (and don't intend to for now), this would be of great help.
Haptic feedback isn't probably possible for lack of hardware, but the beep is available, so again, just a firmware mod. Hey, Hasselblad, are you listening?
As I rarely use the CFV100C on my V-system backs, I hadn't noticed that the camera doesn't default to leaf shutter when an XCD is mounted. When using the CFV100C on legacy Hasselblad bodies one must choose from a list that starts with the 500 and ends with Any (in two variations, flash synchronization and electronic shutter). These two options are the ones you should use if you want Live View with legacy bodies. If you select a 500 body, for instance, you're bound to composing and focusing on, if you're lucky, an Acute Matte D through the optical path. You'll be able to see the finished photo later on the LCD, or immediately after the shot, according to a selection in the Display/Preview section. But I digress... It was only after reading this post that I noticed, as said above, that the camera doesn't default back to leaf shutter when mounting it to an XCD lens; you have to switch on the menu, which is a little cumbersome. Electronic shutter is fine for static subjects (for instance, if taking architecture photos on a FlexBody or an SWC); for everything else, leaf shutter is a must. Again, Hasselblad should read this post!
I don't have any of the more expensive lenses, so I'll pass on the customization of the rings on the lenses. I became used to the limitations of the 907X version and I'm happy with my current set.
Lossless compression should be a welcome addition to the RAW options, no doubt. 200MB files are huge and take up a lot of space in my Synology HDs!
The gyro thing is a great idea. I have other digital cameras with different approaches to subject focus lock but just locking on a certain point in the scene in front of it would definitely help.
As to the last item, I managed to get my LCD blank after each shot with my 500C/M body but it's a cumbersome process. I can take shots using just the focusing screen and treat the CFV100C as a film magazine but I don't see the point of a Hasselblad version of the Leica M-D digital bodies. I value being able to check immediately how the shot looks like in the LCD, so I can fix something on the spot.
All in all, Rafa, I can definitely sign at the bottom of your list of improvements, if you manage to get it to the guys at Hasselblad who can implement them. Do you participate in any Facebook group of Hasselblad addicts? I think that's one of the ways to get your list up to Hasselblad's decision circles.
Again, great review, and keep up with the excellent work here!
What a stellar feedback, Walmyr! And it’s great to see that someone with your Hasselblad knowledge enjoyed the list I put together. Thanks a lot for taking the time and effort to comment out!
Rafa, after I wrote my comments above, I tried again the last item (blank screen after each shot), and found out it wasn't really writing the images to the card! It behaved as it was taking the shot, the screen was black before I pressed the shutter, then flashed the image for a fraction of a second and went black again. Then I checked the memory card, nothing in it... :-/
Yeah! I think there’s no way to disable preview with the 500 body attached.
Rafa, check this group in Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1DXse4kCKc/