xcd 38 experiences, and compared to 30 and 45

[dmecham]

The image I've shown here was taken hand held with X1Dii and 45P lens. I process all my Hasselblad RAW files in Phocus and then any other work in Photoshop with TIFF files. I've loved the 28P on this body. I replaced my 30mm Hasselblad XCD lens with it after extensive testing of both lenses. As close in performance of any lenses I've ever tested. The big advantage with the 28P is it's about half the size of the 30mm, much faster and quieter and less than half the price. It's no wonder the 28P is back ordered everywhere. The color with the 28P is consistent with my other XCD lenses. I do stress that many of the optical corrections are performed in Phocus so by converting Raw files in any other software results may vary. Considering Phocus is a free download is an easy solution. Here's an example of a 28P image.

 

[Ai_Print]

My understanding from my local dealer is that the glass elements are made by Nittoh. They are then sent to Hasselblad for the rest of the build. All hand made. This is why they say made in Sweden. I also own the 45P as well as the 65mm and 28P. All outstanding performers and the 45P is as sharp as my 65 or 28P.

I also own the 28P, 45P and 65mm 2.8 and they are fantastic on the X2D. But the 38V and 55V I bought and tried for over a week last Fall were just plain poor in the corners, never got anywhere near as sharp as the other three at any aperture so I returned them for a refund, still have the darn 72mm filters that I otherwise have no use for.

I honestly think Hasselblad is having very difficult QA issues with these new lenses so that is why they are so slow to be re-stocked. If I could get the pair of 38V and 55V to be at least as sharp overall as my pretty much perfect 45P, I would really like using them but given the price of them, I am not sure I want to risk it again. The 65 however clunky to use, it so off the charts good for landscape work that I can not imagine the IQ from either of the new V lenses would come close to beating it so regardless, it stays for sure.

 

[dmecham]

Yes I agree that the 65mm is a bit of a beast compared to the 45P and 28P. But image quality is stellar. I love using the 65mm for stiching images but if there is ever a smaller and more compact version made that is equal to the current 65mm image quality I'd make the change. change.

 

[dmecham]

I've found no color cast using the 28P on my X1Dii. I've included results from a test I made with the 28P shot at F4. Processed using Phocus 2. As you can see the correction couldn't be better. Perfectly even and perfectly neutral color over entire frame.

 

[FloatingLens]

I've found no color cast using the 28P on my X1Dii. I've included results from a test I made with the 28P shot at F4. Processed using Phocus 2. As you can see the correction couldn't be better. Perfectly even and perfectly neutral color over entire frame.

Not sure how you perceive it, but the left uncorrected frame exhibits a red shift on the right hand edge. Maybe it is a bit less pronounced than in my sample.

 

[FloatingLens]

That said, I believe the auto-correction profile for the 28P in Phocus 3.8 got a bit better but not perfect with respect to color. Judging from an attempt with an old .fff file and the 3.8 lens correction it’s not completely neutral in my case, meaning still only a Scene calibration can remove the cast fully.

Note: the cast occurs at f4.

 

[nazdravanul]

I went against the trend, here: sold my 38v for a 30 and 45 - both original 3.5 xcd lenses. While I was happy with the 38v, I found the FL limiting, at times - I find the 30 & 45 much more useful. While the 38 was very good stopped down, the 30 is much better in the corners, wide open, and sometimes I need that capability for night shots. Also, ergonomically, I found out I prefer the simplicity of the XCD lenses. On the V I kept engaging the MF ring by mistake, effectively blocking my rear focus button - in the middle of the shot I had to stop, fix and start over. Minor annoyance, but it kept happening - on the simpler XCD lenses my workflow is clear and uninterrupted.
Optically I’m also happier with the classical XCD lenses - they do seem a bit punchier and more consistent in performance across f-stops and focusing distances.
The only optical gripes I had with the 38v were : 1. poor corners up unti f5.6 2. flare resistance which was really poor.
That being said, if I could carry / shoot only 2 lenses, those would clearly be 38v and 90v. But I need more FL options than that, so the 38 had to go - if they’re going to get cheaper, in the future, I will consider buying one again. For now, the 30 + 45 deliver much better optical (and financial ) value, for me.

 

[FloatingLens]

For now, the 30 + 45 deliver much better optical (and financial ) value, for me.

I second that. Went the same route.

 

[dmecham]

Not sure how you perceive it, but the left uncorrected frame exhibits a red shift on the right hand edge. Maybe it is a bit less pronounced than in my sample.

Yes the uncorrected sample does show a color shift. The corrected version may appear to not be quite neutral in color but that must be from this site. When I open the corrected version in PS using the densitometer tool all areas of the image are RGB 189. No change over the entire format.

 

[dmecham]

That said, I believe the auto-correction profile for the 28P in Phocus 3.8 got a bit better but not perfect with respect to color. Judging from an attempt with an old .fff file and the 3.8 lens correction it’s not completely neutral in my case, meaning still only a Scene calibration can remove the cast fully.

Note: the cast occurs at f4.

I used Phocus 2 for this test. No Scene Calibration was used.

 

[dmecham]

Should add Phocus 2 version 3.8 was used.

 

[FloatingLens]

Ah, the mobile version?

 

[dmecham]

No. It's on my IMac.

 

[dmecham]

I also own the 28P, 45P and 65mm 2.8 and they are fantastic on the X2D. But the 38V and 55V I bought and tried for over a week last Fall were just plain poor in the corners, never got anywhere near as sharp as the other three at any aperture so I returned them for a refund, still have the darn 72mm filters that I otherwise have no use for.

I honestly think Hasselblad is having very difficult QA issues with these new lenses so that is why they are so slow to be re-stocked. If I could get the pair of 38V and 55V to be at least as sharp overall as my pretty much perfect 45P, I would really like using them but given the price of them, I am not sure I want to risk it again. The 65 however clunky to use, it so off the charts good for landscape work that I can not imagine the IQ from either of the new V lenses would come close to beating it so regardless, it stays for sure.

I’ve been using the Hasselblad 38v lens on my X1Dll body for about 2 weeks now. It’s a very unique lens with it’s angle of view that I enjoy greatly. The focusing and shutter are as quiet as my 28P lens. Because of its faster speed of F2.5 the optimum F stops for image quality are in the F5.6 to F8 area. With proper focusing I capture images with a great DOF all tack sharp at F5.6. Great for hand holding as this design allows the photographer to use faster shutter speeds. Using Phocus 2 software for the conversion any optical issues like distortion, vignetting, etc. are completely resolved during the conversion from RAW to a variety of formats. The lens is light weight and silent and balances well on the camera. Since I manually focus and using back button AF I found using the focus scale of the V lenses not really as quick and easy as the fore mentioned process. I do like being able to assign the Lens Control Ring to adjusting ISO without taking my eye from the EVF. I did take a little time to get the feel of this lens as the new V lenses are of a new design with some very nice features added. I had read about issues with edge performance at wider apertures. On tests I made on a flat object at various aperture from F4 (the lowest I could ever see me using) to F16. Even at F4 the corners were as sharp as the center. I would recommend this lens even though the price was a bit concerning. Now that I own it and have learn to get the most out of it I feel now it was worth the price. I've added 2 images here both shot at F5.6.

 

[dmecham]

Here's a test I shot with the 38V lens at F2.5. Maybe hard to see in this small jpeg but in the original TIFF from Phocus 2 the corners are as sharp as the center.

 

[nazdravanul]

I’ve been using the Hasselblad 38v lens on my X1Dll body for about 2 weeks now. It’s a very unique lens with it’s angle of view that I enjoy greatly. The focusing and shutter are as quiet as my 28P lens. Because of its faster speed of F2.5 the optimum F stops for image quality are in the F5.6 to F8 area. With proper focusing I capture images with a great DOF all tack sharp at F5.6. Great for hand holding as this design allows the photographer to use faster shutter speeds. Using Phocus 2 software for the conversion any optical issues like distortion, vignetting, etc. are completely resolved during the conversion from RAW to a variety of formats. The lens is light weight and silent and balances well on the camera. Since I manually focus and using back button AF I found using the focus scale of the V lenses not really as quick and easy as the fore mentioned process. I do like being able to assign the Lens Control Ring to adjusting ISO without taking my eye from the EVF. I did take a little time to get the feel of this lens as the new V lenses are of a new design with some very nice features added. I had read about issues with edge performance at wider apertures. On tests I made on a flat object at various aperture from F4 (the lowest I could ever see me using) to F16. Even at F4 the corners were as sharp as the center. I would recommend this lens even though the price was a bit concerning. Now that I own it and have learn to get the most out of it I feel now it was worth the price. I've added 2 images here both shot at F5.6.View attachment 212689View attachment 212690

Here's a test I shot with the 38V lens at F2.5. Maybe hard to see in this small jpeg but in the original TIFF from Phocus 2 the corners are as sharp as the center.View attachment 212691

The 50MP sensor puts a lot less performance pressure on any lens due to the much higher pixel pitch - those pixels are twice the size of those found in the x2d, so much easier to fill with detail. On the 100 MP x2d all lenses are pushed much harder - so performance issues will become aparent! What you show here would look a lot different if shot on an x2d.

 

[dmecham]

O really? Can you describe what that difference would be? A friend of mine has an X2D with older as well as a V lens and hasn't commented about seeing anything difference in image quality.

 

[nazdravanul]

O really? Can you describe what that difference would be? A friend of mine has an X2D with older as well as a V lens and hasn't commented about seeing anything difference in image quality.

It might be a good idea to redo the exact same test with your friend’s x2d - then you could judge for yourself. If pixel pitch influence on lens performance is surprising for you …oh well, you’ve missed a lot of the “fun” of the past 2 decades of megapixel wars, in all formats

 

[dmecham]

I've been taking photographs large and medium format film for more than 50 years and the X1Dll I've owned less than 2 years is the very first digital capture that had ever impressed me. And the only one I ever bought. That's why I love it and can purchase other lenses from time to time. I have no doubt that the X2D would have some improvements but my X1Dll and XCD and now V lenses are giving me image quality superior to what I could get drum scanning an 8x10 color film shot. I'm very happy with what I get now. Who knows in time? But I'm still blown away by the image quality of this system.

 

[Doppler9000]

The 50MP sensor puts a lot less performance pressure on any lens due to the much higher pixel pitch - those pixels are twice the size of those found in the x2d, so much easier to fill with detail. On the 100 MP x2d all lenses are pushed much harder - so performance issues will become aparent! What you show here would look a lot different if shot on an x2d.

The pixels are sqrt of 2 (1.4x) larger in the lower resolution sensor.