Hasselblad aims for the clouds....

[paul ron]

so hasselblad was bought by a Chinese drone maker?

https://luminous-landscape.com/hasselblad-acquired-dji/

 

[RattyMouse]

so hasselblad was bought by a Chinese drone maker?

https://luminous-landscape.com/hasselblad-acquired-dji/

Not really film related, is it?

 

[Luckless]

A company looking to corner and control the market across a wide range of applications invested in a world renowned imaging company.

- Advanced stabilized gimbal mount high quality medium format imagery on a reliable and user friendly drone platform? Yes please.


I've been toying with whether it would be easier to build a rig to carry an existing 6x6 SLR platform, or fabricate one from scratch using an existing lens standard for some drone based film shots. Given my background in custom building drones, I'm not really DJI's target audience, but as a geek I love seeing what they're bringing to the market.

And if I'm interested in using a drone to get a film camera to more places than what I can carry it myself, then I'm sure there are more out there in the world who are interested as well. If the idea of film and drones gets enough attention online, then I would not be remotely shocked to see someone like DJI and Hasselblad consider an offering to the market.

 

[Ai Print]

Not really film related, is it?

A lot of us use Hasselblad equipment and rely on them to continue to both service and make parts for the V system, I could see a company like DJI shelving that aspect of the company to make it more lean.

 

[StephenT]

Very interesting. Thanks for the post - I'll be following Hasselblad and wish them and their new owners great success.

 

[ic-racer]

I'll interpret the original post as Pro-China and hope for film cameras, as two of the best film cameras makers today are in China.

http://www.chamonixviewcamera.com/index.html
http://www.shen-hao.com/index.aspx?id=n1

 

[Eric Rose]

Hasselblad is no longer and hasn't been for sometime the Hasselblad we have in our memories. The name means nothing anymore as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Ai Print]

Hasselblad is no longer and hasn't been for sometime the Hasselblad we have in our memories. The name means nothing anymore as far as I'm concerned.

Speak for your self, I think they are doing really well lately and my system is now used more than ever.

 

[Sirius Glass]

This is not going the way I had hoped it would, but maybe maybe they will support the V series with parts and labor.

 

[Eric Rose]

Speak for your self, I think they are doing really well lately and my system is now used more than ever.

I was referring to the company not the V series cameras many of us use and love. The name Hasselblad is just a "brand" now and could be slapped on sunglasses just as easily as rebranded Fuji cameras.

 

[GarageBoy]

Did hasselblad service and repair / supply parts for the v series?

 

[Sirius Glass]

Yes

 

[Ai Print]

I was referring to the company not the V series cameras many of us use and love. The name Hasselblad is just a "brand" now and could be slapped on sunglasses just as easily as rebranded Fuji cameras.

I still don't agree with this. I spent $10K on their CFV50c D-back for the V system last year and it is simply fantastic. The H series has been very good for a number of years, the new X1D is being ordered in much better numbers than they had anticipated and the X series scanners are the best in the biz.

I would even go as far as saying that this is the best they have looked in years. It's a shame that they nixed the V system in 2013 but had they been under different management at that time, they might not have or they still might have, who knows.

 

[Ai Print]

This is not going the way I had hoped it would, but maybe maybe they will support the V series with parts and labor.

I was worried about this earlier as well but the more I think about it, this is a steady revenue stream for them as the V system is still very popular, especially with easily paired D-backs.

 

[flavio81]

Hasselblad is no longer and hasn't been for sometime the Hasselblad we have in our memories. The name means nothing anymore as far as I'm concerned.

It's hard to pardon them after making the ridiculous "Lunar" camera... But I think their professional scanners do redeem the brand.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The company has never been the same since Victor passed and the family sold the company.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

I would think that DJI has zero interest in the analogue aspect of Hasselblad, or the continuing longer-term provision of spares for the many millions of Hassies still out there and trooping along. As for drones: they're good for skeet practice.

[...]
"Back then, Hasselblad was a company that was committed to their customers. They cared about my success. They frequently hosted workshops and seminars which taught photographers how to become more successful, not only by using their cameras, but by using creative lighting techniques and sound business practices. They supported their customers and offered excellent technical support. They were legendary in the eyes of thousands of photographers.

A lot has happened since then, and things just aren’t the same. Sometimes change is good. But this isn’t one of those times. [...]

Telling it the way it really is.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I heard that DJI is run by a bunch of drones.

 

[spijker]

Some people seem to forget/overlook that Hasselblad was and still is a brand that caters mainly to professional photographers. And guess what professional photographers are using in the 21st century for the bulk of their work, 120 rolfilm ???

If Hasselblad would have behaved like an ostrich; put its head in the sand and pretend that there's only film and everything else is inferior, the brand would have been dead and buried by now. The H series seems to be quite successful from what I read on other forums. You can still slap a 645 (the new perfect format) film back on the Dead Link Removed, one of the current models. And don't we read a lot of praise for Fujinon (Fuji) lenses on APUG? Fujinon makes the Hasselblad H lenses.

Just saying...

 

[flavio81]

Some people seem to forget/overlook that Hasselblad was and still is a brand that caters mainly to professional photographers. And guess what professional photographers are using in the 21st century for the bulk of their work, 120 rolfilm ???

If Hasselblad would have behaved like an ostrich; put its head in the sand and pretend that there's only film and everything else is inferior, the brand would have been dead and buried by now. The H series seems to be quite successful from what I read on other forums. You can still slap a 645 (the new perfect format) film back on the Dead Link Removed, one of the current models. And don't we read a lot of praise for Fujinon (Fuji) lenses on APUG? Fujinon makes the Hasselblad H lenses.

Just saying...

Interesting comment! Is this film back in production?

And I agree with you on the Fuji lenses - Fuji has made great lenses since the late 1950s (in fact: Fuji was the creator of the first Japanese-made electronic computer, which was made specifically for optical calculations).

 

[spijker]

Flavio81, I don't know whether the Hasselblad HM 16-32 film back is still in production. Henry's has one on sale and there are some on eBay as well. I briefly looked at the H series 2 years ago but quickly came to the conclusion that it is out of my budget, specially the lenses. So I stayed with Mamiya and upgraded to the 645 autofocus system.