I am reviewing the possibilities for the catering at the launch party for the new Hasselblad mirror-less camera. The fact that the boss of Hasselblad has stated it to be a totally Swedish device means that ideally they should really continue with nationalistic booze, food and broads. I mean, you have to be consistent….*
One flaw in this – I really don’t think that HB grind those lenses. They never did in the film era – they depended upon Zeiss, Kodak, and Schneider to lens up their bodies. With the H series of digital cameras they called on Fujifilm. I think that there is still Japanese glass in front of the new Swedish body.
Ah, well, we must applaud them for the design anyway, and I hope that this ushers in a new era of mirrorless cameras. I am impressed that they decided to retain the big hand grip on the right hand side to help balance the thing. It will be a lot easier in that respect than their single lens reflex digitals. The advertising pictures they have splashed on the web of the body compared to a Sony, Fujifilm, and Nikon body do show an attractively small form.
I am also impressed that there was not a lot more leakage around the advertising edges when it came to the announcement – only 1 or 2 leaked images and specifications before the official message. Now the next hurdle will be to see how long until concrete examples of the thing are here to be handed around and then how long it will take for the normal flow of saleable stock to arrive.
I hope it is soon. The impetus of interest in these things can be a fierce thing but short-lived – particularly if the product is a niche one. The makers really need to have the goods ready to land when they announce them – they all saw what happened about 4 years ago when another manufacturer let a 6-month period elapse between announcement and delivery.
* I want meatballs and aquavit but I suspect we are going to get sausage rolls and beer. At least it beats cheese on a stick and crudités. After all, we can be crude at home…
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