Hasselblad H4D-200MS
The H4D-200MS is Hasselblad's most extreme multishot camera. It is a studio-bound medium format body that combines six 50MP exposures into a single 200MP file by shifting the sensor in sub-micron increments between shots. Hasselblad announced it at Photokina in September 2010, and it was shipping by late 2011. It was built for a narrow but lucrative market: commercial photographers shooting cars, jewellery, art and architecture, where absolute detail matters more than speed. It sold for €32,000 (roughly $45,000), and existing H4D-50MS owners could upgrade for a $10,000 difference.
The technology builds on the multishot system Hasselblad first introduced with the H3DII-39MS in 2008. A 50MP sensor sits on a patented symmetrical frame driven by piezo-electric actuators. For a 200MP capture, the camera takes six shots. Three give full RGB color at each pixel position, and the rest are half-pixel shifts that fill the gaps between pixels. A four-shot mode captures full color at the native 50MP resolution for still-life work. A single-shot mode handles portraits or moving subjects. Sensitivity is limited to 50-800 ISO, and the camera is designed to live on a tripod, tethered via FireWire 800 to a computer running Hasselblad's Phocus software. The body itself is essentially the H4D-50MS - large and heavy, and bulkier still with the multishot sensor unit at the back, plus a sizeable, ergonomic grip. It keeps the full H4D feature set: True Focus with Absolute Position Lock, Ultra Focus and Digital Lens Correction. The H mount takes the standard HC/HCD lens range with central leaf shutters, and flash syncs at every speed up to 1/800s.
The one review on record is The Register's hands-on from 2011, and it shows how finicky the system is. Initial single-shot results were "spectacular," and four-shot captures were "pretty amazing." But six-shot captures came out fuzzy until the reviewer realised the cooling fan on his flash head was vibrating the setup. The sensor alignment system was picking up the breeze. With the fan off, the images became "a miracle of definition, detail and depth," with superb color and broad, smooth tonality.
Known specs:
- 50MP single-shot / 200MP six-shot multishot capture (also 4-shot mode)
- 50MP 36.7×49.1mm sensor on piezo-actuated multishot frame
- ISO 50–800
- Hasselblad H mount; flash sync up to 1/800s
- 3-inch display; tethered operation via FireWire 800
- Original price: €32,000 / $45,000 (2010)
Beyond the single review, little else is documented. No production run dates, weight, or battery specs appear in the record, and no used-market pricing has been tracked.
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