Straight off the bat, I wish that Hasselblad would quit playing games with my heart. For years, they’ve been in a feud with Capture One that prevcnts the RAW files from being read in the software. But if the two finally put their feud aside, Hasselblad I think could easily overtake Fujifilm in the medium format space. Where Fujifilm hasn’t cared to do anything about their autofocus, Hasselblad listened — and they cooked with the new Hasselblad X2D II 100C.
Typically, my reviews are much longer, more in-depth, and thorough. But the only thing that I feel I can add on top of what so many YouTubers have said is the Capture One statement. Capture One is by far a much superior product to Adobe Lightroom. It’s only rivaled by a combination of Camera RAW and Bridge.
The Big Picture: Hasselblad X2D II 100C Review Conclusions
The Hasselblad X2D II 100C is pretty much what you’d expect from Hasselblad when it comes to ergonomics. In that aspect, very little has honestly changed. In terms of a rangefinder-style camera body, they’re also doing a good job at somehow or another harkening back to the old Mamiya 6 style of cameras. Using this camera, however, felt like more of a modern take than it did as a retro-style piece of hardware you’re meant to fall for.
But where all the innovation went is clearly with the LIDAR focusing system. And for that, Hasselblad is blowing the rest of the competition out of the water. Still though, I think that Hasselblad has had a lot of time to fix all these other things and they still haven’t.
- Joystick is in an odd place
- TTL transmission with Nikon-based Profoto triggers is questionable
- RAW files that can be edited for days, but would be even more powerful if they could be worked with in Capture One
- Autofocus that outperforms even full-frame mirrorless cameras; especially when working with people of color in low light.
- Still the single best menu system around
- Excellent image stabilization
- I wish there was sensor-protection when you take the lens off
- I wish weather resistance was more reliable
The Hasselblad X2D II 100C receives four out of five stars. Want one? Find it on Amazon.
Experience
In my hands, the Hasselblad X2D II 100C feels like a really nice camera that’s been unfortuntely paired with a lens that doesn’t do it any justice. The company sent me their new 35-100mm f2.8-4 lens. It’s big, and often it makes me never want to bring the camera around at all. Instead, I yearn for something else. The 55mm, 38mm, 75mm, and the 25mm are all incredible. They would’ve been my choice. If I had those lenses, I think that this review would be so much more favorable and even might’ve had an Editor’s Choice award.
I used the Hasselblad X2D II 100C on a paid gig, for starters. I am the official photographer for Pig Island here in NYC, and so I bought this camera along with a Nikon Zf with me to shoot. I figured that since they both share the same hot shoe, I can get similar images by exposing the scenes in the same way. That, unfortunately, wasn’t the case. Besides the issue that I’ve long reported on with the Nikon Zf and HSS, the Hasselblad X2D II 100C didn’t seem to read Nikon TTL in quite the same way. And that’s unfortunate because it has worked perfectly fine with other Nikon and Hasselblad cameras before. Still, I was able to make photos that worked for the clients.
Looking at my images as I’m typing this article, I realized that there really wasn’t anything that I liked so much that I didn’t want to edit it. And that could have to do with the lens. But on top of that, other camera brands have made me so happy with things like film simulations and customized LUTs that I can add to the camera. But Hasselblad is behind here.
My Nikon Zf and Panasonic LUMIX S1IIE have settings that make their output look like the 5D Mk II. I’d love that here.
The colors and the images that the Hasselblad X2D II 100C are really nice; but I shoot in a way that I’d rather get them in-camera than embrace the idea that I need to do post-production.
In low light, I was most amazed at what the Hasselblad X2D II 100C could do. ISO 25,600 is amazingly clean. Additionally, it could track people of my flavor of melanin and slightly darker in low light. Even more insane is the fact that I could shoot to super slow shutter speeds and get usable images handheld.
It amazes me that even the scene detection with animals works so incredibly well. There are more settings, but I can’t see anyone realistically shooting cars or something with a camera like this.
I’m so insanely grateful that DJI put their heart into the Hasselblad X2D II 100C. Hopefully, it will frighten the Japanese into finally getting it together. They’ve been gouging the consumers for a long time and I’ve been really sick of it.
Image Quality
Well, this is a medium format camera that delivers images which are pretty plain. If you’re looking for a Sony camera on steroids, this could be it. The same for a Nikon. But if you’re into having more character in your images, then you’re in the wrong place.
Granted, even after I edited the photos, they had a bit of charm to them. And at times, I fell in love with the way that medium format renders light in ways that full-frame simply can’t.
Everything the Hasselblad X2D II 100C gave me I needed to run through editing. I didn’t always feel that way with the GFX 100RF.
Hasselblad X2D II 100C Tech Specs
These specs are taken from Lensrentals
Improving speed, stability, and color on the already-brilliant platform, the Hasselblad X2D II 100C is the next-gen flagship mirrorless camera that continues to make medium format even more flexible for ordinary and extraordinary shooting situations, alike. Upgrades to the AF system, more robust IBIS, and greater color flexibility benefit the veteran medium format shooters as well as those upgrading to the larger sensor format, and these sensor-based upgrades are further complemented by an intuitive user interface, easy wireless control, and refined physical details to make working with the camera more enjoyable.
Key features include:
- 100MP 43.8 × 32.9mm BSI CMOS Sensor
- HNCS HDR, 16-Bit Color, 15.3-Stop DR
- 5-Axis 10-Stop In-Body Stabilization
- Improved AF with 425-Point PDAF & LiDAR
Declaration of Journalistic Intent
The Phoblographer is one of the last standing dedicated photography publications that speaks to both art and tech in our articles. We put declarations up front in our reviews to adhere to journalistic standards that several publications abide by. These help you understand a lot more about what we do:
- At the time of publishing this review, Hasselblad is not an advertiser with the Phoblographer. This doesn’t affect our reviews.
- Note that this isn’t necessarily our final review of the camera. It will be updated, and it’s more of an in-progress review than anything. In fact, almost all our reviews are like this.
- None of the reviews on the Phoblographer, are sponsored. That’s against FTC laws and we adhere to them just the same way that newspapers, magazines, and corporate publications do.
- Hasselblad loaned the camera and accessories to the Phoblographer for review. There was no money exchange between Hasselblad and the Phoblographer for this to happen. Hasselblad and several other manufacturers trust the Phoblographer’s reviews, as they are incredibly blunt.
- Hasselblad knows that they cannot influence the site’s reviews. If we don’t like something or if we have issues with it, we’ll let folks know. We were the first publication to inform about the issue with the Leica M10R and how it renders the color orange.
- Hasselblad shipped the camera to the Phoblographer and is paying for the return shipment. This is a standard practice in the world of reviewers.
- The Phoblographer’s standards for reviewing products have become much stricter. After having the world’s largest database of real-world lens reviews, we choose not to review anything we don’t find innovative or unique, and in many cases, products that lack weather resistance.
- At the time of publishing, the Phoblographer is the only photography publication that is a member of Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative. We champion human-made art and are frank with our audience. We are also the only photography publication that labels when an image is edited or not.
More can be found on our Disclaimers page.
