Future of Hassy- Bleak or Bright?

[Mexecutioner]

How much better is the Phase One as opposed to Fuji GFX 50S ii The IBIS on the Fuji is awesome even with heavy lenses. I know there is a BIG price difference between the 2 but is there a BIG difference in IQ. Ty

The difference is quite significant.

 

[TechTalk]

How much better is the Phase One as opposed to Fuji GFX 50S ii...

Perhaps you'd be better served by starting a separate thread on that question.

 

[TechTalk]

73.5 in sales and they only had 4.5 pre tax profit

I hate to speculate, but I'm pretty sure that they were happy with any profit made in 2020. For the curious, Leica Camera AG had earnings before taxes of €23.5 million on €412 million reported in their Consolidated Income Statement For The Period From April 1, 2020 To March 31, 2021. [very similar in pretax earnings percentage to Hasselblad's in 2020]

Notes from the Leica Camera AG Consolidated Income Statement referenced above (Google translation from original German):

" In this fiscal year 2020/21, which was shaped by the corona pandemic, the group recorded a decline in sales of -8.36% compared to the previous year. With this overall small reduction in sales under the special circumstances, the forecast decline in sales for the 2020/21 financial year was positively exceeded. Leica Camera AG has thus continued to hold its position in the premium segment worldwide over the past few years."

"The successfully completed restructuring project and within the Leica AG Group made a significant contribution to the improved net [after tax] income of EUR 15,600 thousand [€15.6 million] (previous year: EUR 938 thousand) reported by the group in the 2020/21 financial year."

"The economic environment continues to be challenging. According to a GfK study, the global camera market as a whole shrank again in the 2020 calendar year and recorded a quantitative decline of 29%. Furthermore, the target markets show a constantly growing competitive environment, risks from substitution and shorter product life cycles."

 

[mristuccia]

To me, the speed at which this thread has diverged from Hasselblad towards Leica & Fuji gives itself the answer to the original question.

 

[John_McMaster]

Highly recommend trying out the 24, 35, 100, 120.

I would go for the 45 over the 35 personally

john

 

[Paul Spinnler]

I would go for the 45 over the 35 personally

john

Admittedly, a personal preference for 28mm in 35mm terms for environmental portraits; the 35mm pops so nicely with the 2.5 aperture ... !

 

[KlausJH]

To me, the speed at which this thread has diverged from Hasselblad towards Leica & Fuji gives itself the answer to the original question.

I think it was only hijacked by Leica and Fuji users

 

[TechTalk]

I want to be clear that the reason for my posting of recent corporate financial information is to provide some concrete facts and insight into the marketplace. I thought it might be a nice change from rumor and speculation for some readers. After all, the internet is awash in gossip — a few facts couldn't hurt as a counterbalance.

I haven't posted this information as a basis for predicting the future. Others may believe that they have great forecasting abilities, but I've been surprised too often to think that i can predict the future with enough accuracy for that to be a worthwhile pursuit.

Camera makers — all of them — deserve some respect for what they do to provide us with the tools that we enjoy. At least, that's my personal opinion. I'm frankly amazed and rather pleased at the variety of options available.

 

[TechTalk]

H system is dead, it is so clear. DJI just milking the brand for its drones and focusing on x system ... [from a different thread]

...And as DJI already got what they wanted - namely colour science and brand equity to slap onto their drones it could be that indeed the H system is dead and the X system will from now on be milked given the lenses have more or less been finally developed - not aware of any other upcoming lens on the X side ...

It appears that you believe DJI is doing a lot of milking. With regard to "milking the brand for its drones", DJI acquired Hasselblad in January of 2017 following a major investment in November of 2015. In all of that time, DJI has collaborated with Hasselblad on just two drone models which feature a Hasselblad branded camera. That's some really slow milking! If they worked on a Wisconsin dairy farm and milked that slow they'd be fired! If they're milking the X system as you indicate, it looks like that cow is producing for them, however.

Perhaps DJI just can't figure out the use of "brand equity to slap onto their drones". I don't know, they seem to be pretty good at everything else they do. In more than 5 years, however, they've only managed "to slap onto their drones" Hasselblad's brand with the Mavic 2 Pro in August, 2018 and the Mavic 3 in November, 2021.

The market for DSLR cameras is rapidly disappearing in favor of mirrorless models. Despite that fact, I'm happy to report the H system is still alive and working, at least for me. "The report of my death was an exaggeration." — Mark Twain, letter to New York Journal correspondent Frank Marshall White, written May 31, 1897 and published June 2, 1897

 

[Paul Spinnler]

It appears that you believe DJI is doing a lot of milking. With regard to "milking the brand for its drones", DJI acquired Hasselblad in January of 2017 following a major investment in November of 2015. In all of that time, DJI has collaborated with Hasselblad on just two drone models which feature a Hasselblad branded camera. That's some really slow milking! If they worked on a Wisconsin dairy farm and milked that slow they'd be fired! If they're milking the X system as you indicate, it looks like that cow is producing for them, however.

Perhaps DJI just can't figure out the use of "brand equity to slap onto their drones". I don't know, they seem to be pretty good at everything else they do. In more than 5 years, however, they've only managed "to slap onto their drones" Hasselblad's brand with the Mavic 2 Pro in August, 2018 and the Mavic 3 in November, 2021.

The market for DSLR cameras is rapidly disappearing in favor of mirrorless models. Despite that fact, I'm happy to report the H system is still alive and working, at least for me. "The report of my death was an exaggeration." — Mark Twain, letter to New York Journal correspondent Frank Marshall White, written May 31, 1897 and published June 2, 1897

What's your point again?

They took the brand for some of their drones, took the colour science for their image processing, might have taken other know how, who knows (didn't they proceed to launch a line of cinema related feature tiers in their drones alongside proprietary lenses?), and are milking the rest by not really re-investing visibly in the photo segment. There's hope for a new X system body, but no one knows at this stage when and if it comes ... I think they are milking the company pretty well by taking out cashflows / IP ... glad the H system works well for you. It works well for a lot of people ...

 

[TechTalk]

What's the point of gossip, rumor, and speculation? I have no inside knowledge as to what DJI's strategy is for Hasselblad. I do know that their investments have been good for Hasselblad. It's money from DJI in 2015 (and since then) that made possible the completion and launch of the H6D and X1D in 2016 and everything that has followed in the six years since — 907X, CFV II 50C, H6D-400c (my personal favorite), X1D II, 10 different XCD lenses, numerous accessories and firmware updates, improvements in Phocus, new Phocus Mobile 2, and that's a fair amount of milk.

Hasselblad has become a profit making company again. Thanks DJI!

One more thing from those financial statements... Hasselblad spent €4.5 million in 2019 and €5.5 million in 2020 on R&D. Not huge by some other standards, but a lot for a small company. So, seeing more new product in the future is certainly a distinct possibility. I just wouldn't expect any announcements or discussion of what's ahead until they're pretty close to releasing whatever is next. That's not unusual if what's coming will replace or take potential sales from whatever it is you're currently selling. It's pretty normal business practice actually.

 

[usm]

People need (product) announcements, then they believe that everything is alright.

 

[KlausJH]

People need (product) announcements, then they believe that everything is alright.

...or software and firmware updates. The last firmware update for the CFV II 50c was from from October 2020. Nothing has happened since.

 

[steveash]

There was a Phocus update in February so there must be someone home! Hopefully they’re all busy working on new stuff.

 

[TechTalk]

People need (product) announcements, then they believe that everything is alright.

Which people? There are a number of people in this thread who don't appear to be too concerned with when the next product announcement will come, myself included.

People have surveyed their available options, selected a camera, and are taking pictures now. For a fair number of people, it seems the future will arrive with whatever it has in store soon enough to be satisfactory and they are focused on the present.

 

[TechTalk]

...or software and firmware updates. The last firmware update for the CFV II 50c was from from October 2020. Nothing has happened since.

Is there some feature that isn't working properly and in need of a firmware update? After initial release there were firmware updates in June, July, and October of 2020 which added several new features along with the usual bug fixes. What isn't working correctly for you?

 

[TechTalk]

There was a Phocus update in February so there must be someone home! Hopefully they’re all busy working on new stuff.

There were also fairly substantial updates to Phocus and Phocus Mobile 2 in May last year with new features added. I suspect that new stuff is what their engineers are working on. It's unlikely that they're being paid to sit idle. But, they're a small company and move at their own pace with new products. Potential customers either like what they currently offer or they buy something else.

I was not anticipating the X1D system, or the 907X, or the changes in the H6D design when they were announced. I'm happy to wait for whatever comes next. I can't seem to find a reason for any anxiety about future products, perhaps that's a fault of mine. Although, I have more than enough anxiety about other things in life.

Hasselblad is currently looking to hire additional firmware, optics, hardware, and image quality engineers. If you know of a candidate, let them know that Hasselblad is hiring. It may speed things up a bit.

 

[TechTalk]

There's also a panemic + war = supply shortage and rising component prices = inflation, uncertainties + professional photographer's services under pressure from reduced business / private spend, disintermediation (everyone has a camera) + stalling sensor development ... so the next generation of cameras will come, but we might need to wait a bit longer.

Those are all excellent points! There's been a lot of disruption of normal business activities over the past two years, in addition to all of the personal ones we've experienced. There has been a chip shortage [which I now see you pointed out in a recent thread mentioned below] across many different industries which has been disruptive as well. Hopefully, we'll all be more relaxed as the dust starts to settle and let's hope that's sooner rather than later!

 

[georgecleansman]

I am waiting for a new H7D - that's all!

 

[TechTalk]

Being new here, I only just became aware that the member that started this thread on April 4th with...

I’m expecting some answers that I won’t like here. Fir the last few weeks, I’ve been mulling over Leica S3 v the X1D2. ( Have the 100s and really cannot gel with the handling). This was posted on a FB forum, receiving no answers. Any opinions?

“Greetings photos. Quick question. Has Hasseelblad completely given up on the X system? There have been no new firmware updates, nor any hardware updates. Is this because DJI bought a large chunk of the company and is more or less killing it off? Really hard to be optimistic about the future of Hasselblad at the moment. I could be wrong and hope that I am but I don't see much in the future for the company.’

Also started another thread about six weeks earlier with...

Trying to find my way back into the MF system... was talking to someone knowledgeable enough in the industry that I refrain from saying who. The quote was "Hasselblad will likely not push ahead with the H-system, pretty much the system is dead, so although there's a lot of used gear out there to keep going for a few years, it might make more sense to invest in Phase."
Any comments?

So, the questions for the original poster are... Aside from the "quotations" you've cited; both of which seem designed to cast Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt regarding Hasselblad's survival, what is it that you actually want to accomplish? What kind of subjects do you want to photograph and what are your preferences?

The X1D II, H6D, Leica S3, and Phase One cameras, in which you seem to have interest; while all excellent cameras, covers a pretty broad range of different camera designs. It might be more constructive for you to describe what you photograph and your personal preferences, in order to get responses that would be helpful to you in selecting a camera, than to simply post "quotes" that appear to be somewhat inflammatory remarks and dismissive predictions about Hasselblad's future and then inviting people to comment.

Just a suggestion.