Hassleblad Launches $6500 Mirrorless System by Dan Carr

Redesigned Sony NEX-7 given Italian design and hefty price bump

September 18, 2012

Hasselblad has today announced a partnership with Sony to produce the Lunar mirrorless camera, with a full blown DSLR on the horizon as well. The cameras appear to take Sony's recent proven designs and add a 'luxury' design by using materials like carbon fiber and wood to change the ergonomics. {C}

Hasselblad, manufacturer of the world's most advanced medium format camera system, has announced a revolutionary plan to market a state-of-the-art, Italian-designed ‘ultimate luxury' mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera early next year.

Luca Alessandrini Hasselblad's New Business Development Manager said: “The Lunar is a celebration of the passion that the company's founder Victor Hasselblad had for photography. We've developed this model in the traditional way, using handmade wooden prototypes to ensure superior ergonomics and functionality. This is a camera for both serious photographers and enthusiasts who aspire to shooting with a Hasselblad.”

He added: “Lunar, which can be used in fully automatic or fully manual mode, has been designed to be easy to use and versatile but with all the advanced technology employed in top DSLRs. For the first time the market now has a camera embracing traditional Hasselblad state-of-the-art image capture combined with stunning Italian design features.

And for the first time ever we are using carbon fiber, titanium, wood, leather and precious metals – including gold. The camera grip itself offers unparalleled ergonomics and has been developed to embrace both compact E-mount and the larger professional A-mount lenses.”

The Lunar, which is set for launch in the first quarter of 2013, will be priced circa 5000 Euros and will be available in a choice of standard models plus a variety of exclusive hand grips and precious materials on special order.

Hasselblad will showcase a unique ‘Lunar experience' at photokina. Visitors to the stand (Hall 2.1 Stand A-021/B-020) will see a ‘snapshot' of latest work-in-progress designs and wood- en models, purpose-built to demonstrate the company's pioneering ‘ideal luxury' camera vision.

Dr. Larry Hansen, Hasselblad Chairman and CEO said: “It has always been my ambition to enable all fans of the iconic Hasselblad brand to have an opportunity to own one of our cameras. The company mission is to develop exceptional products at the very top end of the market segments in which we operate. In 1962 astronaut Walter Schirra took the first Hasselblad camera into space. Walter had painted the 500C's metal surface black to minimise reflections. Now, in celebration fifty years later, we have developed Lunar – an aesthetically and ergonomically beautiful piece of camera art, complete with colour options and an evocative vintage look and feel, for photography lovers down here on planet Earth.”

Key Lunar features will include :

DSLR-like performance thanks to the highest technology APS-C 24.3 MP sensor with 25AF points focusing matched to an Ultra fast Processor with real time image process ing and accurate RAW to JPEG translation.

Accurate composition for both still and video in any light conditions thanks to the Ultra-bright 3″ high definition display and revolutionary OLED viewfinder that guarantees superior contrast and ultra fast response.

One-touch instant full HD video recording to shoot in Auto or fully manual mode. Focus and exposition control plus the connection for an external microphone and the option to use larger A-mount lenses for professional video creation.

Instant shutter response (0.02 second release time lag) ten frames per second and an extremely Wide ISO 100 -16000 range.

The camera software includes an exceptionally comprehensive set of creative styles, picture effects, scene selections and the smart “intelligent face registration” making the shooting experience even more fun.

Auto HD, DRO and Anti-motion blur mode.

An Innovative TriNavi system for DSLR-like tuning, two flash options and Anti dust system complete the Lunar state-of-the-art package.

Added Dr. Hansen: “This new model is the result of meticulous engineering research, culminating in the creation of an unprecedented camera which underpins the Hasselblad mission to pioneer and produce supreme quality across all our products.”