Why was the Hasselblad XPan manufactured by Fuji?

[Colin O]

Not sure if anyone knows the definitive answer, but I was wondering...

Why was the Hasselblad XPan manufactured by Fuji but marketed as Hasselblad? Whose idea was it? Did Hasselblad come up with the concept and just get Fuji to do the manufacture? Why then was Fuji permitted to market it as the TX-1 / TX-2?

Or was the camera Fuji's idea, and rather than market it themselves in Europe/America, they just offered it to Hasselblad? Why would they do that? It's not like they are an unknown brand - they already had plenty of market recognition and a presence in these territories.

 

Or was the entire project a pure joint venture? Again, why would they have come together for this project? I don't really understand why either company needed the other, or needed a joint venture.

 

A similar thing happened around 2008 or 2009 with the Fuji GF670 and GF670W which were, I believe, manufactured by Voigtländer, and marketed in certain territories as the Bessa III and Bessa III W respectively.

[robert_bowring]

I can't tell you why companies do things like this but it is not unusual. Minolta made the Leica CL, Yaschica made the Contax, Cosina made cameras badged for several companies. If I remember correctly Fuji made a digital camera that was sold as a Hasselblad.

[Colin O]

Yes, I think Cosina made the Zeiss Ikon and also the Rollei 35 RF. Those cameras were based on Cosina models I believe, rather than being identical rebadged clones. Yashica making Contax cameras is a bit different - it was actually Kyocera behind everything in that case, they just owned the rights to both brand names. But actually you make a good point - it was Hasselblad who made the H1 which was sold by Fuji as the GX645AF. Very similar situation, with roles reversed. I just don't understand the business logic behind this kind of thing.

 

(Correction to my initial post... the Fuji GF670 and GF670W were not technically manufactured by Voigtländer but by Cosina. But currently, Voigtländer means Cosina – Cosina owns the rights to the Voigtländer brand.)

Edited September 27, 2021 by Colin O

[stric1975]

It was a joint venture between the two companies. Fujifilm had experience with medium format rangefinders, they produced high quality products and it looks both Fujifilm and Hasselblad were looking for something new and decided that RF camera would be it. They were made by Fujifilm both for themselves and Hasselblad at very high (Hasselblad) standards. This is not unusual either in the photographic industry or any other industry. It's a pity that production of these amazing cameras lasted only 4 or 5 years.

[Aoresteen]

The main reason was that Fuji could produce the lenses Hasselblad wanted and at a price lower than Zeiss. And they could produce the bodies with the QC that Hasselblad expected. Win/Win for Fuji & Hasselblad.

[httpwww.photo.netbarry]

Also, Fujinon has been making lenses for Hasselblad for a while. All the modern Hassy's I believe use Fuji's and they have had a reputation for high quality glass for quite a while.