Hasselblad launch the X1D II 50C: A faster and cheaper medium format digital camera

Hasselblad has announced the new X1D II 50C, a follow-up to the company’s first mirrorless medium format digital camera, 2016’s X1D. The update is largely iterative (hence the II designation) with some improvements to autofocus, a larger touchscreen and higher resolution viewfinder. The form factor and body from the Mark I however, remain.

The key difference is the price, which, at an RRP of $5,750 USD ($8,300 AUD), brings the X1D II much closer in pricing to its nearest rivals, the Fujifilm GFX 50S and 50R. Considering the original X1D will still set you back about $13,000 today, it's a significant drop.

 

Hasselblad has taken steps to improve the somewhat slugish performance of the original X1D, and is promising a start-up time reduced by 46 percent, continuous shooting sped up by 35 percent, and the live view frame rate increased by 62 percent. 

The other major upgrade is a new larger touchscreen, that at 3.6 inches is .6 inches larger than that on the original X1D. The OLED electronic viewfinder is the same size, but is now brighter and gains more pixels. The X1D II 50C’s live view also features a faster refresh rate.

Finally the X1D II can now be connected via USB-C and Wi-Fi, and RAW and full quality JPEG files can be transferred directly from the X1D II, while RAW images can be edited on on iPad Pro or iPad Air (2019) while out on the field. There's also tethered shooting and direct camera control via the Phocus Mobile 2 app.

Local pricing for the Hasselblad X1D II 50C has not been confirmed, but we'll update this post once it has. You can find out more at Hasselblad.