Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 Review: For More Than Just Portraits

The Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 lens reminds me of many relationships that so many of us have had in the past. If I ever switched to Hasselblad and purchased it, the 90v would sit next to my other lenses the way I imagine an ice cold Mexican Coke sits next to a warm plastic bottle of Poland Spring. In my hands, it feels incredible. The image quality and overall performance are also wonderful. In fact, I think that for the right photographer, this could be the perfect lens. But for me, there’s no chemistry, spark, or romance. I’m sure that this could sound like you or someone you’ve been close with in the past. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve all got lenses like this in our collection that we ignore or mistreat. For me, there’s something about the focal length and render that just isn’t right.

Declarations of Journalistic Intent

The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:

• At the time of publishing this review, Hasselblad is not an advertiser with the Phoblographer. In fact, we have no negotiations over a campaign at all, either.
• Hasselblad provided the lens to us for a loan, and we sent it back a while ago.
• Note that this isn’t our final review of the lens. It will be updated, and it’s more of an in-progress review than anything. In fact, almost all our reviews are like this.
• This review, and none of the reviews on the Phoblographer, are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do.
• Hasselblad loaned the Hasselblad 90v and accessories to the Phoblographer for review. There was no money exchange between Leica and the Phoblographer for this to happen. Hasselblad and several other manufacturers trust the Phoblographer’s reviews, as they are incredibly blunt.
• Hasselblad knows that they cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let folks know.
• Hasselblad shipped the lens to the Phoblographer, and we returned it to them in person. Our home office is based in New York.
• The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance. We’ve also steered away from Micro Four Thirds and APS-C as they’re dying formats. This is a conclusion that even the other members of TIPA agree on. Unless something is very unique, we probably won’t touch it.
• In recent years, brands have withheld NDA information from us or stopped working with us because they feel they cannot control our coverage. These days, many brands will not give products to the press unless they get favorable coverage. In other situations, we’ve stopped working with several brands for ethical issues. Either way, we report as honestly and rawly as humanity allows.
• At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.

More can be found on our Disclaimers page.

The Big Picture: Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 Review Conclusions

Do I think photographers would make great photos with the Hasselblad 90mm f2.5? Sure. But I don’t think that I’m one of those photographers. In 35mm terms, it’s the equivalent of a 75mm f2 lens. It’s great, but it’s not great for me. In some ways, I feel that it’s too clinical and provides too much of a clean slate for photography. With that said, it means that you need to rely more on post-production than anything. That kind of makes sense though for medium format lenses. But Hasselblad has so many other incredible lenses that they offer. And considering that it’s medium format, I’m paying for a look that I don’t really think I can get from 35mm full frame.

The Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 receives three out of five stars. It’s a nice lens and I’ve seen nice photos made with it. But I don’t think it’s the right lens for me. Want one? Check it out on Amazon.

Pros

• A bit of weather resistance
• Nice ergonomics
• Clicked and de-clicked aperture ring
• Metal build quality
• Decent autofocus, but it could be better

Cons

• I wish Hasselblad’s weather resistance were more comprehensive
• A bit too clinical for my liking.

Gear Used

We tested the Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 with the Hasselblad X1D 100C. Both were loaned to us and we’ve since returned them to Hasselblad. We also used the Profoto B10 and Nikon transmitters — those are our own units as Hasselblad uses Nikon’s hot shoe.

Innovations: What Makes the Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 So Unique?

For the Hasselblad V mount, it’s really the only thing available like this. Hasselblad’s lenses are unique overall in that they make both zone focusing and autofocusing very accessible. I wish more brands did this.

Hardware

Like every one of their lenses, the Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 is a beauty to behold. It has a metal build, aperture ring, click-activation function, and a focusing ring that can switch to manual focus very quickly. But it lacks full weather resistance. For some, that might be alright. But it also means that the long-term durability might degrade comparatively.

Protect Your Camera Gear

For years, here at The Phoblographer we’ve done tests on cameras, lenses, bags, computers, lights, and more. And we know that your warranty doesn’t always cover the damage. Plus, accidents can happen on set.

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Focusing

Honestly, it works as expected. This is a medium-format lens by Hasselblad. In good lighting, it will focus pretty easily and accurately. But it also might miss at times. I wouldn’t use it for continuous tracking on a subject at all. And instead, it’s more about doing slow work — unless you’re zone focusing with it.

Ease of Use

One of the nicest things about the Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 is how nice it is to use. Autofocusing is a point-and-shoot affair. But where the magic really happens is when you set it to manual focus. You can then zone focus with it or feel how nice the focusing ring is to turn. This tactile experience is really missing from so many other lenses on the market. But Hasselblad makes the dual reality so much nicer than anyone else on the market. It’s a refreshing take on a lens that can bring a photographer ready to do lots of post-production some extra joy.

Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 Image Quality

I’m so incredibly sick of speaking about products from a technical point of view, so I’m not going to because I fundamentally believe that math and test charts take the love and fun out of photography. The art form is such a human experience and we need to remember that.

When I look back at my Hasselblad 90mm f2.5 photos, I look at moments that I genuinely liked. The people I was with, the moments I experienced, and the things we all did are great. But there is nothing that makes me hypnotized by the images I shot. Are they good? Sure — but so are the images that I’ve shot from so many other lenses. If I had this lens, there isn’t much that would inspire me to want to use it over and over again. It’s too clean — but I think that many will appreciate the bokeh that it can produce.

Extra Image Samples

The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, many folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the lens can do. So, we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can decide for yourself.

Unedited

Edited

Tech Specs

These specs are taken from the Lensrentals listing: