Ops…Hasselbald actually wanted Fuji (and not Sony) as primary partner.
Quesabesde (translation here) reports an interesting story. Hasselblad goal was to partner with Fuji but Fuji showed their back to the Swedish company. Sony was “only” the second choice. Maybe Fuji managers saw the sketch of their Lunar project and run away before to sign the partnership agreement? Don’t be mad at me Hasselblad…It’s a joke 
I think (and hope) you can do great things with together with Sony. Share your medium format knowledge for the next high level Full Frame or Medium Format cameras from Sony. That would be a nice start! I am certinaly a bit “retro” but I would love to see a Full Frame Hassleblad X-Pan styled E-mount camera!
P.S: The X-Pan acutions on eBay (Click here).
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ageha
5 months ago |The Hasselblad XPan is designed and made by Fujifilm. It just sales with a Hasselblad sticker outside of japan. Hasselblad can’t make a XPan styled E-mount camera because Fujifilm won’t make an E-mount version of the TX.
Samony
5 months ago |Fuji doesn’t have time to make cameras for Hasselblad anymore as they’re too busy enjoying their new cash flow now. If it ever comes to fruit though with FF, I will be on line for one.
I think it was the lack of insight from the MF companies that FF quality would approach acceptible quality compared to MF. Even the then low price of the Pentax 645 couldn’t survive the new Canon and Nikon pro cams. Even Pentax had given up on it and is now rumored to be producing a FF DSLR.
lorenzino
5 months ago |What you say is true, but on one hand there was not much they could do to stay on business. Apart from Pentax other MF brands do not have lower sensor business, nor lens history. Could you imagine e.g. Bronica or Mamiya creating a FF system and going against Canon and Nikon?
The game could be reopened if MF systems become much more open than they are. Especially in the software arena, with the possibility for users to program and add features, in Apple style. This is where the traditional cameras (all of them, from compacts to large format cameras) are most vulnerable: they are closed systems, so what is not provided by the hardware producers cannot be added if not by the hardware producers. But in fact a camera that could be programmed in order to be immediately integrated in the computer-printer-screen-Ipad-Iphone (or Android) world would be a must.
A MF camera completely programmable and customizable that way would still hold its own against lower formats, especially because lower formats have not accepted this “open” vision of the photographic technology. But hey, we are talking about Japanese companies, which want everything to be created inside the company. Hasselblad is not Japanese: they could have thought otherwise. In fact they did the opposite, e.g. by making their mf cameras not compatible with third-party backs.
Congrats Hasselblad, and good-bye…
Don Cox
5 months ago |In the early days of Hasselblad, the great strength of the camera was its ergonomics. It was the only camera that could be used with thick gloves on (for the Swedish winter). You could preload some film backs so you didn’t have to fiddle around loading film in the field.
If they could design a digital FF camera to be usable with gloves on, it might sell. Sticking bits of wood on a NEX is just embarassing.
Hendrick
5 months ago |The reason why Hasselblad will not give away Medium Format tech or knowledge to Sony is because Fuji makes their Medium Format cameras. You may have missed that the Fuji GX645 is actually sold as Hasselblad H outside of Japan.
Also, Hasselblad bought Imacon a few years back, a scanner and digital back maker in order to incorporate their sensor tech in their Hasselblad HxD cameras and avoid the competition (Contax, Mamiya, Rollei) to access Imacon digital backs. Phase One and Leaf where the only ones left to manufacture these backs for the aforementioned Hasselblad competing brands until Contax and Rollei folded and Mamiya married Leaf. So, only Phase One is the one making digibacks for Hasselblad, funnily enough.
So, Hasselblad is only interested (my guess) in Sony’s FF and APS-C “vessels” to rebrand them as Hasselblad.
Also, worth noting, the Lunar is a luxury concept and not a practical concept like X-Pan or HxD. What Sony gets out of this is the continued volume of sales of relatively old NEX tech.
Well done Sony.
lorenzino
5 months ago |Lunar can be considered a good move by Sony, but a ridiculous one by Hasselblad. All photogear enthusiasts are having fun of Hasselblad, and saying aloud that the brand is not what it used to be. The exact opposite of the advertising that any healthy company would like to have. Until few years ago Hasselblad was not a luxurious brand, but a photo-centered company interested in producing the top photographic products, with no compromises whatsoever (even with price). Now, well…
Mistral75
5 months ago |Now, Hasselblad belongs to a private equity fund…
DR NO
5 months ago |Phase one its married with Mamiya actually
camerhell
5 months ago |and remember: sony tried to buy nikon before they bought minolta.
Sky_walker
5 months ago |I wouldn’t jump so happily into conclusions after a single camera made in rush. What did you expect in few months Hassel got since signing contract? They even didn’t have any people capable of designing a camera based on Sony technology. So here the Frankencamera was made.
Give them time to make something on their own using best of Sony components (like the announced DSLR) and hope we’ll be suprised in a positive way
DR NO
5 months ago |Hasselblad its not the old Hasselblad …. I mean the legendary hasselblad with great Carl Zeiss lenses and with an spectacular camera design …. its not the same in this days ….
lorenzino
5 months ago |so sad so true…
Danonino
5 months ago |I believe it would have to be a longer aps-c sized sensor to fit in the E-mount.
CTPhotographX.com
5 months ago |Sony would be better off reviving/imitating an interchangeable back version of the Rollieflex SL2000F.
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/rollei/rolleiflex_sl2000f_german/rollei24.jpg
Freddo
5 months ago |Modular is nice, but I would much rather see Sony develop a technical revival of the system used in Contax AX. That would make _any_ lens attached AF, even the ones that never could from the start.
Ian Scovell
5 months ago |THIS STORY IS NOT TRUE
I spoke to Chris Russell-Fish (head of UK operations before he left). There was a lot of talk about taking the Fuji X series & putting a Hasselblad badge on it, but it was a route the company didn’t want to go down with Fuji.
I haven’t spoken to ‘anyone’ at Hasselblad about this new partnering with Sony, it would be interesting to see what the inside track is.
Bengt Nyman
5 months ago |The new captain on MS Hasselblad has no business sailing the ship. A forceful mutiny and sailor takeover is recommended.
Randy S.
5 months ago |Fuji owned Hasselblad for a while. Fuji still makes all the AF hasselblad lenses. BUT Fujii Sold Hasselblad and now Hasselblad is HasslebladBron
Randy S.
5 months ago |OOPS Shiro Owned Hassleblad. Know they don’t.
http://www.shriro.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=93&lang=en.
Now they are owned by Ventizz