How do you feel about Hasselblad giving away cameras to reviewers...

[geesbert]

...an none of them seems to give a damn how cheap it makes them look.

I wonder how much of the tens of thousands of € I gave Hasselblad over the years directly went into bribing reviewers. Free cameras? free trips? and noone has the slightest moral dilemmas?

I am looking at you, James Popsys, Thomas Heaton, Benj Haisch and whoever you are, do you have no shame?

And then all of them blurbing away about still being unbiased.

I would be totally fine when Hasselblad gave away these cameras to reviewers for them to use a few weeks and then make them raffle away the cameras to the public, but this stinks.

I know how Youtube reviews work, but I have never seen it practiced so blatantly.

What do you think?

[Georg Kovalcik]

Yes, completely agree. They should rather invest the money in proper QA for lenses that meet specs and are not decentered (38V, 55V), cameras where the paint does not rib off (X2D, X1D II) and shutters where there is no oil on the shutter blades (90V).

[hcubell]

I have also spent a huge amount of money over the years on Hasselblad equipment, beginning with an H3D – 39, and I am not at all offended. This is Marketing 101 today, getting your equipment into the hands of YouTube influencers who will use the equipment.  Ideally, well respected influencers who aren't shills. I think both of the individuals selected meet those requirements. The Popsys guy actually refused to do a "review" as such. Canon has their Explorers of Light. Fuji has their X Ambassadors. The latter really are shills.
Have you actually watched the Heaton and Popsys videos? I see lots of YT videos by photographers/influencers who are loaned the equipment by Hasselblad yet sound a lot more like paid advertisements.

[geesbert]

yes, but I've never heard them talk so freely about being bribed like this time. In my book those youtubers  destroyed their reputation by their greed.  A 15.000$ bribe would probably get you capital punishment in China, funny, as Hasselblad now is in Chinese hands.

[michael123]

Hopefully that will bring more sales to Hasselblad, and eventually more new products

[hcubell]

yes, but I've never heard them talk so freely about being bribed like this time. In my book those youtubers  destroyed their reputation by their greed.  A 15.000$ bribe would probably get you capital punishment in China, funny, as Hasselblad now is in Chinese hands.

There is no "bribe" here. That is a completely inappropriate and unfair characterization of a perfectly legitimate commercial relationship. I gather Hasselblad has no control over how much Heaton and Popsys say or what they say about the X2D. Even if there was such an agreement, it would not represent "bribery." Famous or influential people are paid all of the time to tout products...cars, watches, everything. YT influencers are provided free loaners of photographic equipment that they review, invariably favorably, in order to generate clicks that drive revenue in different ways. Who cares? Ignore the noise and make your own decisions about what camera equipment works for you.
I am have no idea whether this is a wise use of Hasselblad's limited marketing resources, but I am all in favor of it if it will help drive revenue and fund future R&D and the release of new products.

[fredfoto]

What difference does it make?
Hasselblad are a company that make and sell cameras.
I use their cameras as tools.
If they stay in business, as they have for a long time, it's good for everyone.
It's 2024- marketing has come a long way since it started way back when.
Don't believe the hype. Disinvest emotionally.
Like the wife of my old boss told me when I left their company to go freelance, "buy a Hasselblad, and get on with it."

[Paul2660]

Maybe Hasselblad could spend more time on their raw conversion software, Phocus and bring it into the 20th century.

They make wonderful equipment always have but Phocus is way behind the times. Slow to use, even slower to export, limited if any modern tools. I would have no problem paying for a new version if it had a more modern design. Lr can get close on the colors but sadly I have found the best results color wise come from Phocus.

I wonder how many of these YouTuber reviewers are working with Phocus in their reviews.

Paul

[Kiwimac]

I've no objection in principle, as long as the reviewer is honest about making appropriate disclosures.

In effect it's the same as Hasselblad just paying them with money I suppose.

I do think giving away Limited Edition cameras that genuine customers might have wanted to buy is a bit off. Places like New Zealand will be lucky to see a couple of those sets for sale and as a result of this, we might see even fewer.

The reviews do become advertorials and not reviews when paid for like this, however.

[Smarit]

How do we know for sure that these people get paid by Hasselblad? Did they mention it somewhere? I always thought these were temporary loans. Not all influencers / reviewers are sell outs, they need to consider their credibility. That being said, I barely watch YouTube so I'm not very up to date.

[Kiwimac]

How do we know for sure that these people get paid by Hasselblad? Did they mention it somewhere? I always thought these were temporary loans. Not all influencers / reviewers are sell outs, they need to consider their credibility. That being said, I barely watch YouTube so I'm not very up to date.

Yes they clearly state they were given the cameras to keep.

[jakontil]

If there's ever a hasselblad earth explorer worth watching for, this is it..

 

[pdprinter]

I consider the influence of YouTubers on the development of photography and equipment very detrimental. Equipment is developed focused on content creators/influencer. Already the concept of influencer is alarming because it is not about information (which allows to make one owns decision according to one's own priorities)but about generating desires to own so basically free advertisement. At least the X2D is only for image creators and not content creators.

If Hasselblad has only to pay with a few cameras for presently the most effective way of advertising they are saving a lot on their marketing. I still amazed that they are doing it with a product which only differs in color. I have no objection against limited editions but they should not be marketed as a new product.

I find that most YouTube reviews are very superficial often lacking real information about the product for different usage purposes. That applies to all camera brands. I have especially issues with a lot of lens reviews. I am in the market for macro equipment and there many reviews out there from influencers which never used a macro lens before and then explain that a macro lens can be used at larger distances.

Finding written reviews with real lens testing and test images done by experts becomes more challenging. These require real expertise and are not just for making income.

[davidjt]

Giving it to someone who was already an ambassador for the brand would have been preferable. Heaton is not the greatest 'tog imho but gets all over the place and regularly gets Nikon gear as 'loaners'. I cant understand why HB would go to him, I really cant - he wont stick with the brand, likes his long glass too much. Loan - yes but give. It sucks.

[Kiwimac]

I consider the influence of YouTubers on the development of photography and equipment very detrimental. Equipment is developed focused on content creators/influencer. Already the concept of influencer is alarming because it is not about information (which allows to make one owns decision according to one's own priorities)but about generating desires to own so basically free advertisement. At least the X2D is only for image creators and not content creators.

If Hasselblad has only to pay with a few cameras for presently the most effective way of advertising they are saving a lot on their marketing. I still amazed that they are doing it with a product which only differs in color. I have no objection against limited editions but they should not be marketed as a new product.

I find that most YouTube reviews are very superficial often lacking real information about the product for different usage purposes. That applies to all camera brands. I have especially issues with a lot of lens reviews. I am in the market for macro equipment and there many reviews out there from influencers which never used a macro lens before and then explain that a macro lens can be used at larger distances.

Finding written reviews with real lens testing and test images done by experts becomes more challenging. These require real expertise and are not just for making income.

Generally I agree. There are a lot of people who are good at using social media but are not particularly impressive photographers.

I recall adverts on TV when I was a child in the UK in the 1970's and 80's by Olympus that featured the late, great David Bailey. Now that is using a photographer to sell your gear!