Saturday, July 27, 2013

Is Hasselblad Still a Camera Company?

I read Michael Reichmann's Wretched Excess on Hasselblad's dress ups of the NEX-7 and RX100 and sell them for an insane amount of money. Beyond the basic cameras that's made by Sony, everything else is bling-bling.  I don't doubt there are lots of people out there with so much money they don't know what to do with, and won't blink an eye and drop seven grand on a NEX-7, er, I mean the Luna, but to the majority of us who actually use cameras to shoot pictures, all this makes no sense. I fully get where Hasselbling is going. They target a very small group of people who buy these cameras as fashion accessories, or as a show-off piece. There are people who are addicted to acquire stuff that are out of the norm. Just think how many "special edition" Leica models has been introduced and you know there is a market out there.

I will shamefully admit that I am addicted to camera gear; I am addicted to using old lenses to take pictures; I am addicted to weird optical stuff that can be made to take pictures, and now dangerously on the verge of bicycle addiction. I don't blame those who buy Lunas and Stellars, but the tactic employed by Hasselblad is simply wrong. It ruins the reputation of a company often associated with great photographic equipment, prestige, and the mark it has left in the photographic history (images taken from the moon). Perhaps, Hasselblad wants to be the next Hermes and LV, selling excessively expensive accessories. What a shame.

Shot from the backyard - Sony NEX-6 & Elgeet Cine Navitar 2 inch f1.5 @ f1.5.

8 comments:

  1. Personally, I think buying a Hasselblad branded Sony is like kinda like buying a fake Rolex. Except in this case the buyer is overpaying for little more than a name rather than any actual qualitative difference.

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    Replies
    1. Eric:

      You are right but it is vice versa. The fake Rolex costs $100 and the real one costs over $4,000.

      Here the real Sony is $700 and the fake one is $2,000.

      Give me the real one please!

      Will the real camera please stand up!

      Delete
    2. But in both cases the buyer is trying to impress others - although unsuccessfully for those who know better and those not impressed by excess.

      Delete
    3. well said. I doubt anyone who buys a Luna is interested in taking pictures with it.

      Delete
  2. as they say here in Finland ... its not the fool asking the price ...

    :-)

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    Replies
    1. The fools pay for the price, for sure :)

      Hope you enjoy your new home(Finland).

      Delete
  3. Electronics, unlike many other consumer products, just aren't well suited to craftsmanship, and paying a premium for it. By their nature they need volume to generate appropriate development payoffs. Having said that, if some unique development was done - ie unique lens and/or sensor and/or software, there would be a much better case for Hasselblad. However a Sony ripoff is just bad for everyone.

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  4. They really now function more as a holding company, not as Victor Hasselblad's manufacturing company. While doing things like this partnership, I think, are foolish, and the Lunar camera is somewhat garrish and goofy, it is one of the few ways the brand can still stay afloat, as the H series is certainly cost prohibitive to most. This Lunar, while insanely overpriced for what it is, represents an entry point into the brand.

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