Growing concern over availability of XCD (older style) and New V lenses

[Paul2660]

I am surprised that more people are not commenting or concerned about the current supply status for all the V lenses ,38,55,and 90. And the 28mm P. In the US, I don't believe Hasselblad has shipped any of these in any quantity since Jan 2024. I know that all the major Camera suppliers in the US have been out since Dec 2023 for all the V lenses and the 90mm has been almost non existent unless you were in the first and only round of shipments. Now the XCD lenses are starting to dry up, the 35-75 out of stock till May. The dates of availability of the V lenses has also slipped back at least 3 times. The 28, 38 are now showing Late May, the 28 was showing late March, but it's slipped back to May also. The 90, just states backordered.

It's hard to use a camera without a lens, and with these kind of dates, I have to wonder if Hasselblad/DJI have run into a supplier problem. As I understand it Hasselblad has never actually made a lens, instead using Zeiss for V, Fuji for the HC lenses, Nitto for the original XCD lenses and now Panasonic for the V glass. I have been told Hasselblad/DJI still makes the shutter but no confirmation on that.

It appears that the supply issue is also not just in the US, as I have read some posts from Germany, and other mainland European locations where the lenses are also totally not in stock.

I also heard from a photographer in China and the supply/demand issues there for the lenses is much worse than I had ever thought. 1 90 V being released per month and 850 to 1000 people waiting for one. Similar wait times for the 38V and 55V.

Guess I picked the wrong time to move to this product line.

Hopefully this situation can get better sooner than later?

Paul C

 

[Paul Spinnler]

I've heard from a large German dealer that they've stopped stocking any in-demand Hasselblad products as clients fed back to them that they got the products faster when ordering directly from the DJI webshop. Ie, online direct without dealers shipping within 2-3 weeks, while ordered in the shop with a lot longer waiting times. In fact, if you ask the dealer when you'd get a V lens they'd say not sure, while the webshop seemingly guarantees 20 days.

As of right now, the EUR webshop shows delivery times of 20 days while one large online shop in Switzerland mention for example delivery times in May ... not sure how reliable their own shipping estimate is ...

 

[jotloob]

It is the same situation here in Germany . In most cases the delivery time will be MID OF MAY . If true .
I am not interested in the reason for that situation , because that does not make the delivery of my wanted lens any faster .

 

[Ai_Print]

I had rented the 35-75 for a really cool magazine assignment and the lens turned out to be totally out of whack so I had to return it but did get a full credit. I'll rent it again but only a few weeks ago, it was in stock. I'd like to try to get a better version of the 55V as a lower light, documentary style lens but I can wait quite awhile on that since my primary use for this system is landscapes.

 

[PeterA]

I've heard from a large German dealer that they've stopped stocking any in-demand Hasselblad products as clients fed back to them that they got the products faster when ordering directly from the DJI webshop. Ie, online direct without dealers shipping within 2-3 weeks, while ordered in the shop with a lot longer waiting times. In fact, if you ask the dealer when you'd get a V lens they'd say not sure, while the webshop seemingly guarantees 20 days.

As of right now, the EUR webshop shows delivery times of 20 days while one large online shop in Switzerland mention for example delivery times in May ... not sure how reliable their own shipping estimate is ...

Hasselblad have implemented a pay-first receive-later delivery strategy - not so different to most high end low volume suppliers. The only difference is Hasselblad are a tad more transparent- it is the dealers and online sales businesses that are misleading customers. These second-party sellers are only getting as much stock as they pay in advance for ie they are being treated the same as the end user who ordered directly.

As for the diminishing supply of 'older style' lenses - again, those that are still in production will be subject to the same pay-first-receive-later regime - and only stock that is already out there remains - not surprising that the inventory is declining as demand has surged since the introduction of the X2D.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

That's interesting, but not friendly towards dealers who might also have liquidity issues in this market. Pay first receive later is not a problem if you are 100% sure about demand, but if you have trickling sales in one category (e.g. Hassy medium format systems and lenses vs. 35mm offerings) it may be problematic if the alternative is to just order 20 Nikon bodies you know you'll shift easily.

The dealer I spoke to indeed might be more in the category order on demand given most of his clients are CaNikon.

 

[Doppler9000]

Dealers are unlikely to enjoy competing with their supplier, particularly when they are at a significant cost disadvantage.
Will this business model hurt the brand in the long-term?

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Well the dealer I spoke to said they are not PRE-ordering into invetory products from Hasselblad anymore because they feel *** over by this business approach. The gentleman's agreement in the old days (in general) seemed to be that professional photography dealers got inventory before the bigger online shops and ofc no competition from the manufacturer itself via their own webshop. Ie, as a store owner you could look forward to a product launch as a sort of given cash influx. Like when the Nikon Z9 is launches you know you'll move 20 or more boxes day one which is a nice profit to look forward to.

The incentive ofc for the camera manufacturer to not do it this way and sell direct is to cut out the dealer and do D2C to maximize profits. It gets a bit dirty if this happens under the pretense of pay first receive later if old ways of doing things get broken up indirectly without being straight about it that some manager decided that this is a good measure to also partake in the pent-up preorder demand and maximize profits in the D2C channel.

Fuji apparently is not doing this.

So if you can't afford the capital outlay / risk to pre-order 50 100CFV backs as a "smaller" pro store to capture the pre-order wave at product launch then you are disadvantaged if you cannot do just-in-time ordering.

I understand that Rodenstock moved to JIT for the HR lenses which takes away a bit of pressure from the tech cam manufacturers given the difficult market.

As it stands, it looks like I can get V lenses within 2-3 weeks if I order online shipped directly to my door or sometime in May or later if I call my dealer.

Clearly that's disadvantageous to the dealer and not so nice ...

 

[TechTalk]

I am surprised that more people are not commenting or concerned about the current supply status for all the V lenses ,38,55,and 90. And the 28mm P. In the US, I don't believe Hasselblad has shipped any of these in any quantity since Jan 2024. I know that all the major Camera suppliers in the US have been out since Dec 2023 for all the V lenses and the 90mm has been almost non existent unless you were in the first and only round of shipments. Now the XCD lenses are starting to dry up, the 35-75 out of stock till May. The dates of availability of the V lenses has also slipped back at least 3 times. The 28, 38 are now showing Late May, the 28 was showing late March, but it's slipped back to May also. The 90, just states backordered.

What lens or lenses are you looking to buy? Hasselblad is a relatively small low volume manufacturer with production which gets spread and allocated around the world and around various countries. So, depending on what you're trying to find it may be relatively easy or difficult to find it. You may want to try some of the smaller lower profile dealers if you don't want to wait for a backorder to be filled from wherever you usually purchase. As is often the case, the latest equipment is generally in highest demand and may be more difficult to find.

As of this particular moment, I see some of the following lenses you mentioned showing as in stock and available from various sources:

XCD 38V — *[updated below] Ace Photo currently shows this in stock at their Ashburn, Virginia (Washington DC Metro Area) location.

XCD 55V — *[updated below] Camera West currently shows this in stock at their Rancho Mirage, California location.

XCD 90V — This is the latest lens to ship (about 4 months ago) and will be the hardest to find in stock right now. When it first shipped, it was readily available to order for awhile but this might be one where you'd have to wait for a new production run. You might try K&R PhotoDigital in the Cincinnati Metro Area. I've found a few hard to find high-end items there and the husband and wife team, Wilma and Rob Kumler, who own it are delightful to talk with anytime.

XCD 28P — Pretty much like the XCD 90V lens as far as I can tell. If you want one I think you would need to place an order and wait for the next production run.

XCD 35–75 mm Zoom — Adorama currently shows this in stock online with free 2-Day shipping. Pictureline (a nice bunch of folks in Salt Lake City, Utah) also show this in stock. Dodd Camera (I've purchased from their pro division in the past and they're also great folks.) shows this lens in stock as well. It's an amazingly good lens.

The stock status is current as of the time I'm posting this, but of course could change at any time. I hope this helps you find some of the lenses you're looking to buy.

* Update April 8th: Camera West currently shows the XCD 55V as out of stock, but now shows the XCD 38V as in stock.

Capture Integration currently shows 3 XCD 55V lenses in stock. Additionally, Allen's Camera in Pennsylvania shows the XCD 55V in stock as does Ace Photo at their Ashburn, Virginia location. They did not show the XCD 55V in stock earlier, so it appears they received more lenses recently. B&H also received more XCD 55V lenses after my original post and showed it in stock online for a short time, but they sold out quickly. They currently show more XCD 38V and 55V lenses expected in two days on April 10th.

New lenses are shipping, but they appear to also sell out fairly quickly. If you're looking for immediate availability, you may find what you want with a bit of searching.

 

[TechTalk]

It's hard to use a camera without a lens, and with these kind of dates, I have to wonder if Hasselblad/DJI have run into a supplier problem. As I understand it Hasselblad has never actually made a lens, instead using Zeiss for V, Fuji for the HC lenses, Nitto for the original XCD lenses and now Panasonic for the V glass. I have been told Hasselblad/DJI still makes the shutter but no confirmation on that.

Hasselblad has never manufactured optics. Hasselblad lenses have been manufactured by optical partners including: Kodak (Pre–1957), Zeiss and Schneider (V System), Rodenstock (ArcBody System), Fujinon (H System), and Nittoh (XPan and X System). Hasselblad has an optical design team and has collaborated with their lens manufacturing partners to design and produce H and X System lenses. You can find an interesting overview of their lens history and current design process here.

The shutters in the XCD lens series were adopted from the shutters designed and manufactured by Hasselblad in Sweden for their H System lenses. XCD P and V series lenses appear to use newer shutter designs. You can learn more about the H and XCD basic shutter design here although the mechanical shutter speeds were later increased to 1/1000. Thru synchronized timing of the shutter with the sensor, exposure time has been further shortened as explained here.

 

[Photon42]

Are the new XCD V-type lenses produced by Nitto as well?

 

[wattsy]

Are the new XCD V-type lenses produced by Nitto as well?

I haven't seen an authoritative answer to this question but the general word is that the new "V" lenses are not made by Nittoh. The same (mostly rumour based but nonetheless credible) wisdom is that the lenses are made by Panasonic.

 

[TechTalk]

Are the new XCD V-type lenses produced by Nitto as well?

Hasselblad announced that Nittoh was their optical partner for the XCD series of lenses, as they were for the XPan, when the X System was first launched with the original X1D model. I haven't seen any evidence of other lens partners manufacturing lenses, but have seen assertions in online forums that Panasonic has produced XCD V series lenses. It's certainly possible and they would be fully capable of doing so, but I don't know if that's actually the case with the new lens series or models.

 

[Steve Hendrix]

I think I'm qualified to comment on this, so I will. There's 2 issues. One is the recent lack of availability not just of the newer lenses, but even the standard XCD lenses. I have no clue about that. But it's real, and whatever the issue is, I hope they get past it. I would also like to mention that I am not aware of who makes the newer gen lenses, but I've been told by someone at Hasselblad that it is not Panasonic. Not that it matters, and they could be wrong, but the Panasonic name has been bandied about as fact - I don't know that it is.

The second issue is more concerning. We've been a Hasselblad dealer and supporter for many, many years, with strong relationship ties that went back decades. And every one of those employees in the USA is gone. Today, Hasselblad substantially prioritizes allocation to their own online web-store and to BH. They also split the remaining dealers into ordering from a distribution center that warehouses DJI in the USA (among other products). However, this distributor rarely ever has stock themselves because the stock is prioritized to Hasselblad’s online store or BH. We invest a tremendous amount of time and energy to produce content for Hasselblad, content that is unique, honest, technical. We make sales for Hasselblad. We're not an order taker, like BH, we're an order maker. We are marketing Hasselblad's products so they can take the sale themselves.

We are not a small volume Hasselblad dealer. When a new product comes out, like the X2D or the recent 907x/CFV 100c, yes we do order 40-50 units at a time. We're large enough to produce a bigger stake in Hasselblad. Last year was a very successful year for Hasselblad sales at CI. And yet, by our calculations, our sales were at least 30% - 40% less than what they should have been if we could simply deliver (any) lenses within a reasonable amount of time. Instead, the reasonable amount of time is restricted to their online store and BH.

In recent years, nearly every manufacturer of photographic products has created an online e-commerce store for direct sales. This isn't new, there's just more of it. And on a certain level, I understand. Many camera stores have gone under and it's hard to count on sales when you're underrepresented in large areas of the country. But there are right ways and wrong ways to do this. Hasselblad does not even list us on their own website as a dealer.

We have reached out to Hasselblad Sweden and were told we have no recourse but to continue and press our only Hasselblad USA contact, who is responsible for all of North America. We have a great relationship with this person, and he understands our value. He’s pushing for change. But it's a bit Wizard of Oz, we have him and that's it, and then there's this big curtain, and we know no one behind it. We hope for change.


Steve Hendrix/CI

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Thanks for sharing Steve – that's not a nice way of DJI dealing with its dealers.

In the short term prioritising your own e shop can improve profits a bit, but the loss of long-term high calibre dealer representation on the ground will counter that effect.

The dealer I spoke to in Germany is quite angry at Hasselblad DJI because he had literally orders cancelled by long term store customers who called in and said they had ordered it online because shipping times were short (two weeks instead of unknown / 2 months). I mean, c'mon.

Fuji gets it apparently and is not disadvantaging its dealers according to the manager I spoke to, so they stopped pushing Hasselblad products altogether after these order cancellation incidents ...

 

[Steve Hendrix]

Thanks for sharing Steve – that's not a nice way of DJI dealing with its dealers.

In the short term prioritising your own e shop can improve profits a bit, but the loss of long-term high calibre dealer representation on the ground will counter that effect.

The dealer I spoke to in Germany is quite angry at Hasselblad DJI because he had literally orders cancelled by long term store customers who called in and said they had ordered it online because shipping times were short (two weeks instead of unknown / 2 months). I mean, c'mon.

Fuji gets it apparently and is not disadvantaging its dealers according to the manager I spoke to, so they stopped pushing Hasselblad products altogether after these order cancellation incidents ...

Yes, this has happened to us on numerous occasions. While we've been waiting for 7 months, Hasselblad will state "ships in one day" in their online store. We have no such issues with Fuji (or any of our other manufacturer partners). Just Hasselblad.

And yet - we remain very strong advocates of the product, and hope things change with regard to distribution.


Steve Hendrix/CI

 

[Doppler9000]

Yes, this has happened to us on numerous occasions. While we've been waiting for 7 months, Hasselblad will state "ships in one day" in their online store. We have no such issues with Fuji (or any of our other manufacturer partners). Just Hasselblad.

And yet - we remain very strong advocates of the product, and hope things change with regard to distribution.


Steve Hendrix/CI

I have been accumulating tech cam parts in anticipation of buying a CFV, so this frustrating and disappointing.

Historically, it has been dealers like Capture Integration and people like Steve that have been the key to the success of higher-end brands, to guide customers, solve problems, and provide the expected level of service. It seems short-sighted to gain short-term profits by selling direct and structurally disadvantaging your best dealers.

As we speak, Toronto dealer B3K is hosting “Hasselblad Day”, featuring Yannick Michaud, Hasselblad’s North American Sales Manager. Like CI, B3K is not even listed as a dealer on Hasselblad’s website. They described the attempts to be listed as “work in progress.”

 

[Paul Spinnler]

I wonder at which level the decision to artificially suffocate dealers via steering of the supply chain has been made, ie at DJI or Hasselblad as the "legacy MF business management" should know about the importance of the dealers for customer happiness.

This is the stuff that can destroy small businesses.

 

[davidsuchoff]

As someone literally in the middle of purchasing Hasselblad equipment (from Steve - hope he doesn't mind me saying), I really hope Hasselblad doesn't continue down this path. Working with dealers adds a human element that is lost when ordering direct via e-commerce. This is expensive equipment, and having the human element/contact to bounce ideas off of and pick their brain adds comfort that simply isn't there when buying through this e-commerce route. But, I know that I am likely preaching to the choir!

 

[Paul Spinnler]

The best thing would be if Yannick reads this and sends a link to this thread to DJI.

Its also kind of telling that B&H is not disadvantaged like this. They are afraid of going against the big ones.

Vox populi, vox Dei!