For a landscape photographer, managing fine detail is a constant area of attention. Years ago, I invested in medium format equipment but found it too finicky and cumbersome for my needs. I moved to full frame mirrorless cameras, but the desire to access more detail has never gone away, and thus the recent mirrorless medium format cameras from Fuji and Hasselblad caught my attention. Late last year, I finally rented the expensive Hasselblad X2D 100mP medium format camera and XCD 90mm f/3.2 lens while in Hawaii and was hooked. I immediately set about selling virtually all my accumulated full frame cameras and lenses to pay for this gear. I was fortunate to have completed the transition in time for a return trip to Hawaii earlier this year where I could explore the capabilities of this new equipment. A three day trip to the lush setting of Hana on Maui was the perfect opportunity.
The color rendition, incredible detail, and ease of use of the Hasselblad have been well-documented by others and my experience is no different. But what really is a game changer for me is the combination of these features with the X2D’s incredible in-body stabilization (IBIS). While it doesn’t eliminate the need for a tripod, it enables taking pictures where a tripod would be too cumbersome. This image was taken at Wailele Farm on Maui, home of the popular Twin Falls hikes. The waterfall here is very easily accessed, and so is crowded with swimmers, hikers, and curious tourists. It’s easy to get close, but difficult to find a spot where a tripod would be stable and unimpeded by the crowd. On foot, I could easily explore various locations and found this spot, perched on a pile of driftwood trees. I took various handheld exposures, up to 1 second, looking for the desired amount of water smoothing. All were acceptable, but in the end, I preferred this 0.2 second exposure and by stopping down, I could include the foreground logs and the distant foliage, retain sharp focus throughout, and avoid using ND filters (iso 200, 0.2 sec, f/19, 45mm). You would never know I was surrounded by other people, swimmers, and jumpers climbing towards the top of the falls. Color in the final image required no adjustment, and only global and a few masked, non-HDR adjustments were applied in Adobe Lightroom.