First Thoughts Shooting With the Hasselblad 21mm on the X1D

For the past two weeks, I had the honor of trying out Hasselblad’s new 21mm f/4 lens. I used this camera pretty much every single day and set out to capture as many different things as I could with it.

I primarily shoot on a Sony a7R III, so to me the Hasselblad X1D was one of the more exciting cameras out there that I could try out. As soon as I opened the package and held the camera, I was taken back by the solid feel of the metal body and the perfect grip on it. The X1D offers a super simple interface with a responsive touchscreen that I must say is comparable to most smartphones out there. It was a very easy camera to learn and navigate through. Once I mounted the lens, I had myself a real treat and was ready to get out there and shoot with this beast.

During my two weeks, I planned out a bunch of things I wanted to shoot and came up with four different series to show what this camera and lens have to offer. Below you will find homes, a main category and one of the things I tend to shoot most; cities, which contains architectural finds from a few little trips I planned throughout New York and Philadelphia; landscapes, which contains photos from my travels mostly during the day; and nighttime shots, which contains stars and star trails. In this little series, you will see my final selections for this article and see what a 21mm lens on medium-format camera is capable of capturing.

Hasselblad: Homes

This wide lens was perfect for showing an entire space. However, as a real estate photographer, I hate nothing more than wide-angle lenses. I feel like our job is to make the space look as big as possible rather than actually taking the time to set up unique shots. That being said, I called a few of my favorite agents with the nicest homes and asked them if I could spend some more time revisiting a few of the homes I had shot for them in order to get more creative photos with the 21mm lens on the X1D. I blocked off a few days to take the time to do that and I think it’s safe to say I got what I was looking for. I really appreciate my clients for being so helpful and it means a lot when they have an appreciation for photography too. A big thanks to my buddy Chris Norcross for letting me photograph his shore house, Mary Premtaj for the chandelier photo and the Stacy Esser Group for the kitchen shot.

Hasselblad: City

Aside from real estate photography, I thought it would only be right to really put this camera to the test. I set out to take a trip to Philadelphia for a day and New York for another to become a tourist, only my camera was superior to most tourist’s cameras. I walked around photographing interesting buildings and architecture and tried to grab a few compelling straight up shots. The wide lens was so perfect for these situations because I typically find myself laying on the ground to get that extra bit of depth, whereas here I was able to capture some really neat photos just standing and looking straight up (also a little bit safer than laying on a street in the city). I’ve always wanted to try this and I’m happy I had the opportunity to while I had the camera.

Hasselblad: Landscape

Because I am constantly driving all over New Jersey for work, I would always make sure the camera was handy for any landscape type shots. I took the time to go to Harriman State Park while I was up north to shoot cool roads and nature and took another day to go down near Atlantic City and Ocean City to photograph more marsh-like areas and my friends home. I also snagged a few other photos as I moved around from place to place. I realized while shooting these landscapes, the wide lens is actually really cool to have.

Hasselblad: Night

Lastly, I couldn’t give this camera back without trying out a bit of night photography with it. I’ll be honest, I am very rusty when it comes to night photography. It was actually something I really enjoyed doing before the drone stuff took over my entire life but I got back out there to take a swing at it again. I think I was able to capture some cool shots but I definitely could still use a little work with these. I may have a few more interesting ideas in the near future so we will see if I can improve any. 

What I Liked

• Super wide and little distortion
• Leaf shutter feel
• Build of the lens
• Sharpness
• Autofocus speed

What I Didn't Like

• I could never tell if the lens cap was actually on or not
• Weight and length of the lens
• The lowest aperture is f/4

Conclusion

Overall, I have to say that I am very impressed with the lens. When I first received the email asking to do the review with just the 21mm lens, I was a bit skeptical because I had never shot with a medium-format camera, nor was I a big fan of shooting super wide like that. Once I put the lens on the camera and took my first photo, the sound and feel of the leaf shutter sucked me right into Hasselblad’s trap. I quickly became obsessed with the feel of this camera. Every photo I took felt like it had more meaning just because of how the camera felt when I was shooting with it. I really enjoyed taking the time to get the settings right and make sure I clicked the shutter at the right time as if I were shooting with a film camera.

Wide lenses are typically known to give a solid amount of distortion and as someone who needs their lines as straight as possible, distortion is one of the last things I want. When I uploaded my photos and saw them on the big screen, there was little distortion to start with. Once I threw on a lens correction, everything appeared to be just fine. I think it’s safe to say that if you are shooting with Hasselblad and you are looking for a wide lens, this could be your best option.