The Hasselblad H3D-31 SLR Digital Camera has been developed around a unique digital camera engine that produces increased lens performance and an unsurpassed level of image sharpness. By focusing completely on digital camera architecture, Hasselblad is able to offer photographers the full benefits of professional medium-format digital cameras as well as the ease of use of the best 35mm DSLRs. The H3D design has also made possible the launch of a 28mm lens, designed specifically for digital image capture.
The H3D delivers outstanding digital performance, taking full advantage of the benefits of medium format photography. The result is flexibility for the professional photographer, including the freedom to choose between eyelevel and waist-level viewfinders, digitally APO corrected lenses, and on-the-fly classification of images.
H3D offers the photographer the freedom to also work with film to allow shooting under extreme conditions. Hasselblad's Natural Color Solution delivers out-of-the-box image quality only achievable in a true digital camera system.
Large Format 44x33mm Digital Capture
Today's digital photography demands higher resolution, less noise, and improved compositional choice, all of which the CF backs provide. H3D-31 image sensor provides 31.0 megapixels and is more than twice the physical size of today's 35mm sensors. This means more and larger pixels, which ensures the highest possible image quality and moire-free color rendering without gradation break-ups - in even the most subtly lit images.
Three Modes of Digital Operation and Storage
Optimum portability and image storage are critical for the professional photographer. The Hasselblad H3D offers a choice of storage devices: portable CF card storage, the flexible FireWire-driven Hasselblad Imagebank or tethered operation with extended, special capture controls, and image capture directly to a computer hard drive. With these three operating and storage options, you are able to select a mode to suit the nature of the work at hand, whether in the studio or on location.
H System Lenses
The specially designed HC/HCD lenses exceed the demands of the digital capture, and the central lens shutters of the lenses add flexibility by allowing flash to be employed at shutter speeds up to 1/800 second. Thanks to the large format, the depth of field range is considerably shallower making it much easier to create a perfect interplay between sharpness and blur. The H3D design has also made possible the launch of a 28mm lens, designed and optimized solely for digital image capture.
Ultra-Focus and Digital APO Correction
Information about the lens and exact capture conditions is fed to the camera processor for ultra-fine-tuning of the auto-focus mechanism, taking into account the design specifications of the lens and the optical specifications of the sensor. In this way, the full HC lens program is enhanced to perform at a new level of sharpness and resolution. Digital correction for color aberration and distortion is also added. "Digital APO Correction" (DA C), is an APO-chromatic correction of the images based on a combination of the various parameters concerning each specific lens for each specific shot, ensuring that each image represents the best that your equipment can produce.
FlexColor Workflow for the Professional Photographer
FlexColor offers an image processing workflow with the highest degree of control for the studio photographer. In tethered operation, tools like overlay masking help bring productivity to advanced set composition. The latest FlexColor version allows the photographer to manipulate color temperature and compare image details across multiple images for precise image selection. FlexColor processes the raw 3FR files generated by the Hasselblad H3D. FlexColor runs natively on both Macintosh and Windows computers, and is licensed to allow you to provide free copies to all your co-workers and production partners.
Unique Hasselblad Natural Color Solution
Normally troublesome subjects such as various skin tones, metals, fabrics, flowers, etc. are easily captured by using the powerful color profile - the Hasselblad Natural Color Solution (HNCS). It works invisibly in the background in conjunction with the FlexColor imaging software, producing outstanding and reliable out-of-the-box results. In order to support their new unique color system, they have developed a custom Hasselblad raw file format called 3F RAW (3FR). The file format includes lossless image compression, which reduces the required storage space by 33%.
DNG workflow
3FR files can be converted into Adobe's raw image format DNG ('Digital NeGative'), bringing this technology standard to the professional photographer for the first time. In order to optimize the colors of the DNG file format, conversion from the 3FR must take place through FlexColor. The DNG file format enables RAW image files to be opened directly in Adobe Photoshop. Hasselblad image files carry a full set of metadata, including capture conditions, keywords and copyright, facilitating workflow with image asset management solutions.
Instant Approval Architecture (IAA)
Building on the success of its Audio Exposure Feedback technology, Hasselblad has created Instant Approval Architecture (IAA), an enhanced set of feedback tools, designed to liberate the photographer from the selection process and to concentrate on the shoot. Audible and visible signals as well as recorded information in the file and in the file name all promote a quick and easy classification in the field or in the lab. Sorting becomes automatic, accessible and very fast, facilitating reviewing the best images for immediate client presentation.
"Instant" User Interface
The Hasselblad H3D is operated via an easy-to-use user interface, utilizing a series of "instant" one-button-click operations, including instant capture, instant browse, instant approval, instant zoom, and instant image info.
Modular Design for Flexibility and a Choice of Bright Viewfinders
The H3D offers the choice of working with film, using a Hasselblad H System film magazine. This option permits photography in extreme temperature environments or when extreme exposure times are demanded. For increased usefulness, the digital capture unit of the H3D can also be detached and used on a view camera by way of an adapter. In this case, the unit is controlled by the flash sync signal from the view camera shutter. A clean and dust-free sensor is essential, and the modular design of the camera allows for easy access for cleaning, saving you hours of retouching work later. One of the important traditional advantages of medium format is the extra large and bright viewfinder image. The H3D comes with the HVD90X viewfinder designed for full performance over the large 36x48mm sensor. It is interchangeable with the HV90X viewfinder and the HVM waist-level viewfinder.