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Photography

Hasselblad ramps up the detail with 400 MP multi-shot camera

By Paul Ridden
January 16, 2018
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The mighty H6D-400C MS can output monstrous 400 megapixel images
Hasselblad
The mighty H6D-400C MS can output monstrous 400 megapixel images
Hasselblad

Back in April 2016, Sweden's Hasselblad announced a 100 megapixel single-shot medium format camera named the H6D-100C. Now the company has injected the system with some sensor-shift, multi-shot capabilities for the upcoming release of the H6D-400C MS, which as its name suggests can help satisfy detail-obsessed professionals with insane 400 megapixel photographs.

Like the H6D-100C system, the 400C MS features a 100 megapixel CMOS sensor with a physical size of 53.4 x 40 mm, but the camera has been treated to a multi-shot upgrade capable of an effective resolution of 400 megapixels in 6-shot image capture mode, 100 MP in 4-shot mode or 100 MP in single shot mode.

To produce those headline-grabbing 400 MP photos, the camera's sensor and mount are moved by a full pixel for the first four images to ensure full color data capture and then the sensor is returned to its home position before a further move of half a pixel horizontally and then half a pixel vertically completes the sequence. These six images are then merged together to form a 2.4 GB, 16-bit TIFF file at 23,200 x 17,400 resolution that's promised to offer "an astonishing moiré free level of detail." For all of this to happen though, the H6D-400C MS must be tethered to a computer.

Other than its multi-shot megapixel prowess, the new H6D offers a similar user experience to other Hasselblad single shot camera systems. There's 15 stops of dynamic range, True Focus II for "true, accurate focusing throughout the image field" and an ISO range of 64 to 12.800.

The 400C MS has a USB-C port for tethered shooting and 30 frames-per-second live view, one media card slot for CFast 2.0 and another for SD, a 3-inch, 920K-dot touch display panel rocking a smartphone-like UI and UHD-capable video in Hasselblad's own RAW video format. And the system has integrated Wi-Fi, too, for previewing images on an iPhone or iPad using the Phocus Mobile app, as well as mini-HDMI and audio in and outs.

The H6D-400C MS is scheduled to start shipping in March for US$47,995, meanwhile the promo video below introduces the main feature set.

Source: Hasselblad

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Paul Ridden
While Paul is loath to reveal his age, he will admit to cutting his IT teeth on a TRS-80 (although he won't say which version). An obsessive fascination with computer technology blossomed from hobby into career before hopping over to France for 10 years, where he started work for New Atlas in 2009. Now back in his native Blighty, he serves as Managing Editor in Europe.
3 comments
James Sullivan
Yet another example of a Cooperation not paying attention to where the industry is going. While it's fun to every 18 months cram another 50-100 megapixels into an expensive little box, the bigger advancements are coming from those pulling hi-rez frames out of 2k & 4K video being shot for advertising, fashion & Beauty. So the bigger question is: "Why would you buy a camera this expensive when it doesn't shoot video; When for less then half the price you can get into a video system that provides you more marketable options." ... and besides, most of those that will buy this camera will never know how to operate it to it's full potential.
aki009
@Sulli
It's the age old "mine is bigger than yours" thing.
JimFox
Top- line professional photographers & scientific applications must be the target audience. This is OBVIOUSLY not about what Joe Average wants.
Wonder why a simple snapshot camera was not considered for the Moonshots? /sarc off
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