03
Camera magazine is a
member of the Technical
Image Press Association.
Visit http://www.tipa.comMAY/JUNE 2017Camera magazine is a
member of the Technical
Image Press Association.
Visit http://www.tipa.comEditor Paul Burrows
[email protected]
Art Director Kristian Hagen
Production Editor Edgar Kramer
Advertising Traffic Diane Preece
[email protected]
Te: 02 9901 6151
Advertising Sales Lewis Preece
Divisional Manager & National
Advertising Sales
Jim Preece [email protected]
Group Editor Jez Ford
Production Manager Peter Ryman
Circulation Director Carole JonesCAMERA SUBSCRIPTIONS
1300 361 146 or +61 2 9901 6111
Locked Bag 3355, St Leonards NSW 1590
Subscribe online:
http://www.avhub.com.au/camerasubs
Digital editions & digital back issues
for iPad & Android, PC/Mac available
through Apple Newsstand, Google Play
and http://www.zinio.com/cameraLevel 6, 207 Pacific Highway,
St Leonards, NSW, 2065.
Ph: (02) 9901 6100
Fax: (02) 9901 6198
http://www.nextmedia.com.au
Chief Executive Officer David Gardiner
Commercial Director Bruce DuncanCamera is published by nextmedia Pty Ltd
ACN: 128 805 970, Level 6, 207 Pacific Highway,
St Leonards, NSW, 2065 © 2017. All rights reserved.
No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole
or in part, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed
by Bluestar WEB Sydney, distributed by Gordon & Gotch.
The publisher will not accept responsibility or any liability for
the correctness of information or opinions expressed in the
publication. All material submitted is at the owner’s risk and,
while every care will be taken nextmedia does not accept
liability for loss or damage.
Privacy Policy: We value the integrity of your personal
information. If you provide personal information through your
participation in any competitions, surveys or offers featured in
this issue of Camera, this will be used to provide the products
or services that you have requested and to improve the content
of our magazines. Your details may be provided to third parties
who assist us in this purpose. In the event of organisations
providing prizes or offers to our readers, we may pass your
details on to them. From time to time, we may use the
information you provide us to inform you of other products,
services and events our company has to offer. We may also give
your information to other organisations which may use it to
inform you about their products, services and events, unless you
tell us not to do so. You are welcome to access the information
that we hold about you by getting in touch with our privacy
officer, who can be contacted at nextmedia, Locked Bag 5555,
St Leonards, NSW 1590.
ISSN 1449-0137 © 2017On this issue’s front
cover photograph was
taken over Antarctica
by Camera editor Paul
Burrows and the frozen
continent provided
one of the most
spectacular locations
to try out some new
Sigma lenses. The
full story begins on
page 26.THERE WAS A SAYING about London buses
that you could wait hours for one to come along
and then two would arrive at the same time.
We’ve been waiting a while for somebody to
think outside the square as far as digital medium
format cameras are concerned, and then both
the Fujifi lm GFX 50S and Hasselblad X1D-50c
land on my desk on exactly the same day! Talk
about an embarrassment of riches. Mind you, I’m
not complaining though because here was the
perfect opportunity to compare two very different
interpretations of the same brief. And boy, are
these two cameras very different.
The only thing they have in common – apart
from being cameras, of course – is the source
of their 44x33 mm CMOS sensors and even
these both have bespoke designs, backed by
processors programmed in different halves of
the globe. You’re going to want the Hasselbladstraightaway. It’s simply gorgeous... all Scandi
über-coolness and, just in case you didn’t get the
message, engraved “Handmade In Sweden” on
its elegant top panel. Pick it up and you simply
won’t want to put it down... the front-to-back
handgrip is supremely comfortable and the
touchscreen GUI continues the casual-but-careful
stylishness as do neat design touches such as
the push-down-to-lock main mode dial. I was
privileged enough to be given a sneak preview
of the X1D – still in early prototype form – back
in May last year and the only other camera that I
instantly fell in love with the same way was the
XPan... not surprisingly perhaps, given the two
share some DNA.
The GFX 50S is altogether more business-like
in both form and function. It’s also very traditional
in its use of its basic confi guration, external
controls, a top-panel info display and conventional
menus. There are touchscreen controls, but
it’s more of fl irtation than the Hasselblad’s full
embrace. But there are clever touches here too- the detachable EVF and the three-way tilting
LCD monitor screen to name just a couple. The
EVF is tiltable too via a little optional accessory.
Operationally, the Fujifi lm camera has its roots
in the X Mount models so there’s a logic that
anybody, amateur or pro, will immediately
grasp. Conversely, here the X1D has been more
infl uenced by the world of digital medium format
cameras where things are often done a little
differently... for example, RAW capture only.
The ’Blad also has a RAW+JPEG mode, but the
appended JPEGs are one-quarter resolution only
(i.e. around 12 megapixels). This is actually quite
a key difference in terms of potential users...
Fujifi lm emphasises in-camera processing –
including the brilliant ‘Film Simulation’ modes- while Hasselblad is still thinking post-camera
which is a different way of working for many
non-professionals. There are, of course, many
advantages to shooting RAW, but not everybody
wants – or, indeed, needs – to do it. I, for one,
would like the option of full-res JPEG-only
capture on the X1D, as Leica offers on the SL...
undoubtedly a competitor if you’re thinking of
spending this much money.
And talking of money... The GFX 50S costs
quite a lot less than the X1D, but as we now
know, all that hand-making in Sweden doesn’t
come cheaply. Nevertheless, it’s still the most
affordable contemporary ’Blad you can buy right
now, but it’s still a big step up in expenditure
from the key competition – which mainly
comprises the Canon EOS-1D X II and Nikon D5,
the Pentax 645Z and the Leica SL. The Fujifi lm
camera is right in the mix here and there’s the
added attraction – as far as many amateur users
are concerned – of a zoom lens available right
now. It’s also certain that there will be more
lenses and quicker, if only because Hasselblad
just doesn’t have anything like the same
resources at its disposal. What needs to be noted
here is that the XCD lenses tried so far are truly
glorious, especially the 30mm f3.5 ultra-wide
which is my pick of the litter (the priciest too).
This combo gives you the modern-day equivalent
of the XPan and the SWC (swoon) rolled-into-one
which starts to make the hefty price tag a little
more justifi able.
If you are contemplating the what’ll-I-buy-X1D-
or-GFX dilemma, then I wish you all the very best
because it’s not going to be an easy decision.
What’s welcome though is that a good few more
of you will now be able to contemplate a digital
medium format camera and that’s a very healthy
situation indeed. Let’s hope Phase One joins the
party soon... a digital Mamiya 6 anybody?
Me? Well, my head says Fujifi lm GFX 50S - it’s undoubtedly the more pragmatic choice
and is more capable overall – but the heart says
Hasselblad X1D because, despite a few quirks,
it’s a camera to fall in love with.
Paul Burrows, EditorVERY HAPPY MEDIUMS
The camera bag from heaven. Hasselblad X1D (with a full
set of the current XCD lenses) shares the editor’s bag with
the Fujifi lm GFX 50S. There’d have still been plenty of room
for the other two Fujinon GF lenses too... testimony to why
mirrorless digital medium format is going to be a big hit.
No, it wasn’t a heavy load at all.CamMayJune17_003 Editorial.indd 3 13/04/2017 3:17 PM