128 PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY
THEORIGINALX1DPAIRED
a stunningaluminiumdesignwith
a 50MPmedium-formatsensor.
Thoughnotoriouslylighton
fe aturesat launch,firmware
updatesdid a goodjobof
ex pandingits capabilities.
Ju mpforwardto its predecessor,
and Hasselbladhas made
improvementsacrosstheboard.
Retainingits stylishdesign,both
th e 3.6intouchscreenandEVFhave
re ceiveda boost,to 2360k-dotand
36 90k-dotresolutionsrespectively.
Thescreenreplacesmanytraditional
physicalcontrolsandoffers
smartphone-likefunctionality,
al lowingyouto navigatemenusand
se ttingsby touch.Youcanalsoset
th e AF point with touch and drag, or
us e the control wheels.
There’s a 117-point AF system
that uses contrast detection –
considered to be a touch sluggish
compared to others in this list – a
solidISOrangeof 100-25,600and
continuousshootingspeedof 2.7fps.
Considereda refinementof the
or iginal,it’sfundamentallythesame
ca mera,so imagequalityhasalways
beentop-notch.hasselblad.com
PROS
Imagequality
Dynamicrange
Design
CONS
Sluggish
autofocus
Lighton
features
No video
RATING
AboveThe large3.6intouchscreen is
wherethemajorityof settingslive.
SPEC
Weight: 766g
WxHxD:
148x97x125mm
Battery: 270
Card type: SD,
SDXC, SDHC
AF: 117 points
Speed: 2.7fps
ISO: 100-25,600
HASSELBLAD
X1D II 50C £5399
AboveHasselblad
hasput designfront
and centre in its
medium-format.
RELEASEDIN 2014,IT’SFAIR
tosaythisground-breaking
medium-formatis nowgetting
ona bit.However,thanksto its
impressivelarge51.4MPsensor
- 7xlargerthanfull-frame–
and somecannyengineering,
it ’s stilla highly-regarded
hi gh-rescontender.
The imagequalityis extremely
competitive,especiallygiventhe
price, and is comparableto the
GFX 50R,butsomefeatures
ar e beginningto showtheirage
comparedto morerecentmirrorless
models.Thereareonly27 pointsof
phasedetectionautofocus,which
doa relativelygoodjobdespite
beingconfinedto a smallcentralpart
of the image. The huge ISO range of
10 0-204,800 is the perfect aid for
low-light shooting, while the optical
vi ewfinder will appeal to many.
The 3.2in rear screen doesn’t
support touch functionality, but does
ti lt to aid low-levelcomposition,and
fe aturesLiveView.Youcansetfocus
peaking– idealformanualfocusing.
Whileit’sshowingsignsof ageing
in today’smarket,theimagequality
is undeniable.ricoh-imaging.co.uk
PROS
Imagequality
Dynamicrange
Low-light
performance
CONS
LimitedAF
Lighton
features
Very bulky
RATING
AboveIt’s not a touchscreen,but the
re armonitordoestilt.
SPEC
Weight: 1550g
WxHxD:
156x117x123mm
Battery: 650 shots
Card type: SD,
SDXC, SDHC
AF: 27 points
Speed: 3fps
ISO: 100-204,800
PENTAX
645 Z £5299
AboveThe 645is
packedwitha wide
range of physical
controls.
GetIntoGear
RESOLUTION
51.4MP
SENSOR
MEDIUM-FORMAT
VIDEO
1080p
RESOLUTION
50MP
SENSOR
MEDIUM-FORMAT
VIDEO
NONE
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