X1D in the Great Smoky Mountains

[JoeC]

I finally posted an article to my blog about my experiences using the X1D in the Great Smoky Mountains in late April:

http://www.joecolsonphotography.com/2017/08/01/photographing-the-great-smoky-mountains-with-the-hasselblad-x1d/

The X1D performed well and didn't surprise me. After using the X1D for this trip, I'd summarize its positives and negatives this way:

Positives

• Ease of use either from a tripod or hand-held
• Outstanding image quality and tonal range
• Excellent performance across a wide ISO range
• Easy to focus using either AF or MF (focus peaking or auto magnification)
• Lightweight body and lenses making for a lightweight pack

Negatives

• No live histogram
• Few and large AF points, resulting in mis-focus on more than one occasion
• No image review in EVF; reviewing images on the rear LCD in bright sunlight is difficult or impossible
• No distance scale on lenses or in EVF or Live View display
• Glitches ("No card" error, unresponsive touch screen, erratic control/scroll wheels)

Startup time was slow compared to my Sony a7RII. That didn't annoy me since my subjects were landscapes and didn't move. I turned the camera off between locations and turned it on as I was setting up the tripod.

As I described in my "First Impressions" blog post, the X1D is very easy and fun to use. It's solid but doesn't feel heavy. The lenses are well matched in size and heft to the camera body. I found, while the camera was mounted on the tripod, changing settings using the rear touch screen was so simple that it quickly became second nature. During the variety of weather conditions I experienced, I didn't fret once about the vulnerability of the camera to dust, fog, mist or rain. The weather sealing is superb, and so good that mounting and removing lenses takes considerable effort. By the way, I usually pack a rubber jar lid gripper, available at most hardware stores, to remove stubborn filters, and now lenses.

During this trip, I was curious to see how the camera would handle long exposure situations and triggering exposure without the use of a cable release. With other cameras (Pentax 645Z, Sony a7RII, Nikon D810) I had abandoned the use of a cable release in favor of the self-timer feature. Setting the self-timer to a sufficient interval to allow dampening of vibrations caused by manually pressing the shutter release button has usually worked a treat and has allowed me to forego packing another accessory. The self-timer feature of the X1D can be set to be "sticky" and applied to every exposure until deactivated, or set to be activated for the next exposure only. For both the self-timer and long exposures, a countdown clock is shown on the rear LCD, giving me a visual gauge of time remaining. As with the other rear LCD settings displays, this is presbyopia-friendly. No reading glasses necessary!

Since the trip, Hasselblad released firmware update v1.17 that improved overall stability, fixed a focus error problem that had been reported with the XCD 90mm lens, and fixed the incorrect "No Card" indication. The erratic control/scroll wheel problem that I encountered required a repair by Hasselblad US. The repair process was smooth and transparent and took a total of 10 days from start to finish.

I now have the Hasselblad X-H Adapter and will be experimenting with one or two HC lenses (HC 210mm and possibly HC 300mm).

Joe

[ganesh]

Thanks JoeC.
How did you find the 30mm lens as compared to the 45mm?

[JoeC]

Thanks JoeC.
How did you find the 30mm lens as compared to the 45mm?

I haven't compared the two head-to-head. I haven't met an XCD lens I didn't like. The XCD 30mm is, IMHO, one of the sharpest wide angle lenses I've ever used. It's sharp corner to corner and edge to edge. Remember than most of my photography is stopped down to f/8-16 and is perhaps not a good judge. Also, there are no lens corrections (yet) in Lightroom, my RAW processor of choice, and the 30mm is a stellar lens without any corrections. YMMV.



Joe

[Michael H. Cothran]

Joe - I live in Nashville, and visit the Smoky's 3-4 times each year. If you'd like some company the next time you go, I would love to meet you up there. Would be nice to spend some time with a fellow X1D shooter.

[JoeC]

Michael, I live in the Raleigh area and travel to the Smokies 1-2 times a year, usually in the spring and fall. I may go this fall if the fall color looks promising. It's usually hit or miss. Thanks for the invitation to meet up. I'll contact you if I decide to make the trip.

[Michael H. Cothran]

Sounds good, Joe.

[Domip]

Thanks JoeC.
How did you find the 30mm lens as compared to the 45mm?

I haven't compared the two head-to-head. I haven't met an XCD lens I didn't like. The XCD 30mm is, IMHO, one of the sharpest wide angle lenses I've ever used. It's sharp corner to corner and edge to edge. Remember than most of my photography is stopped down to f/8-16 and is perhaps not a good judge. Also, there are no lens corrections (yet) in Lightroom, my RAW processor of choice, and the 30mm is a stellar lens without any corrections. YMMV.



Joe

So, you can live with those blue sides..??

[JoeC]

Thanks JoeC.
How did you find the 30mm lens as compared to the 45mm?

I haven't compared the two head-to-head. I haven't met an XCD lens I didn't like. The XCD 30mm is, IMHO, one of the sharpest wide angle lenses I've ever used. It's sharp corner to corner and edge to edge. Remember than most of my photography is stopped down to f/8-16 and is perhaps not a good judge. Also, there are no lens corrections (yet) in Lightroom, my RAW processor of choice, and the 30mm is a stellar lens without any corrections. YMMV.

Joe

So, you can live with those blue sides..??

Yep, that's blue sky partly visible through ground fog and clouds. In North Carolina we call it Carolina Blue. 

Joe

[MGrayson]

LR does have the Hassy XCD lens corrections, or at least I've been using them. Both geometric and vignetting adjustments. This is LR Classic 8.3, Camera RAW 11.3

Matt

[hcubell]

Amazingly, LR even has the lens correction for that ever elusive 35-70mm XCD zoom lens.

[Sandy Blaser]

LOL.....The lens that was coming in 2018 !!!! Great Roadmap by Hassy....Just off a few years.....Maybe they are using the Gregorian calendar

[Bill_Evans]

LOL.....The lens that was coming in 2018 !!!! Great Roadmap by Hassy....Just off a few years.....Maybe they are using the Gregorian calendar

There really is no thread you won't jump into to bash Hasselblad. There are plenty of great XCD lenses available to capture great images. Maybe more time shooting and less time bashing.

[MGrayson]

LOL.....The lens that was coming in 2018 !!!! Great Roadmap by Hassy....Just off a few years.....Maybe they are using the Gregorian calendar

There really is no thread you won't jump into to bash Hasselblad. There are plenty of great XCD lenses available to capture great images. Maybe more time shooting and less time bashing.

1) The ignore list is your friend.
2) Google Gregorian Calendar and get a big surprise!

Matt

[Domip]

Thanks JoeC.
How did you find the 30mm lens as compared to the 45mm?

I haven't compared the two head-to-head. I haven't met an XCD lens I didn't like. The XCD 30mm is, IMHO, one of the sharpest wide angle lenses I've ever used. It's sharp corner to corner and edge to edge. Remember than most of my photography is stopped down to f/8-16 and is perhaps not a good judge. Also, there are no lens corrections (yet) in Lightroom, my RAW processor of choice, and the 30mm is a stellar lens without any corrections. YMMV.

Joe

So, you can live with those blue sides..??

Yep, that's blue sky partly visible through ground fog and clouds. In North Carolina we call it Carolina Blue. 

Joe

What I mean is the sides that have a blue-cyan vignetting... try the 30mm on a evenly lit white background!

[MGrayson]

....
What I mean is the sides that have a blue-cyan vignetting... try the 30mm on a evenly lit white background!

Huh. You're right! I never noticed, but then, I shoot mostly B&W. Back in my tech cam days, I used to shoot through a white piece of plastic after every shot to remove color casts in post. I think there is a way to apply those in Adobe. Pity Capture One chooses to cover "everyone but Hassy and Leica S - nyah nyah!".

No processing:


LR Lens corrections applied:


That's a tiny bit of ceiling beam in the lower right corner - not a lens defect

Matt