Sharpest Hasselblad XCD lenses

[felix5616]

regarding Hasselblad XCD lenses, which are the sharpest, especially in the wide angle range

 

[alextsayun]

XCD 65 is the best

 

[Paratom]

they are all sharp
I had 21 and 30mm, now replaced with 20-35 for flexibility. Never had sharpness issues.

 

[GeorgeBo]

I had the 21 and had zero complaints regarding sharpness, but was too wide for me. Got the 25V thinking I could replace both the 21 and the 30. While the 25V is very nice and is a good fit for me vs the 21, I just can't get rid of the 30. Sharpest lens I have.

 

[tenmangu81]

The XCD45P is very, very sharp. A little bit too sharp, IMHO.
The XCD65 is the best, for sure, but very heavy and bulky...

 

[TechTalk]

regarding Hasselblad XCD lenses, which are the sharpest, especially in the wide angle range

What focal length do you need? "Wide angle range" is a broad category of different lenses of various focal lengths. In my personal experience, having "the sharpest" lens is of little importance if it's the wrong lens.

 

[Godfrey]

I have 21, 45P, 65, and had the 90. They are all extremely sharp and well corrected. As are, btw, my V system 50, 80, 120 Macro, 150, and 180 mm lenses on the CFVII 50c sensor.

One of the things that I've always loved about Hasselblad equipment is that no matter what of I happened to get my hands on, it all worked extremely well. Nothing is ever completely perfect, for sure, but you can make top notch photographs with any of it.

G

 

[bab]

supposedly the 21 is the sharpest and finest wide ever made! Wishing for a joy stick and a few other issues to be settled before I dive in...

 

[mristuccia]

supposedly the 21 is the sharpest and finest wide ever made! Wishing for a joy stick and a few other issues to be settled before I dive in...

Which joystick? This one?

 

[felix5616]

thanks everyone.

 

[BigBoy]

45p

 

[Steve Hendrix]

On the XCD line, you have 21mm, then 30mm, then you could throw in the 35-75, since 35mm would be equivalent to a 28mm. Of these 3, the 21mm and 30mm might eek out just a bit more performance than the wide end of the 35-75 zoom, but I think it is difficult to discern that. You can look at MTF curves and think you can deduce that the 21mm and 30mm are quite similar. You can look at MTF curves for the newer lenses and think you can deduce that the 28P and 20-32 Zoom don't compare to the 25V and 38V, but it's not easy to detect these apparent MTF advantages in real world images when the lenses perform at least in roughly the same ballpark.

I can't say there is a weak lens in either the XCD or newer V/P/E lens lineup You could perhaps find ever so slight advantages in a few, but as a result, my recommendation in a lineup with this much consistent strength usually is not to worry about finding the sharpest, but to find the focal length that will be most useful.


Steve Hendrix/CI

 

[Geoff]

Not much to add to above; all are exemplary. Only can suggest a comparison of the 28P and 30X: the smaller 28 is great for carrying around, and quite good. however, there is a bit of edge distortion (visible for architectural work), which is not the case in the excellent 30mm. That lens is wonderful, but larger and heavier.

 

[Niddiot]

New 90mm V lens is finest lens I have ever used. Balances detail rendition with an organic rendering very well. 25mm is close to being as good. 38 and 55 if used carefully are really good too. All landscape use only.

 

[PeterA]

The XCD lenses are all good at balancing contrast with fall off and resolving capabilities are more than up to the task of complimenting the 100MP chip. I prefer the Hasselblad rendition to the Leica APO renditions which are supposedly the pinnacle of 35mm lens performance. All irrelevant to making a decent image of course.

 

[Iceman1331]

regarding Hasselblad XCD lenses, which are the sharpest, especially in the wide angle range

IMO, all Hasselblad Xcd lenses can be very sharp if we can do manual focus correctly.