19 October 2007
Hasselblad has unveiled its fourth-generation digital SLR, a remodelled version of its H3D camera, which boasts the world's highest resolution capture at 39 million pixels.
The H3D-II adds a new three-inch display, improved sensor cooling and better handling. This latter enhancement is achieved by bringing all of the camera's key functions within thumb reach, allowing users to access control menus through the H3D-II's hand grip.
An additional button is now provided for direct control of ISO settings, while white balance has also been added to the camera controls. The new display is not only larger and brighter, says Hasselblad, it also uses less power. The company adds that by improving sensor cooling it has significantly reduced image noise, 'achieved by attaching to the CCD a physical heatsink, which dissipates the heat generated to the entire camera body, which considerably lowers the temperature of the system'.
The H3D-II is an immediate replacement for the H3D, coming with a new integrated global positioning system (GPS), which automatically records the camera's exact geographic co-ordinates at the moment of capture. This data is integrated into the files' metadata, and can be used with Hasselblad's new software, Phocus, to allow images to be located on a map or found through a computer filing system using the GPS co-ordinates as a search term. A direct link to Google Earth has been built into the software also.
The 39 million pixel resolution version of the H3D-II is priced £18,500. A 22 million and a 31 million pixel version are also available.