Though you may rarely need it, the new Hasselblad H6D-400C multishot camera is claiming to have some really big tech inside. For starters, it’s a camera body using the Hasselblad full frame 645 100MP sensors with 16 bit RGB color readout and 15 stops of dynamic range. If you shoot in TIIF multishot with 6 images to create a 400MP photo, your photos can be up to 2.4GB in size. Additionally, it had flash sync up to 1/2000th. When you’re in the studio, you’ll be able to utilize the USB 3.0 C readout when you’re tethered. What’s more, it also shoots 4K video and has a 3″ touchscreen LCD.
Other big features include WiFi and even the ability to be used with film backs.
Now, because this is medium format, some folks are bound to get a bit confused. Hasselblad goes in a much different direction than Pentax, Leica, and Fujifilm. With Hasselblad, you have a back, a body, and a lens. The back has the sensor and is essentially the brain of the entire camera. The body is a vessel, and the lens is the eyes. The Hasselblad H6D-400c is said to be a camera, which tells us it’s mostly just the body. But the press materials are written in a way that it seems to be the camera back. Due to this, the press release is below for you to check out for yourself.
Multishot mode seems to work by requiring the sensor and the mount to be moved 1 pixel or 1/2 a pixel at a time using a piezo unit. That’s what the press release states, and so it can move very slightly. This makes a whole lot of sense because by moving both the lens and the sensor, you’ll maintain the sharpest images you possibly can.
HASSELBLAD INTRODUCES THE H6D-400C MS, A 400 MEGA PIXEL MULTI-SHOT CAMERA
Building on a vast experience of developing exceptional, high-quality single and multi-shot cameras, Hasselblad once again has raised the bar for image quality captured with medium format system.
Multi-Shot capture has become an industry standard in the field of art reproduction and cultural heritage for the documentation of paintings, sculptures, and artwork. As the only professional medium format system to feature multi-shot technology, Hasselblad continues to be the leading choice for institutions, organizations, and museums worldwide to record historic treasures in the highest image quality possible.
With over 10 years of digital imaging expertise, the latest Multi-Shot digital camera combines the H6D’s unrivalled ease of use with a completely new frontier of image quality and detail. This new camera encompasses all of the technological functions of Hasselblad’s H6D single shot camera, and adds to that the resolution and colour fidelity leaps that only Multi-Shot photography can bring to image capture.
With an effective resolution of 400MP via 6 shot image capture, or 100MP resolution in either 4 shot Multi-Shot capture or single shot mode, the Multi-Shot capture requires the sensor and its mount to be moved at a high-precision of 1 or ½ a pixel at a time via a piezo unit. To capture Multi-Shot images the camera must be tethered to a PC or MAC.
In 400MP Multi-Shot mode, 6 images are captured, the first 4 involve moving the sensor by one pixel at a time to achieve real colour data (GRGB- see 4 shot diagrams below), this cycle then returns the sensor to its starting point. A further two exposures are made moving the sensor by ½ a pixel horizontally and then ½ a pixel vertically (see 6 shot diagram on next page). These 6 captures are then merged to give the equivalent of a single 400MP image, delivered as a 2.3GB 16-bit TIFF (23200 x 17400 pixels), for those seeking the utmost in image quality and resolving power.
The H6D-400c MS encompasses all the features and functionality of Hasselblad’s standard single shot cameras:
– USB 3.0 type c connection for tethered shooting, high speed data transfers & 30FPS live view
– Dual media card slots: CFast 2.0 and SD card
– 3.0-inch touch rear display
– Smartphone style user interface
– HD & UHD video
– Modular system with improved back removal process
– Technical camera connectivity (single shot)
– Wi-Fi
– HDMI & Audio I/O
– True Focus II
The H6D-400c MS will begin shipping March 2018 with a MSRP of € 39,999 / $ 47,995 / £ 36,250 / RMB 319,999 / JPY 5,391,380 excl. VAT. Pre-orders can start to be taken January 16th.
The H6D-400c MS will also be available to rent through your local Hasselblad sales representative.
The rental fee is approx. €399/day for short term loans, but you can save up to 50% of that cost if you rent for a longer period, excluding shipping, insurance, and other rental service related fees.
