canon 5D mark 2 vs. Hasselblad H2D for studio catalogue photography
Image 1: Canon 5D mark 2 (Small Raw) digital file-processed through adobe LightRoom
Image 2: Hasselblad H2D digital file processed through Phocus
Image 3: Hasselblad H2D digital file processed through Phocus
Every time I use a Medium format camera new clients always ask,”is it a video camera?”
“no, it’s medium format.” I would reply. They would look more confused than when I talk about f-stops.
Client: Fabulous Nobodies
Talent: Nina K
Hair & make-up Stylist: Nathalie Prince
Image 1 was captured with the canon 5D Mark 2 / 24-70 2.8- processed through Adobe Light room version 2. The RAW capture was set at small raw (approx 10 megapixels)
Image 2&3 was captured with Hasselblad H2D 22mp digital medium format/ Hasselblad 120mm macro- processed through Hasselblad’s Phocus ver.2.5 software
Shooting with the Hasselblad for this job was overkill- with the 790 files = 27Gb in Raw .fff files (.fff is the Hasselblad’s raw format just as .CR2 is Canon’s) Previous photo shoots with the Canon 5D shot at small Raw would equal to approximately 10Gb (790 files)
Image Quality
The canon 5D mark 2 is a wonderful camera. Images are crisp and saturated but with all current DSLR’s the dynamic range cannot compete against digital medium format. The most obvious is hight light detail. the Hasselblad (H2D) captures detail where the Canon 5D would blow out. The H2D also seems to produce a lot more mid tones with skin compared to the Canon 5D. My only problem with the Hasselblad files was going from Adobe RGB to sRGB produced an over saturated file. The Canon 5D did not have that issue (i’m guessing it’s because of the wide colour gamut of the Hasselblad).
35mm looks softer/less sharp compared to the Hasselblad as it has an anti-alising filter to prevent Moire, this reduces image sharpness. The Hasselblad only applies the moire filter during RAW processing.
Shooting
The Hasselblad’s Medium format viewfinder is so much easier to focus compared to Canon’s 35mm view finder. The Hasselblad’s single centre point auto focus is not as good as Canon’s multipoint auto focus. It had trouble focusing on plain t-shirts but was easier to manual focus.
I’ve never been a fan of the mini USB connector for most DSLRs it fall out and loosens over time. It’s a lot better than the firewire 400 connector on the 1Ds but Hasselblad uses the locking firewire 800 which has been faultless except for cables getting damaged due to long runs being stepped on in the studio.
In The End……..
The Canon 5D mark 2 makes shooting in the studio or on location easy but once you pick up a Hasselblad digital medium format camera and see the results and do a comparison there is no going back. The ‘blad’ feels like a real camera and the image quality is way better than the Canon 5D mark 2.
With a sensor size of 49.0mm x 36.7mm the H2D is twice the size of of full frame 35mm DSLR 36mm x 24mm (Canon 5D & 1Ds, Nikon D700 & D3X, Sony a900 & a850). Hasselblad H3D (31MP) & H4D (40MP) sensor is a bit smaller at 44.1mm x 33.1mm.
35mm digital is at a point where pixel size is at it’s limit. The lenses cannot reproduce the greater resolution from going higher than 21 mega pixels. The only way to increase resolution is to create a larger than 36mm x 24mm sensor and redesign the camera lens.
We are comparing a AU$3500 Canon 5D mark 2 to a AU$10,000+ Hasselblad H2D
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