Fujiblad H1 lenses

[hankg]

The MTF charts for all the new Hasselblad H1 Fuji lenses look

spectacular. Have there been any comprehensive reviews yet of

any of the lenses? I have never been impressed with Fuji's

medium format offerings compared to Mamiya, Zeiss,

Schneider, but it if the charts are any indication that could

change.

[yun_chen1]

Goog new name! Fujiblad.

[bas1]

I too have been waiting for the first feedback of users of this camera. It's been available for several weeks now but it almost looks like they haven't sold a single unit yet. Complete silence from the buyers front.

[jack_chase]

Hank,

I have been using a Fuji 6x9 with 90 mm lens for years. It is superb. Though I have a complete (for me) Hassy system that I use professionally, I usually use the Fuji as my travel camera. I crop the images, so that at full-frame, it is a mild wide-angle; cropped to the equivalent of 6x4.5, it is a slight tele. The lens is so sharp that I can make large blow-ups from fairly severe crops.

 

Though I cannot justify the expense of the H1 system myself, I do not expect any drop in lens quality with the switch to Fuji lenses.

[negro y blanco fotógrafo]

I received this email from Tom Olive, an AP photographer and moderator of the AP forum. He just purchased an H1 and if what he says is true I guess I'll be going to get one as soon as I can afford to:

<br>

Thought I¹d mention that I¹m moving over to the new Hasselblad H1 (waiting

for additional lenses) which is the finest camera I have ever used. Anyone

else doing the same?

<br>

The new, incredible auto-focus lenses which have been specially designed to

meet digital requirements (as has the entire camera) and film requirements

yield a sharpness I'm not accustomed to. Add to that the soft, pleasant

looking 'boke' (the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of the image)

for terrific image quality.

<br>

Then there¹s auto-bracket, a spot meter option with zone system readings,

programmable user modes for instantly shifting between different types of

shooting, and better features and quality than the best 35mm cameras out

there (in a 645 system). The commitment Hasselblad makes in their manual is

true: the potential of this outstanding professional equipment straight out

of the box is dazzling, evoking a long list of superlatives. While others

have been concentrating on digital, squeezing it into existing cameras and

lens systems, Hasselblad has rebuilt an entire *camera system* for digital..

and film. For example, the film back isn¹t big enough to house a film wind

motor, much less 2 fps on 120/220 film. No way. Nor is it possible for

those three small batteries inside the grip to yield 2,500 exposures on a

fully automated 120 system. And how they manage to imprint EXIF-type data

(I'm using a copyright notice, website, and exposure data) on the edge of

the film at the same time is beyond me.

<br>

I love its versatility and interchangeability for shooting any combination

of neg, positive, or digital, and anxiously awaiting the new crop of

full-frame digital backs from other manufacturers. The larger 645 format in

a 35mm-like camera is wonderful, and what you see through the viewfinder

makes 35mm (which I have been using primarily, both digital and film) look

like a toy. For me this is the ideal system for location and lifestyle ad

work, a very good answer for the what-camera-do-I-get dilemma; the camera is

superlative regardless of the media you're using.

<br>

I've been distracted long enough by the digital revolution. Now it's back

to *photography*. Heck, ever since it arrived I've found myself talking

about this camera more than my new GRANDSON... <VBG>.

<br>

 

Tim Olive

APA member

<a href="http://www.olive.com">www.olive.com</a>

 

Hope this helps - Marc <a href="http://www.marcmanleyphoto.com">www.marcmanleyphoto.com</a>

[tom_aellis1]

Has anyone heard of the Kodak 645H back for the H1 being available yet? I wish to purchase the H1 and the back at the same time.

Thanks

Tom

[peter_linden]

Regarding Kodak back availability, I believe the unit started shipping February 1. I have one on order, along with an H1, and have been led to expect delivery of both by the end of the month.

 

Peter Linden

[joe_demb1]

I tried out my new H1 this weekend for the first time, shooting indoors with flash on camera at a Boston hotel. If you ever asked any videographer what he/she spends on equipment, the price of a good still camera pales in comparison. By the way, the kit is 6K not 7K. I have used C's and CM's for 30 years and have always had focus problems with them. When I started shooting half my wedding shots with a Fuji S1 a year and a half ago, I learned that life didn't have to be so hard. I was hard put to find any shot that was not razor sharp with an auto focus system. I did learn with the S1 the limits of a camera that synchs at 125th. Shooting against a background of window light at a hotel wedding meant that the background blows out unless I would blast the subject with direct flash. Ugh! I use flash softening devices & shoot at 5.6 - 6.7 all the time. So no Mamiya or Contax for me. I was expecting the H1 to focus in the same dim light as the S1. No such luck. I was embarrased not to be able to trip the shutter on a request shot, because I didn't know the camera well enough yet to switch to manual focus fast enough. I am used to lifting my S1 above my head at arms length to get high angle shots "blind" without having to worry about focus. I won't be trying that with my H1 in a dark hall. The infra-red light just doesn't compete with the white light on the S1. So am I ready to despair? Not quite. On manual focus, the image snaps right in beautifully. With my CM a subject 12 feet away looks fairly well in focus with the camera set to 10 feet or 17 feet. With the H1 it's 12 feet and nothing but 12 feet. I could weep with joy! Hey, you V system function photographers-how many times have you taken a shot in dim light & as the subjects walked away, checked your scale to see what the camera had been set to. 25 feet? Oops, they were 11 feet away. Admit it! Now if they would just come up with the 50mm and the extra mags, I could get to work.

 

Joe Demb

[robert miller]

I think a lot of people forget that Fuji bought the Crossfield Optical, Scanner and Imaging divisions a few years ago. One thing Crossfield was really good at was making exceptionally sharp high quality lenses. Their old Magnascan range of drum scanners were amongst the best in the world due to their optics. Fuiji got all of this technology along with thier purchase.