If you've ever shot film professionally, you've certainly recognized names we've covered: Canon, Nikon, Kodak, Fuji; even Contax. You've probably also noticed a few names that have been absent: Mamiya, Pentax, Rollei and Hasselblad. Theses missing names (along with Contax) are renowned for their medium format cameras, which mean they capture images on a substrate (film) larger than that of 35mm film—think of it as the inverse of using a cropped EF-S lens over using a full-frame EOS-1Ds. The absence of medium format (or larger) cameras in our headlines might seem odd for one particular reason: they're much better positioned for digital than their 35mm counterparts. When Kodak began their DCS Pro series of cameras in the early 1990s, they did so by grafting digital components onto Nikon film bodies. This was remarkable for 35mm film cameras, but not for larger format cameras which historically have had removable backs allowing the photographer to switch between various formats of film.
We'll talk more about the history of digital medium format when we talk about the new backs released by Leaf. Today we're talking about Hasselblad's new H-system and the two digital backs available at launch: a 16MP Kodak DCS Pro and an 11MP Phase One back. If you are familiar with Hasselblad's current cameras, you may know they haven't changed much in over a half-century—improvements have been in steps rather than large leaps. The H1 makes some comparatively revolutionary changes. The H1 supports new auto-focus lenses from Fujinon, rather than Carl Zeiss, and it uses the 4:3 ratio of 6x4.5 film as opposed to its historical square 6x6.
With either back, the H1 is a mobile studio/fasion camera usable just like a Canon EOS-1Ds or Nikon D1X. It provides exceptional resolution and colour, but is not designed for high-speed photography or uncontrolled lighting situations. While it supports fast shutter speeds and flash sync to 1/800s, it shoots a sluggish 2.5 seconds per frame, and medium format backs are optimized for good colour depth at low ISO (much like Kodak's X60 cameras).
The H1 itself is relatively cheap at $6,000 with an 80mm standard lens. Adding a digital back will add another $12,000 to that price making a digital H1 system still cheaper than a top-of-the-line Kodak camera five years.