Premium camera brand Hasselblad has added a new medium-format monster to its X System mirrorless camera line. The flagship X2D 100C boasts a 100-megapixel image sensor, in-body stabilization, up to 15 stops of dynamic range and 1 TB of internal storage.
To say that we were mighty impressed by the image quality and ease of use of the first X1D model would be a gross understatement. That camera was upgraded to the second generation in 2019 but Hasselblad stuck with the original's 50-MP image resolution. As its name suggests, for the X2D 100C that megapixel count has been doubled.
So what we've got at the heart of the new 148.5 x 106 x 74.5-mm (5.8 x 4.1 x 2.9-in) camera is a 100-MP backside-illuminated medium-format (43.8 x 32.9 mm) CMOS sensor with a pixel size of 3.76µm and an IR filter in front.
Users can look forward to 15 stops of dynamic range with a 16-bit color depth plus cooked-in color optimization. Low-light photography chops shape up as ISO64 to 25,600 sensitivity, there's 3.3 frames per second continuous shooting with 14-bit color, and the company says that the 5-axis in-body image stabilization will compensate for camera shake by up to seven stops. The camera also boasts fast phase-detection autofocus with up to 294 focus points available with 97% frame coverage.
Scenes and subjects can be framed up using the 5.76m-dot OLED viewfinder, or via the 3.6-inch, 2.36m-dot tilting touch monitor at the rear that allows access to the Hasselblad UI and supports pinch zoom. A new 1.08-inch color display sits up top as well, for quick settings checks.
Images are saved as JPEG and 3FR RAW formats to the camera's internal 1-TB SSD – with write speeds of up to 2,370 MB/s and read speeds of 2,850 MB/s – or to CFExpress Type B media. A USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 port caters for data transmission to external storage at up to 10 Gbps, plus wireless data transfer is possible over built-in 802.11ax dual-band Wi-Fi.
The X2D 100C system is available now for US$8,199. Hasselblad has accompanied the launch with three new lenses – the XCD 38, XCD 55 and XCD 90. The video below has more.
Product page: X2D 100C
