Do
you recognize this photo?
What
about these?They were all taken with a Hasselblad camera.
It's
a name every photographer knows. But if you wanted to buy this Hasselblad
camera,
you'd
need over $30,000. And that doesn't even include the lens. So why would anyone
pay so much for a camera?
And
what makes Hasselblads so expensive? To understand why people love Hasselblad
cameras,
it
helps to look at this image. If you zoom way in,
you
can see incredible detail. The photos are fantastic,
but
it's a little more complicated than that.
Hasselblad
has been making cameras for 80 years, but they weren't always this expensive.
In
1948, Hasselblad's first consumer camera cost around $500,
or
about $5,900 today. And, adjusted for inflation,
its
film cameras from the '70s cost around $5,300. But when the company
transitioned to digital,
the
price exploded. In 2004, Hasselblad's first digital camera
sold
for around $24,000. That was more than a 200% price increase
from
its previous model, which used film. OK, so it's expensive.
But
what actually makes this camera different? Hasselblad's high-end cameras
consist
of three main parts, the digital back, the body, and the lens.
Just
the digital back, which includes the sensor,
costs
over $26,000. The Hasselblad sensor is unique
in
a way that it's much larger in area. The individual pixel is bigger,
and
that provides a lower noise and wider dynamic range.
Take
a look at this photo of a motorcycle. When you zoom in,
you
can clearly see the texture of the handleand the wear on its tires.
Larger
sensors capture more detail ,and Hasselblad's is one of the biggest available. Its
cameras are what's called medium format. Basically, it means the sensor is big,
and
it's what makes these cameras so expensive. Your smartphone camera sensor is
around this big.
A
popular professional camera, like the Sony A7R, is much larger.
But
it looks tiny compared to Hasselblad's sensor. When medium-format technology transitioned
from analog to digital,
the
medium-format sensors became extremely expensive
and
the camera systems became
extremely
expensive and very niche. The sensor in this camera
is
actually made by Sony,
but
Hasselblad has its own proprietary calibration process
to
achieve the colors and image quality it wants. It's very useful for the skin
tones
or
the reproduction of artwork, where you really need to make sure
that
the colors you have in real life are the ones that will end up later in the
photographs.
Medium-format
cameras are mainly usedfor product and fashion photography
as
well as art reproduction. Photographers who need this type
of
specialized technology can't use off-the-shelf consumer cameras.
And
these shoots usually take place in a studio, where the camera's bulky size
isn't an issue.
But
there's another factor that makes Hasselblad cameras unique.
Unlike
other companies, Hasselblad doesn't mass-produce its cameras.
It
makes them in small batches assembled by hand. This is partly because
Hasselblad
doesn't
make that many cameras. Hasselblad doesn't disclose
exactly
how many cameras it makes, but in 2018, The Verge reported that Hasselblad's
yearly production was under 10,000 units. Other manufacturers, like Canon,
produce
millions of cameras each year.But this process also ensures
that
each camera meets Hasselblad's quality standards. Gorges: Here in production,
we have people that
work
here for over 30 years. And for special tasks,
we
have people that, they just do that task. Nobody else can do that.
Hasselblad
assembles its cameras here,in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Remember
this old photo? Production today looks pretty similar.
Its
facility is more like a lab than an assembly line.
Here,
each component is tested, connected, and soldered. But learning how to adjust
each part isn't easy.
Assemblers
rely on both precise instruments and the sound and feel of each component
to
know that it's working properly. My favorite part is the mirror assembly, this
part.
I
know that's not working well because of the click.
You
have to work here maybe,just assembling these parts,
maybe
months until you're capable of making it right.
When you charge $30,000 for a camera, quality
control is a top priority.
And
assemblers take their job very seriously. Gorges: The whole process requires a
lot of patience.
You
will end up learning to be very careful while mounting these tiny parts.
Otherwise,
you will run into different issues afterwards while testing the camera.
Assemblers
complete a camera in around six to eight hours. But calibration can take up to
a third of that time. Rudnickas: What's unique about Hasselblad cameras
is
that each sensor is individually calibrated and tested
to
a single pixel level, which is very time-consumingand quite unique in this
industry.
But
pressure to deliver consumer-focused cameras has increased.
In
the past few years, Hasselblad has released more affordable cameras, around
$6,000. These cameras have a smaller sensor
compared
to other more expensive models. But competition in this price range is steep.
Sony's
latest Alpha 1 camera costs a bit more, but it can shoot 8K video
and
has superfast autofocus. And while the sensors on cheaper cameras aren't as
large,
those
cameras pack more features that appeal to a wide range of photographers.
Hasselblad
says that it's working to introduce more entry-level medium-format cameras
but
that it will continue to support its high-end customers .And for many
photographers
who
need uncompromising image quality, this Hasselblad continues to be worth the
price.
