Update on June 22, 2016: Hasselblad has officially unveiled the X1D. Click here to read our full story.
Update on June 21, 2016: PetaPixel just published leaked photos of the new medium-format mirrorless camera, called the X1D. We will publish official details when Hasselblad announces the product tomorrow.
Famed Swedish medium-format camera maker Hasselblad has been teasing a major announcement for this upcoming Wednesday, and it has sent the photography industry into a frenzy over the possibilities. The first sign of the impending announcement came via the official Hasselblad Facebook page on June 17 where the company posted a heavily cropped image of the product, which most assume to be a camera, featuring a gold/platinum metal finish, an untraditional mirror box hump, and what sort of looks like an eye sensor next to what could only be an EVF (if the other bit was, in fact, an eye sensor).
Hasselblad dropped that teaser just ahead of the weekend, a holiday weekend at that, and like a lit cigarette to dry grass, the rumor mill fueled a wildfire of speculation over what this new product could be. Thanks to Hasselblad’s social hash-tagging, beyond what we visually see in the image we do know one thing, this is a medium-format device of some kind — who are we kidding, there is no way this isn’t a camera! Which leads us to the prevailing rumor surrounding this out of the blue release from Hasselblad.
We won’t get too far into the rumors given that they are just that, but we will note that the rumor that has seemed to get the most traction suggests that this mystery camera from Hasselblad could be none other than a mirrorless medium-format-system camera — the first of its kind in the world, just as the Hasselblad Facebook post hinted at. The rumor gets more detailed than that, too; it’s said that the camera will feature a built-in EVF and a Sony built 50megapixel-sensor.
Hasselblad posted another teaser earlier this morning which seems to feature some sort of knob or dial on the top of the product. This would seem to corroborate the common thought that this is a camera. There were no more features that would have pointed toward it being a mirrorless offering, except maybe the size of the product in the frame, and we don’t have anything to judge its scale, so it’s hard to be sure.
The announcement is set for 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday. If you are interested in seeing if this does turn out to be the world’s first medium-format mirrorless system you will be able to watch the full live feed over on Hasselblad’s YouTube.
Safe to say that Hasselblad has the photography industry’s attention, anticipation for the announcement is high as mirrorless fans and DSLR holdouts alike gather to witness Hasselblad’s product reveal.
But, seriously — what else do you have to do on a Wednesday morning?
