The Hasselblad H1 is Hasselblad's move to the popular 6x4.5cm format and marks a new era for Hasselblad:

• No 6x6cm
• No Zeiss lenses (Fuji)

For many the first one might be even more a problem than the second one. We cannot compare here Zeiss vs. Fuji lenses but everything indicates that the H1 lenses do just fine.

Because the H1 is the most recent released new medium format camera it was designed to be more digital-ready than other MF cameras on the market. That means:

• No extra cables required for camera/back communications
• Even Histogram display on the camera panel

Hasselblad stayed with it's traditional leaf shutters (but a new electronic one: 18hours to 1/800 sec). This solution results in more expensive lenses but has two principle advantages:

• Higher flash synch speed
• Zero shake at longer exposures if mirror is up

We hardly ever use a flash in our outdoor work. But the zero shake is a big plus for many exposures between 1/60 and a couple of seconds if used with mirror up.

What is the big deal about a medium format camera? With film it is clearly resolution and the big viewfinder. With digital the resolution advantage is still there but for us the viewfinder might be the more important feature. There is no doubt in our mind that a bigger viewfinder allows more control for composition. The H1 has one of the best viewfinders in its class.

Handling the H1 is pure fun. Here are our highlights:

• Bright and large viewfinder with easy control of shutter speed and aperture
• Easy mirror lockup
• Fast autofocus
• Zero shake on long exposures (your tripod and the wind are your limitations)
• Excellent grip for handheld operation
• Histogram display on camera panel

What is the downside of the H1?

• Much more expensive than the Contax or Mamiya
• Still a very limited selection of lenses available

Why don't we mention the exposure metering system? In our style of digital only photography we only use manual settings. The exposure metering is used as a hint and then we adjust the exposure to the resulting histogram. Here the histogram display on the camera LCD comes in handy as it is easier to read than e.g. on the Pro Back LCD in bright sunlight.

Note: If you use the Pro Back noise reduction feature for long exposures you might need to recall the the histogram manually as it takes the ProBack some time to generate the extra data needed for dark-frame subtraction.

If price and the limited line of lenses are no issue then we think this is a 645 camera as good as it gets today.

With the Pro Back 645H all H1 users win the square format back. You can chose also rectangular formats on the Pro Back but would just throw away some resolution. So why not shoot square and crop later.

We have never been a fan of the square format but we now learn that there are many, many compositions that break the 4x5 or even 3:2 barrier of 4x5 and 35mm cameras. It probably can be said that square is the most flexible format to use and we begin to like the square.

We used the Kodak Photo Desk software many times and really find it not to support our kind of workflow (here we use Phase One's Capture One DSLR most of the time). We would rather like to use Adobe's Camera Raw even if the Kodak cameras are not officially supported. But unfortunately we think that the latest version of Photo Desk delivers better results in terms of colors. For this review we will only use Photo Desk with sharpening and noise reduction set to "None". All images are converted using the "Product Look" in Photo Desk 3.1.

Note: We still think the Photo Desk does some sort of noise reduction anyway.

Note of Caution: This is not a scientific test, but should give some clue about the resolution and color qualities of a system:

• Camera
• Lens
• Sensor
• Software (Raw converter)

We also provide a link to the original RAW files. As base reference we will use our Canon 1Ds.

Processing:

• Camera specific raw converter (specified)
• Some contrast adjustments using the white, black and gray fields of the Color Checker
• Sharpening with FocalBlade
• needed extra steps (specified)

Comments

a) Resolution

The Pro Back needs a bit more sharpening. Some raw converters apply some implicit sharpening. But we think the 1Ds + 100mm Macro have a very slight edge over the H1 + 80mm + Pro Back 645 combo at the pixel level. But the pro back delivers 16 MP vs. 11 MP of the 1Ds. Depending on how you crop the difference might be smaller or even bigger.

b) Colors

We are very pleased with the colors we get so far and find them pretty truthful.

c) Noise

The Pro Back has slightly more noise but we printed a couple of 20x20" prints and got excellent results. We also see no problem to use the Pro Back at about ISO 200. In case we see too much noise for our taste we use "Grain Surgery 2" to lower it.

Make up your own mind and download our full sized raw files.

Some more Shots

Hakone Gardens in Saratoga

Point Lobos Rock Abstract

Conclusion (8/17/2003)

The Hasselblad H1 and the Kodak Pro Back 645H deliver a good portable medium format solution we would like to use every day. The square format is also a big advantage and we find more and more compositions that benefit from the square.

Michael Reichmann called it "A very 'restful' format" and we can relate to it. If it would not be a major investment we would easily go the Hasselblad H1/Pro Back route. It would not be a replacement for our 35mm cameras but as a major addition. We would use it for about 70% of our work if we could get our hands on the Hasselblad 120mm Macro lens.

We recommend both camera and back.

• Michael Reichmann's most recent Pro Back 645 review
• Contax/Pro Back 645C by Uwe Steinmueller