Hasselblad GQ shoot with Haute Couture Media Atlanta
Written by Hasselblad H4D
Thursday, 19 August 2010 12:23
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H4D On Location with Jonathan Orozco of Haute Couture Media
With an opportunity to shoot full page ads for a leading men's fashion magazine at the intimate Three Sheets bar in Sandy Springs, north of Atlanta, Jonathan contacted Hotwire-Digital about shooting the Hasselblad H4D in a live environment so he could "get a feel for how the camera operated when changing cards, shooting speeds, and the digital process for an overall understanding how it would fit in my workflow."
Not new to digital, Jonathan uses pro Nikon gear - but felt like he needed something more than the 35mm DSLR could provide. "I am looking to create content that my clients can use in a variety of ways - I don't want to be limited in any way when it comes to the digital assets," Jonathan continues, "and the 16-bit files from the Hasselblad deliver colors true to the original scene with huge, huge amounts of detail."
The SanDisk ExtremePRO cards with write speeds at 90MB/s kept the Hasselblad H4D-40 continuously shooting every 1.3 seconds with no delay. "Shooting the models with the H4D required a change in my approach - I instinctively began to slow down and deliberately control the image flow. I know the Nikon D3S is a great tool, but it felt like a toy when exchanging cameras throughout the shoot compared to the Hasselblad."
Hasselblad released Phocus 2.5 for Windows on June 22, 2010 as a free download for all users.
Larger preview image available
We really liked this improvement - many times the embedded preview is just too pixelated when zoomed to fit on a larger display like the LaCie 500 and 700 series. Digital techs are able to quickly show Art Directors/Photographers the overall image with better detail without zooming in to show superior information in the shot (although this does require a graphics card with at least 512MB VRAM to perform suitably; preferred are Nvidia and ATI brands with Direct X 9.0c drivers.)
I spent 5 days with the HASSELBLAD HCD 35-90 F4-5.6 ZOOM LENS,
which is Hasselblad’s newest edition to their lens lineup for the
medium format H-System and is a digital only lens.
The lens arrived at my office on Friday and I had it attached to the
H4D 40 in minutes. My first impression of the lens is that for a lens
that is as large as it is, it weighs very little and is extremely well
balanced on the camera body. This surprised me, I use the 50-110 and it
is a beast, this lens was effortless to use and easy to hand hold for an
extended period of time.
The auto focus was very fast, and incredibly accurate, manual focus
was simple with just the right amount of resistance in the focus
process. At first I was a little concerned about the 4.0-5.6 aperture
range, especially with how wide angle this lens is. It is a really well
designed and thought out lens, you do not reach f5 until around 55 – 60
mm, so the aperture range transitions proportionately throughout the
zoom range. This is impressive. My primary work is fashion and beauty
photography, so 35 – 90 mm is not necessarily a zoom range I would
gravitate towards, this lens is the exception, it is more than up to the
task, and would be a great addition for larger shoots that need to
cover several models and include architecture or other subject matter.
Sessions that include large objects like cars and a model(s) is an ideal
use for this lens. In fact, I used it for a shoot in a shop that builds
custom race cars, with cars, tools, machinery and a model. I have to
say by the end of the day I wanted to keep the lens. It is the best
super wide angle zoom I have ever used. If you shoot architecture or
landscape photography I would call it a must own.
Hasselblad released Phocus 2.5 for Mac on May 19, 2010 as a free download for all users. We spent a full weekend, including a live shoot with single and multi-shot Hasselblad H3D and H4D and were impressed with the improvements to this major update.
Opens hundreds of other file formats
This was a huge request from photographers and digital techs - the ability to use Phocus for other RAW formats (and processed TIF, etc.) in addition to the Hasselblad 3F file and enables them to focus on using a single command set to get their image capture tasks complete. With over 150 different files supported (think Apple's Preview using Core Image), Phocus extends it's use of the native tools (OpenGL) on the Mac OS X development platform.
All digital cameras require power. How is Hasselblad's solution better?
Convenient
One camera, one power. The Hasselblad Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) power grip for the Hasselblad H-system is the only battery you will need to take pictures on film or digital. The energy demands for film, auto-focus, and flash are minor in comparison to modern digital magazines with bright displays - some even require a separate battery or power source to operate. Less is truly more when it comes to keeping up with multiple batteries and chargers on location and another risk to the shoot is avoided.
