Hasselblad XCD 90mm f/2.5 V Assessment: Lighter, Brighter, Higher

I like brief telephoto lenses on account of how flexible they are able to be for anything else from portraits to landscapes. The Hasselblad XCD 90mm f/2.5 V supplies precisely this with its 71mm full-frame an identical area of view. There may be sufficient compression in head-and-shoulders portraits to delight me, and I love the facility to do full-body pictures with no need a ton of area.

A hasselblad x1d camera with a 90mm lens attached, on a wooden surface with a blurry background showing wall textures. the focus is on the lens markings and camera controls. — The brand new 90mm is an ideal have compatibility for the X2D and doesn’t really feel cumbersome within the hand.

I additionally to find the focal duration to be perfect as a general-purpose walk-around lens, like a 50mm with a moderately tighter glance. And but, the $4,299 Hasselblad XCD 90mm f/2.5 V additionally offers the dramatic shallow intensity of area glance that chances are you’ll wish to use every so often. It does this even higher than the older 90mm f/3.2 XCD and nonetheless manages to stay the burden down under its older counterpart.

A close-up photo of a camera lens held by a hand, focusing on the aperture and focus scale marked with numbers and lines, highlighting the depth of field. — The guide concentration ring turns tightly and I love the fast push-pull seize.

Hasselblad XCD 90mm f/2.5 V: How It Handles

The very first thing I realized used to be how mild and compact this lens is. I used it at the X2D and the total bundle used to be delightful to hold round. Weighing handiest 19.4 oz (551 grams) and with a manageable 72mm filter out diameter, the 90mm f/2.5 may be very handy. The have compatibility and end of the lens — like any Hasselblad lenses — is to an excessively top same old and the 90mm has a superbly machined chassis.

Ruggedly constructed, the 90mm continues to be extremely light-weight.

I just like the smoothness of the guide concentration ring and the push-pull seize mechanism. The intensity of area scale is straightforward to make use of in concentration mode and the mini “H” texturing may be very grippy. There’s a beautiful aperture ring at the 90mm which oddly has the approach to de-click the aperture stops. That is odd, for the reason that a easily turning aperture ring is generally reserved for video packages that the X2D chooses to forget totally. Then again, this ring may also be custom designed and customers might choose a easy operation for different purposes.

Long shadows stretch across a city sidewalk in black and white, with a person walking away and reflections in the glass building to the right. — The autofocus motor works properly sufficient or some side road pictures.

Hasselblad XCD 90mm f/2.5 V: How It Shoots

Optically, Hasselblad lenses have at all times had a very good popularity however I used to be involved that there could be some compromises because of it being quicker and but smaller than the lens that got here sooner than it. I generally like to start out my trying out with flare examples and the 90mm had no actual problems. Distinction used to be well-maintained even if capturing in opposition to the solar. Ghosting used to be minimum even if stopped down and inner reflections had been managed properly.

A sunlit image depicting traffic lights and a pedestrian signal on a pole, with a bright sunburst in the clear sky and urban buildings in the background. — Flare is extremely properly managed at the Hasselblad 90mm f/2.5.

Comparison of camera settings displayed on a calibration chart with a test card featuring cyan and magenta colors, currency notes, and resolution targets at f/2.5 and f/5.6 apertures. — Sharpness is outstanding even at f/2.5 and preventing down offers higher nook consistency.

Sharpness used to be exceptionally excellent wide-open within the heart of the picture. There used to be a bit vignetting provide within the corners at f/2.5 and sharpness falls off a tiny bit in opposition to the sides, too. Then again, through f/4 the entirety is wealthy with element around the body. For the reason that maximum portrait paintings has out-of-focus corners anyway, I used to be completely glad to shoot the lens at its widest aperture.

A confident man with a shaved head and a full beard, wearing a black t-shirt, stands with his tattoo-covered arms crossed. he smiles slightly, looking directly at the camera. — I sought after to concentrate on portraiture with the 90mm f/2.5 and particularly appreciated the graceful backgrounds this lens creates.

A black and white portrait of a bald man with a beard, looking directly at the camera with a subtle smile, blurred lights in the background. — Huge open, the bokeh renders a definite cat’s eye impact which I love for portraits.

Bokeh efficiency used to be particularly great with blank specular highlights and really cushy transitions as the focal point falls off into the background. Portraits have a actually stunning glance to them as the focal point transitions to the ears and shoulders. Oddly sufficient, the specular highlights tackle a distinctly polygonal form because of Hasselblads use of moderately few aperture blades. Some will love this glance and others will likely be became off through it.

Black and white portrait of a smiling bald man with a beard, wearing a dark shirt, partially obscured by a concrete column on the left. — The tonality and distinction inherent in Hasselblad lenses offers a singular and fascinating glance.

A man with a beard, wearing a dark jacket, sits in front of tall dried grass, looking thoughtfully at the camera, with sunlight filtering through the foliage. — Transitions between spaces of concentration are stunning and easy.

Being a faster-aperture lens, I examined for LoCA — longitudinal chromatic aberrations, which refers to paint forged within the foreground and background out-of-focus spaces. The 90mm used to be unfastened from any nasty colour casts creeping into the background and every other chromatic aberrations had been minimum.

I like the way in which the focal point falls off into the space with the brand new 90mm.

Close-up of a colorful fishing reel on display with soft-focus background showing lights and a blurred person in a hat indoors. — Right here you’ll obviously see the specular highlights taking over a polygonal form with tighter apertures.

An Superb Portrait Top

I keen on taking portraits with Hasselblad’s new XCD 90mm f/2.5 V and loved the capturing revel in that it gave me. The new firmware updates to Hasselblad face detection autofocus made a distinction, too. For the ones in need of to shoot out of doors portraits with flash, the upgraded leaf shutter permits for flash sync as much as 1/4000 2d now. Even supposing the lens is dearer than the older 90mm f/3.2, I believe it’s properly value the price if you’re in search of a flexible portrait lens for the Hasselblad gadget.

Black and white portrait of a young girl with a subtle smile, looking at the camera. her hair is pulled back and she wears a light blouse. the background is simple and dark, focusing attention on her face. — From tight head and shoulders portraits to complete physique pictures, this lens does all of it.

Are There Possible choices?

The older 90mm f/3.2 lens continues to be excellent and will ship quite shallow depth-of-field for a fairly lowered value. Then again, it’s slower and heavier than the brand new 90mm and, most likely most significantly, it may be tricky to seek out as it’s indexed as “not to be had” at many outlets.