Hasselblad is opening a 2000-square-foot drive-in* photographic studio in central London.

Available exclusively to Hasselblad camera owners at a discount rate of £260 per day*, the fully-equipped blackout studio is located on Fanshaw Street near Hoxton Square and close to the Pro Centre, which the Scandinavian owns, and where it recently introduced a service delivering operators with its usual camera hire.

The studio, available on a first come, first served basis, has model changing rooms, a dedicated styling and hairdressing area, a kitchen and parking space. More than 300 photographers have already registered on the company’s new studio website, claims studio manager Natasha Cheek.

In a statement the company said the studio is the brainchild of its UK managing director, Chris Russell-Fish, who recently also took on the role of Hasselblad’s global marketing director, and who introduced a programme of hand-on seminars using the firm’s H-series cameras in a bid to “reconnect” with customers who might otherwise felt them to be overly complex and expensive.

“The new studio will be available from mid August to any registered Hasselblad owner, photographers hiring a Hasselblad camera, or even those using a Hasselblad body with a third-party digital back,” says Russell-Fish. “They can hire it in full day segments for up to a week at a time from £260 a day [plus VAT]. That’s a saving of hundreds of pounds a day against the rates of other London studios.

“I believe that if you buy a camera from us you should expect more than just a fantastic piece of equipment. These are difficult times for photographers. Costs are rising and work opportunities have seen a decline. This new initiative will give professional photographers, serious amateurs and students a seriously viable, fully equipped studio option right in the middle of London.

“Eizo, On One Software, Broncolor, Profoto, SanDisk, Wacom and Epson and The Printspace are all supporting the project – which also promises (later this year) exclusive week-long exhibition space for Hasselblad shooters for a minimal charge – probably to be set at £200 for the week.”

*Update

Acording to a spokesman for Hasselblad, the £260 +VAT hire rate will not apply to all Hasselblad users, and there will in fact be a tiered pricing structure, dependent on kit, and whether it is bought or hired. The £260 rate apparently represents a 60 percent discount off the basic £650 day rate.

*Second update

Mark Witney from Hasselblad has contacted BJP to clarify the tiered pricing structure.

He says there will be three prices, with the full 60 percent discount available only to owners of Hasselblad digital capture equipment, such as the H3 or H4 series, or a H digital back. Anyone using a Hasselblad camera with a third-party back will be elligible to a 40 percent discount (£390 +VAT). This rate will also apply to anyone with a non-digital Hasselblad, such as a V system camera with a film back. The full rate will apply to non-owners who have hired a Hasselblad camera.

The studio is only available to photographers when shooting with a Hasselblad. "The primary aim is for it to be a benefit of ownership," says Witney. He said the company would take a common-sense approach, recognising that photographers may need to shoot video, or use another brand camera for a couple of shots – but anyone primarilly using another type of camera at the studio would be discouraged.

*Third update

Hasselblad has also calrified its original statement to say that the studio is not drive-in as in you can drive a vehicle in to it, but rather that it has parking spaces available.