Versatile As a Swiss Army Knife
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TECHNOLOGY LENSES VERsatILE AS A SWIss ARMY KNIFE Hasselblad’s new superstar lens isn’t even a real lens: The HTS 1.5 took its makers through uncharted The ingenious HTS 1.5 tilt and territory. It’s the first HC/HCD lens shift adapter enables you to tilt by adapter makes it possible for five HC/HCD lenses to tilt and shift. Plus: ever to employ glass elements with ±10 degrees or shift by ±18 mm. a new universal zoom lens, the HCD 4-5.6/35-90 Aspherical now rounds aspherical surfaces. Aspherical sur- You decide whether you want to faces are known to provide the lens be well-behaved and use it for off the already sizable palette of H lenses. designer with more options, usually perspective corrections or break resulting in more compact designs the rules and place the focal plane with fewer elements. However, it was in unexpected positions BY HANNS W. FRIEDRICH and that creates a big enough mar- to the adapter – tilt, shift and rota- only until recently that aspherical gin for tilting and shifting, while also tion – is registered by sensors and lenses could be made to the required preserving the character of the lens. saved in the image meta data. Every sizes. Compared with the HC 3.5- What use is the best camera with- Mounted on the HTS 1.5, the HCD aberration that arises from the opti- 4.6/50-110, the new zoom lens offers out the best lens? Of course, the lens 4/28 remains a genuine wide-angle cal system as a whole is corrected more wide-angle while being thinner alone won’t create an image – the lens with a 71-degree diagonal and in the computer software thanks to and about one third lighter. digital age shows us the importance corresponds to a 6.3/45. The shift Hasselblad’s Digital Auto Correc- It is the second HCD lens after the of sensor technology – but it does covers up to 18 mm and the tilt up tion (DAC). The photographer can HCD 4/28. The ‘D’ alludes to optimi- still provide the foundation for the to 10 degrees. Maximum rotation indulge in the HTS 1.5’s wealth of zation for H3D digital cameras while camera and software to build upon. to either left or right measures 90 options without having to fear the simultaneously signifying incompat- The extensive range of Hasselblad degrees and allows for almost any loss of image quality. ibility with film cameras. To achieve HC/HCD lenses covers the profes- form of correction. The adjustment What was formerly limited to compactness, the lens’s light pro- sional photographer’s every need ranges are extensive and allow you to owners of view cameras with narrow jection was adapted to the ‘48 mm with nine fixed focal lengths lenses shift by 18 mm up or down and tilt depth-of-field values is now avail- full format’ sensor of the H3DII-39 ranging from a 28 mm super wide- by ± 10 degrees. able to Hasselblad cameras with their and -50. At the wide-angle setting angle to a 300 mm telephoto lens, Hasselblad has invested a tre- extra-large sensors and outstanding in particular, designers balanced two universal zoom lenses; the new mendous amount of technological HC/HCD lenses. What’s more – and improvements in lens performance tilt and shift adapter; one telephoto know-how into the development of this is the key difference – the DAC against a slightly greater distortion converter; extension tubes and the HTS 1.5. Every adjustment made function guarantees outstanding and vignetting as these can be elimi- impressive accessories. The result is images that are completely error-free nated without quality concessions a complete lens gamut teeming with and provides for all the photographic with the aid of DAC. The outcome is solutions for all requirements. SYNOPSIS freedoms you could possibly a powerful tool that zooms between • Hasselblads HC/HCD lenses imagine. There is no limit to your an extreme 83-degree wide-angle and creativity: Correct convergent lines just beyond the fringes of the normal TILT AND SHIFT cover a wide range of focal in architecture, shift the focal plane lens. Because it is optimized for digi- lengths between 28 and 300 mm Hasselblad’s new lens champion, the in portraiture or adjust the focus and tal use it remains nice and compact and deliver excellent image qual- HTS 1.5 is a tilt and shift adapter that blur on a three-dimensional plane. and relatively light in weight. ity – and so does the new family represents a real feat of cutting-edge The HTS 1.5 shines with technical member, the HCD 4-5,6/35-90 engineering. H photographers have perfection and it will inspire sponta- Aspherical, a very universal and COMMON ASPECTS always longed for a tilt and shift solu- neity and push you to break the rules compact wide-angle zoom. tion that would tilt the focal plane for interesting effects. It will be avail- All HC/HCD lenses are tailored to and shift the lens’s optical axis to • The new HTS 1.5 tilt and shift able from January 2009. VICTOR’s deliver the highest image quality correct convergent lines. The idea to adapter transforms five HC/HCD next issue will take a closer look. and fulfill even the most exacting develop a universal adapter for exist- lenses into real tilt and shift demands in film and digital photo- ing HC/HCD lenses, however, was lenses without making compro- graphy. They not only compete with mises in image quality. HCD 4-5.6/35-90 a true stroke of genius and one that ASPHERICAL Hasselblad’s legendary CF lenses for Hasselblad has patented: The con- • All HC/HCD lenses are opti- the V series, they beat them. It was verter transforms five different lenses mized for all ranges and thanks The second innovation in the HC/ of utmost importance to Hasselblad into a bona fide tilt and shift. It can to DAC they show extreme HCD range – the new HCD 4-5.6/35- that the HC/HCD lenses deliver high- be mounted with the HCD 4/28, HC sharpness and no vignetting or 90 Aspherical – is a zoom lens that est performance not only at infinity 3.5/35, HC 3.5/50, HC 2.8/80 and distortion on H3DII cameras. sets its engineers some very special but also at close range, where they HC 2.2/100 and is also compatible • Numerous accessories – ex- challenges. Zoom lenses can’t afford are most frequently used. with Hasselblad’s extension tubes. tension rings, a tele converter any weakness, especially when it The patented central shutter The new HTS 1.5 tilt and shift The concept is as simple as it is and the CF-adapter increase the comes to high-quality cameras like mechanism inherent in HC/HCD adapter transforms five HC/HCD ingenious as the HTS 1.5 is also a potential of the lens program. the H3DII. On the contrary, they lenses operates to extreme precision. lenses into real tilt and shift telephoto converter, extending the are expected to substitute for their The fastest shutter speed of 1/800 sec- lenses, maintaining their excep- focal length of a mounted lens by a fixed-length counterparts without ond is on point and well within the tional optical performance and factor of 1.5. The lens’s image circle is additional constraints. To achieve accepted ISO specifications. Thanks broadening the creative freedom enlarged by that same denominator this, the HCD 4-5.6/35-90 Aspherical to 100 percent electronic control, the for the photographer 36 SPECIAL/2008 TECHNOLOGY LENSES HCD 4/28: The 28 mm super wide- HC 3.5/35: The HC 3,5/35 mm lens HC 3.5/50: The 50 mm lens for HC 2.8/80 : The term ‘normal lens’ HC 2,2/100: The compact 100 mm angle lens is only designed for is still considered super wide-an- H3DII users represents the equiva- sounds a little derogatory in the is the fastest HC lens of all, ideal for digital H cameras and boasts gle. Mounted on the H2F it reaches lent of a 35 mm universal lens in context of high-class lenses. But action photography and low light a spectacular 95 degree angle an 89 degree angle of view; in con- 35 mm photography. It’s a wide the HC 2,8/80 is not only the most photography outside the studio. of view mounted on an H3DII-39 junction with the 48 mm full format angle that offers ample perspective affordable but also one of the Its slight telephoto effect and ex- or -50, and a sizable 89 degree it covers 82 degrees. It’s a powerful without seeming unnatural, best HCs in the market. It’s a high- tremely low depth of field makes it angle on the H3DII-31. Its close lens for creative photography that making it the classic lens in report- speed lens that sports a luminous ideal in portraiture up performance is outstanding – is also easy to use age photography. The universal viewfinder image along with the subject can be as close as 10 HC 3.5/50 makes a stand with high the ideal conditions for low light cm from the front lens performance values photography. The 2.8/80 is also exceptionally compact, making it an excellent choice for light-weight photography outdoors True Exposure feature of the H cam- more, the Phocus software permits CF lens adapter: The CF adapter eras will automatically correct any you to activate and deactivate the allows all lenses from the V system deviations from the actual shutter automatic controls for vignetting, to be used on H system camera speed when the lens is set to small distortion and chromatic aberra- bodies and correctly uses the cen- aperture values.