Designer Kelly Angood created this cardboard pinhole camera that looks exactly like a Hasselblad medium format camera. The design is screen printed onto the cardboard, and the camera accepts 120 film. See sample photographs shot with this camera over on Angood’s website.
Pinhole Hasselblad (via Make)
Update: Angood published a PDF with templates and instructions for those of you who want to make your own.
NASA has a long history of using Hasselblad cameras in space and, interestingly enough, you can download the Astronaut’s Photography Manual used to train astronauts from Hasselblad’s website. It covers everything from operating the Hasselblad 500EL/M to composition, using situations unique to astronauts in its examples and illustrations.
Who knows — perhaps if space tourism starts taking off you might soon find this manual invaluable!
“Space Program” is a project by artist Tom Sachs featuring 1:1 models of various space related objects, including an Apollo lunar module, a mission control unit, space suits, and handmade space suits. He also included the above NASA Hasselblad camera as part of the exhibition. Note the stylish wooden crank.
Space Program (via Photojojo)
Image credit: Photograph by Tom Sachs and used with permission
Leica may have teamed up with the Audi design team for the limited edition Titanium M9 they announced yesterday at Photokina, but Hasselblad has just announced a car partnership of their own: the limited edition Ferrari H4D digital medium format camera. Now pro photographers who are determined to flaunt opulence can shoot with a flaming red camera that matches their car. The camera is even more “limited edition” than the Titanium M9, with 499 being produced instead of 500.
Welcome to the world of cameras being status symbols. Lets hope this kind of craziness doesn’t propagate to other camera companies, or we might see Toyota Canons and Honda Nikons. Oh wait… they have Jackie Chan limited editions already…
Earlier this year when Hasselblad announced the H4D-40, we found it interesting that Hasselblad claimed to be trying to reach a younger generation of photographers with the $20,000 camera. At Photokina today, Hasselblad introduced the H4D-31, a camera that actually makes digital medium format photography considerably more affordable (albeit still pretty darn expensive for a “young photographer”).
The camera weighs in at 31 megapixels rather than 40, but the 22.5% decrease in resolution translates into a generous 35% decrease in price: the H4D-31 costs about $13,000. You also get your choice of a 80mm prime lens or a lens adapter that allows you to use V-System lenses you already own.
Hopefully some day we’ll be able to give such a camera away here on PetaPixel.
Forget the uber-rare Leica MP2 that’s going on auction at the end of this year. If you want a unique camera but don’t want to trade your house for it, you can save yourself a couple hundred grand by going for this brand new made-for-NASA Hasselblad MKWE up for sale on eBay for a cool $33,751.
We’re not sure why the price is so specific or what exactly makes this a NASA camera (it doesn’t seem to be branded so), but it’s a definitely an eye-catching Hassy.
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Most of the time we come across an absurdly large and expensive lens on eBay, it’s some sort of lens with focal lengths in the thousands of millimeters (e.g. this 5200mm Canon lens or this 2000mm Nikon lens).
The lens shown above is the Kilfitt Zoomatar 250mm f/1.3 and is currently for sale on eBay. It doesn’t have an absurdly large focal length, but is pretty standard at 250mm. See the little box handing off the end of the lens? That’s the Hasselblad medium format camera this lens is designed for.
The price? A cool $33,751. Needless to say, walking around doing street photography with this lens would earn you some pretty strange looks.
Thanks for the tip Jon!
Pentax has unveiled the 645D, a medium format DSLR with impressive specs and a (relatively) low price of ~$9,400. The 40 megapixel camera has a 33mm x 44mm sensor, 3 inch LCD screen, and is designed to be compatible with the existing 645 lens system. Features include 11 autofocus points, a dust removal mechanism, 77-segment multi-pattern metering, 1.1 fps, ISO 200-1000 (expandable to 100-1600), a built in HDR mode, and dynamic-range expansion.
Last month, many of you balked at the $19,995 price tag of Hasselblad’s newly announced H4D-40 camera, which also contains a 40MP sensor. However, a vast majority would also consider switching to medium format digital photography if it became more affordable. Looks like things are heading in that direction.
The 645D will be available in May 2010.
Update: Photo Rumors is reporting that there are currently no plans for the 645D to be sold in the US. Here’s what Adorama tweeted:
Pentax’s US rep just told me there are no plans to sell the 645D or 55mm lens in the US. Bummer.
At the beginning of the week, Hasselblad announced the H4D-40 medium format DSLR, and stated the camera would be unveiled next week at the February 10th worldwide launch. Well, details of the camera were leaked onto the Internet, leading Hasselblad to lift the February 9th embargo it had request. Today Hasselblad officially released photos and features of the new camera.
The 40 megapixel camera will cost $19,995, includes a lens and viewfinder, and is meant to compete with the Leica S2 (a 37.5MP medium format camera in a 35mm style body). In their press release today, Hasselblad CEO Larry Hansen states,
Most high-end photographers understand the advantages that a medium format system has over smaller formats, but many younger photographers have never been exposed to larger format photography.
Hmmm… Many younger photographers have never been exposed to $19,995 cameras either.
(via Amateur Photographer)
For the past month or so Hasselblad has had a cryptic countdown on their website. The countdown reached zero today, and Hasselblad announced the H4D-40, a camera the company claims will bring “ultimate image quality to an entirely new generation of photographers”. Since medium format digital cameras have been around for quite a while now, we’re hoping this means a significant drop in price. However, at the bottom of the countdown page, there’s the message “Hasselblad Medium Format DSLRs start at 11,995 EUR”. Hmmm…
As easy to use as any 35mm camera and featuring a 40 Megapixel Medium Format sensor, our easy to use new Phocus 2.0 software, and the new True Focus AF, the H4D-40 provides the perfect entry point into the Hasselblad world. The H4D-40 gives you full access to the entire Hasselblad system of software, lenses, and features and has been designed to meet the needs of the most demanding high-end commercial photographers – and yours.
The camera will launch in 50 cities across the world on February 10th. What do you think the price is going to be? Will medium format digital photography finally be made affordable for (semi-rich) amateurs?
