Hasselblad’s Three New Prime Lenses Are Stunning Creations
News | By Stephan Jukic | September 8, 2022
Swedish camera maker Hasselblad hasn’t only released a whole new X System camera for well-heeled buyers. The brand also revealed a trio of new prime lenses for this camera type that is sure to make any photographer pause with appreciation.
The newly-revealed prime optics are for Hasselblad’s X System cameras and go by the model denominations Hasselblad XCD 2,5/38V, Hasselblad XCD 2,5/55V and Hasselblad XCD 2,5/90V. In practical terms, these respectively translate to 38mm f/2.5, 55m f/2.5 and 90mm f/2.5 lenses.
For users of full-frame cameras instead of the medium format that these lenses are for, the above apertures and focal lengths are respectively equivalent to 30mm, 43mm and 71mm with an f/1.98 aperture, though with a shallower depth of field due to the huge medium format sensor they serve.
The Hasselblad XCD 38mm f/2.5 lens
The sensor in question is ideally the one found in Hasselblad’s new X2D edition camera that was unveiled today. This pricey but exquisite beast of a medium-format device comes with a 100MP sensor and all kinds of other wonderful specs that we’ve covered in more detail here.
Quite simply, with the resolution offered in the X2D 100C camera, lenses good enough to deliver insane levels of detail are necessary. So for anyone buying the camera itself, these new optics would be ideal accessories.
One interesting feature of the new optics is a control ring at the base of each lens that can be custom-set to handle ISO changes, aperture, shutter speed and exposure compensation in most of the newer Hasselblad cameras that these lenses are designed for. It’s also worth noting that the new optics include leaf shutters with synching capacity for flash at any speed, and their overall shutter operation is quieter than in previous models.
As for their other specs, the brand’s new lenses are made to a modification of the design parameters found in existing X System glass. Thus they now come with etched metal rings instead of rubber grips and include focus scales right on their bodies for useful reference during manual focusing.
For engaging their manual focus mode, the lens models include a manual focus clutch that lets you push the focus ring forward for manual mode and switch back to autofocus by pulling the same ring back. The AF system has also been redesigned to offer a faster AF module that works with the also-faster phase detect-driven focus on the X2D camera itself. This combination translates to truly rapid autofocus speeds when the two elements are combined.
Hasselblad now has the lenses available for pre-order with prices set at $3,599 for the XCS/38V, $3,699 for the XCD 2,5/55V and $4,299 for the XCD 2,5/90V.
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Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
