In June’s issue I reviewed the Phase One 645 DF fitted with a 40-megapixel Leaf Aptus II 8 back that is almost exactly comparable in capture area and pixel count to the one I tested recently on the Hasselblad H4D-40. Both cameras are similar in layout, and each has an excellent standard 80mm f/2.8 lens, together with a handsome stable of optics starting with a 28mm (equivalent to 17mm in 35mm format), and extending up to 300mm (180mm equivalent).

The Hasselblad has 11 focal lengths, including two zooms. I used its newest, an 35-90mm f/4–/5.6, which covers a very useful range and proved optically superb. I also had the use of the 80mm, and I must say it sets a very high standard indeed, especially as all H lenses have leaf shutters able to synch at 1/800s.

But there is a major difference between the two systems: a Hasselblad back is specifically “tuned” to the body with which it is sold and cannot therefore be swapped around (or fitted to another manufacturer’s camera body).

The H4D-40’s 33×44mm CCD sensor, with its 40 megapixels and 1.3x crop factor, is the baby of the range, which now includes 50 and 60 megapixel single-shot sensors, and a 50 megapixel multi-shot version. It’s capture rate is 1.1 seconds per frame, and each of the 3FR format raw files occupies around 50 MB of storage, so a 4GB Compactflash card will hold about 75 images.

When opened as eight-bit TIFFs,  each image is around 120 MB. Of course, when shooting tethered using Hasselblad’s Phocus software, the available storage will depend on the hard drive capacity of the host computer.

From the back

The user’s manual devotes 41 pages to the menus and settings on the H4D-40’s sensor unit, so it would be foolish to attempt to précis this in a few paragraphs. But here are the essentials that can be accessed from the menus on the back.

ISO settings for the 40-megapixel sensor can be set from 100 to 1600 from the back. The two highest settings exhibit a certain amount of noise, which is well controlled, but not completely eliminated, when processed using Phocus.

Hasselblad has incorporated “audio exposure feedback” into it’s instant approval architecture, giving users both visual and acoustic signals that indicate exposure levels without you having to look away from the viewfinder. Both these signals can be user-configured, and there is even a choice of ring tones…

Zooming in to examine captures is now a worthwhile option due to the vastly improved rear screen. Thumbnails can be viewed singly, or in groups of four or nine, and approval ratings applied to help selection. Over and underexposed mapping on the thumbnails can be set, and a histogram can be shown alongside the image.

The back permits the creation, naming and selection of new storage folders, and photographers can embed their own ID or add a job prefix with an on-screen keypad.

Some common functions can be reassigned from the back to the set-up buttons on the handgrip, where it is also possible to create and store user profiles. These enable the camera to be switched very rapidly between set-ups – for example, from AF single-shot with bracketing and flash white balance to Aperture Priority at ISO 400 in tungsten light.

Different strokes

So what are the unique selling points that set the Phase One and the Hasselblad apart?

Hasselblad’s H-series cameras have evolved continuously since the introduction of the film-based H1 at Photokina in 2002. The H4D, the latest incarnation, breaks new ground in several ways.

The Holy Grail of Hasselblad’s development has been a completely integrated digital camera system engineered from the ground up to take account of everything optical that occurs at the moment of exposure. To do this it has mapped and calibrated the exact parameters of all its lenses and built elaborate look-up tables that Phocus uses to hone the final image quality.

But this process can also be driven from either end. Hasselblad’s 28mm wide-angle, for instance, is tagged via the EXIF data generated at the moment of exposure. This tag is subsequently read by the Phocus software and the lens’ known optical shortcomings are eliminated during file processing. Deliberately accepting specific optical limitations at the design stage, which it was known could be eliminated in software, allowed Hasselblad (actually Fujinon) to engineer a 28mm lens that was lighter, simpler and no doubt cheaper to make, while still delivering extremely high performance.

This “system philosophy” was applied across the entire Hasselblad lens range, and full optical data was incorporated in the software. It is even possible to feed data about the degrees of tilt and shift set on Hasselblad HTS 1.5 adapter, together with a prime lens, to achieve similar corrections. That’s very clever stuff, and in practice it yield files with very straight lines, perfect geometry, even illumination and very precise focus.

In addition, a Compactflash adapter allows virtually any heritage lens from the Hasselblad V system to be used on H system bodies, thereby extending the lens range by more than a dozen focal lengths. In such cases the Phocus software must be programmed with the V lens model as it cannot detect it automatically.

I was certainly amazed when I first saw a 28mm shot pop back into shape, with the barrel distortion removed and the corners lightened with the Phocus magic wand.

However, this trick was never unique to Hasselblad. Canon, Nikon, Pentax and third parties like DX Optics, PT Lens and Kekus have long provided similar corrections. Adobe’s most recently released Lightroom v3 can do the same thing with anyone’s raw files, and it is even possible to write your own look-up tables for any lens you own using a plug–in. However, it seems that Hasselblad was the first to build this into a medium format system.

True focus

I rely heavily on the multi-point AF in my 35mm format digital SLR cameras, where the selected point of focus can be positioned around the screen (though not by nearly as much as I would like) to suit my composition. So the lack of something similar in medium format systems has been a real bone of contention. Without one, their autofocus aim point is in the very centre of the screen and is really tiny.

So the advent of True Focus and Absolute Position Lock in the H4D-40 marks a real breakthrough. It provides a very sophisticated solution by tracking the point of focus as the camera is moved to reframe a shot.

The company explains it has used “modern yaw rate sensor technology to measure angular velocity in an innovative way”, resulting in the Absolute Position Lock processor, which forms the foundation of its new True Focus system.

“The APL processor accurately logs camera movement during any recomposing, then uses these exact measurements to calculate the necessary focus adjustment, and issues the proper commands to the lens’ focus motor so it can compensate. The APL processor computes the advanced positional algorithms and carries out the required focus corrections at such rapid speed that no shutter lag occurs.”

And it works. Once True Focus has locked onto a point of sharpness, the shot can be recomposed to place that point anywhere in the frame, even the extreme corners – which is a big advantage.

There are some obvious limitations: if the camera or subject move apart very much between focusing and recomposing, then the technology cannot follow that change. But where the camera and subject stay pretty much at the same distance, True Focus does a remarkable job. I gave it a very hard test by shooting with the 80mm lens at f/2.8 at close range, and then putting the focused area right in the very corner.

The leaf shutters in the Hasselblad lenses deliver the ability to synchronise with flash at high shutter speeds (here 1/800s) – a real boon for location photography under ambient light levels.
The detail here is a 500x500 pixel crop from the image above it. Image (c) Adam Woolfitt.

So True Focus is the second thing a Hasselblad can do that a DSLR cannot do, and the third thing is to synchronise with strobe at up to 1/800s, as all Hasselblad H-series lenses have very high speed leaf shutters. (Again this is not unique since an increasing number of Phase One/Mamiya lenses are available with leaf shutters that do the same thing.)

Down and dirty

For Tim Wallace, a much sought-after car photographer, being able to synch with strobes at 1/800s is crucial, and sets the H4D-40 ahead of any DSLR. Earlier this year, he hosted a two-day seminar, Flash Wheels II, at the Land Rover factory in Solihull, organised by Calumet Photographic and supported by supported by Hasselblad, Profoto, Epson and On One software. With great generosity, Wallace and Calumet allowed me to ride shotgun on the event.

Tucked away on the edge of the extensive factory site are a number of lovingly maintained car-torture areas designed to test and show off the Land Rover’s “go anywhere” capabilities. One section comprises a stretch with six-inch deep railway sleepers protruding from opposing sides of the track, intended to be tackled at up to 30mph. Another offers a flight of concrete stairs with half landings to change the rhythm. Thick mud and deep water abound in the “rain forest” section, where Land Rover’s test drivers are expected to “keep the engine revs up to prevent muddy water flowing back up the exhaust system”.

Wallace relishes these areas and has positioned a Land Rover at a crazy angle, offside wheels buried in thick mud, the nearside clawing it’s way up a bank. Attention to detail starts early, and Land Rover’s specialist drivers slip and slither forwards an inch at a time until the logos on the wheel hubs are exactly level – “saves a lot of retouching” says Tim to the assembled delegates.

Into this carefully contrived setup he put around six Profoto battery packs, all linked with radio slaves to the H4D-40 as the photographer started to light the vehicle for maximum drama. This is where synchro sunlight at 1/800s becomes crucial as he was shooting on a sunny and very windy day with constantly changing light values, and the 6ft Profoto softboxes were straining at their sandbags in the gusts. The final exposure was 1/500s at f/16.5, with the sky and background about 1.5-2 stops underexposed to throw all the dramatic attention onto the vehicle.

Handling

Not much appears to have changed in the layout from the early days of the H1. The camera retains the very bright 90° pentaprism viewfinder, which can be detached and replaced with a chimney hood for shooting on a copy stand. On the right-hand side of this pentaprism nearest the handgrip are located a diopter correction knob, an exposure adjustment knob and a button that selects exposure programmes.

The pentaprism also houses a tiny pop-up flash – ridiculous at first sight on a camera of this price, but often invaluable. It has just enough grunt to fill in awkward shadows or cover a handshake at a prize-giving, and I expect many a wedding photographer will sigh with relief at this “Get out of Jail Free” option.

On the H4D-40 handgrip the True Focus button is tucked into the angle where your thumb rests, well sited for rapid access. Obeying the simple caveats about True Focus set out in the users manual yields almost instant success, although clearly if the subject or the photographer alter distance dramatically between focusing and shooting, the APL processor cannot keep track.

I found the mirror lock-up button and the stop-down button tucked away on the front of the handgrip very awkward to reach and probably impossible wearing gloves. However, Hasselblad’s 7.2V rechargeable lithium-ion battery grip is a vast improvement over that of the Phase One 645 DF. The latch that holds the rechargeable battery in place is a work of art, and its two-stage lock means the battery slides out into the hand, not the undergrowth.

However, apart from a mains supply unit for studio use, the battery pack is the only available power source and the camera requires a power supply for all actions, even when tethered to a computer. There is no mechanical reserve facility, so not keeping several spares charged would be suicide. In contrast, the clunky and hard-to-load grip of 645 DF uses AA batteries that can be bought just about anywhere.

It is possible to remove the back from the H4D and fit it to an architectural camera or studio monorail using a suitable adapter plate. Triggering is then achieved through the PC terminal of the host camera’s lens and a socket on the back itself.

Obviously, the 40 megapixel back does not fill the 6×4.5 format completely, so a 50 or 60 megapixel back would maximise use of the host camera’s format (though not necessarily the photographer’s wallet). Used like this the advantages of the lens corrections and True Focus are not available. Architectural cameras and monorails don’t yet do EXIF data.

What is not possible (and remains a bone of contention for many) is to use any H digital back on any other manufacturer’s medium format body. Nor indeed any other manufacturer’s back on any H-series body. This would be fine if we could all buy one of everything we fancied, but in the real world it will prove pretty inflexible if we have legacy systems with years of service in them.

Processing

The 3FR file is Hasselblad’s proprietary lossless compression format for storing raw captures. It contains the complete raw image as captured by the camera, plus technical details that enable Phocus to process and display the image correctly. Furthermore, it stores a complete history of any Phocus settings you apply to each image and stores metadata such as camera settings, image name, photographer, copyright and so on.

If you prefer not to correct and adjust your captures in Phocus you can export 3FR files from the software (and Aperture/Mac OS v10.5.2) directly to DNG, TIFF or PSD and use Photoshop instead. Some other raw processors (such as Adobe’s Camera Raw 5.4 onwards and Lightroom 2.3 onwards) can directly open 3FR files without any need for Phocus.

Even so, I suspect the best results will be obtained from the Hasselblad software, and it will implement all those built-in corrections to hone the optical performance and exercise control of Moiré and noise on the fly. But Phocus’ ability to archive and caption intelligently are less pronounced.

Conclusions

This is now a very sophisticated camera system that reaches the levels of mechanical and optical perfection envisaged by former Hasselblad CEO Christian Poulsen, who laid down the original design philosophy and pursued it with energetic determination. The mechanical, electronic and optical elements work seamlessly to make a very sweet package.

At higher ISOs, things are beginning to look pretty good, though of course they nowhere near match the 102,400 ISO-equivalent set by Canon and Nikon – but ISO 1600 is a very useful setting. At this price level one expects image quality to be beyond reproach, and in fact the 40 megapixel back approaches the limits of lens resolution, proving the point that here at least size does matter.

But I am saddened that Hasselblad continues to carp on against 35mm format digital cameras, especially now that the H series begins to feel almost as quick and convenient as first generation DSLRs. Perhaps one day they will deliver HD video and 10fps with a 600m f/4 lens… the H4D-40 has a 1.3× effect on focal length, but this minor impediment allows it to be marketed at what in today’s Yen/Euro crazy world is probably a bargain at £12,995.

I also tried the H4D-50 body and back combination during my Land Rover Experience. At 36.7×49.1mm, the 50 offers even more pixels and even more coverage (virtually full frame), and it creates a huge 150MB file of great quality. The H4D-60 body with a 60 megapixel back simply has more of everything, especially cost. It tops out at a whopping £25,195 for a body and back but without a lens, though as always, kit packages often work out best value.

I really can’t decide whether the Hasselblad system is preferable to the Phase One 645 DF. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and in both systems the engineering and optical quality is exemplary.

Although I would resent being locked in to the H system, I do love True Focus, which is a real breakthrough. With the Phase One/Mamiya system there is more flexibility over whose backs you can fit, and therefore their secondary use on specialist camera platforms. With the 645 DF and whoever’s back I chose, I could happily live with Capture One 5 Pro, Adobe Camera Raw, or Lightroom 3 and take advantage of all their new lens correction technologies.

But I bet that neither you, nor I, nor anyone else could tell the Hasselblad and Phase One images apart on a 96-sheet poster. In the end it’s up to you whether you plump for the Bentley Azure ’T’ or the Rolls Royce Phantom. Driving either is going to be a hell of a lot of fun.