The refreshed X1D II 50C wasn’t the only camera Hasselblad announced on Wednesday, June 19. The company also introduced the CFV II 50C digital back and 907X camera body, a modern take on one of the most iconic film cameras ever made. As part of the same V system that Hasselblad has been building for decades, you can use the new digital back with V series cameras and lenses from some 60 years ago, from a time before digital photography was even a dream. The CFV II even features the same chrome trim as those older camera bodies, completing the aesthetic.
But there is also a more modern approach available to photographers. The 907X camera body, announced alongside the CFV II 50C, will let you use the digital back with X system lenses, the same ones used on the X1D mirrorless camera. When the CFV II and 907X body are used together, the combination makes for Hasselblad’s most compact medium format camera ever — smaller than both older V series models and the new X1D, which was already one of, if not the, smallest medium format systems available.
It’s hard to call the 907X a camera body — it looks like little more than a shim with a lens mount carved out of it. And that’s basically what it is. The X system lenses use a much shorter flange-back distance than old V system film lenses, so the camera can be much shorter. It has very little in the way of physical controls, but as a fully digital system, you can simply control it from the CFV II back itself.
Wednesday’s reveal was little more than a development announcement, with things like pricing and availability still up in the air. A few technical features were revealed, however. The CFV II 50C, as its name implies, uses the same 50-megapixel medium-format sensor of the X1D, and we’re certainly not complaining about it. When used with the 907X, the tilting touchscreen evokes the waist-level viewfinders of film-era V system camera bodies. The display retracts to rest flush with the camera body, leaving the classic profile intact, right down to the gently curved corners. The only other giveaway that this is a modern digital camera is the USB-C port on the side.
Given that the X1D II is launching at a new lower price of under $ 6,000, we’re hopeful that the CFV II and 907X will offer another affordable entry point into the world of full-frame cameras. It may not have all the functionality and tech of the X1D, but it sure is pretty.
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