Hasselblad XCD 4/21mm - Review 2022

Hasselblad's 10 mirrorless medium format arrangement launched with three prime lenses, including the wide-angle XCD 3,5/30mm. Just organization owners craving an even wider field of view were left to adapt larger lenses developed for the company's H system. The visitor is filling the gap with the XCD four/21mm ($3,750), a prime that covers the same angle of view as a 17mm on a 35mm total-frame camera. If you lot've got an X1D at dwelling house the 21mm is worth checking out, especially if you require a very broad view of the world.

Design: Minimalism at Work

The XCD 4/21mm is all black, with a metal butt and a large rubberized manual focus ring. Adornments are minimal, with the Hasselblad logo, the focal length and aperture, and an indicator reminding you that the front filter is a 77mm size, all in white text around the front chemical element. The Hasselblad logo and some additional text are printed toward the base, though in a gray font that all but blends into the matte black finish.

Given its coverage and angle of view—the X1D's image sensor is significantly larger than full-frame—the lens is relatively meaty, at 4.two by 3.3 inches (HD) and i.3 pounds. Front end and rear caps are included, every bit well every bit a lens hood. In that location'due south no in-lens image stabilization—Hasselblad has all the same to include that feature in whatever lens for its X system.

The just control of which to speak is the manual focus ring. All lenses for the X1D are focus-past-wire. Turning the ring activates a motor to adjust the signal of focus, in contrast to lenses that have mechanical manual focus. This is the current norm for mirrorless design, and while some photographers will miss the tactile feedback and difficult stops you get with a mechanical focus ring, the manual focus mechanism does offer some physical resistance, so y'all're non without tactile feedback when opting to focus manually. Autofocus is supported, of form.

The X1D doesn't have a focal airplane shutter, so Hasselblad has congenital a physical leaf shutter into the lens itself. It's quieter and introduces less vibration, and information technology adds the benefit of high-speed flash sync. The 21mm can sync with strobes at shutter speeds a short as one/2,000-2nd. Compare that with a high-resolution 35mm SLR like the Nikon D850, which requires speeds of 1/250-second or longer in society to sync with a flash or monolight.

The 21mm isn't a macro lens by any means. It focuses to 12.6 inches, which puts it at a disadvantage in close focus to many ultra-wide lenses for 35mm systems, which tin can often focus very close to the front element. Nonetheless, you can make images with a subject shut to the lens, backed past a wide view of the landscape backside information technology. The shot of the flowers above was captured shut to the minimum focus distance. Equally with any ultra-wide lens, be wary of getting as well close when photographing people, as perspective distortion can exaggerate features in an unflattering way, like in the image below.

Paradigm Quality: Sharp, With Dim Corners

The XCD 21mm is only compatible with one camera at press time, the 50MP X1D. Thankfully the 2 work well together to capture crisp, vibrant images. At f/4 the lens resolves 4,979 lines on Imatest'south centre-weighted sharpness test, much ameliorate than the 2,750 lines we want to see at a minimum from a 50MP sensor. Epitome quality isn't expressionless even from center to edge, only the periphery delivers a potent four,646-line upshot.

Results are even better when y'all gear up the f-stop to f/v.6. The average score jumps a bit to 5,196 lines, and the edges show 4,999 lines. Resolution takes a small stride dorsum at f/viii, but the lens however nets 5,081 lines.

Diffraction sets in a lilliputian early. We see 4,672 lines at f/eleven, less image quality than you lot become at f/iv, and the edges take a dive down to 4,058 lines. The trend continues to f/xvi (3,772 lines), f/22 (2,642 lines), and f/32 (1,634 lines). We look diffraction to exist an issue with high-resolution sensors, but broad-angle shooters who are used to setting a lens to f/sixteen for best results should arrange their mindset with the XCD 21mm. Its sweet spot is in the f/5.6 to f/8 range.

Delivering precipitous images, even at the edges of the frame, is a large plus for an ultra-wide lens. Merely the 21mm doesn't deliver completely perfect optics. There is some barrel distortion visible, virtually 3.vii percent, which draws straight lines with a slight outward bend. It's something you tin correct in software—despite the 21mm being a very new lens (it's not yet aircraft at press fourth dimension), Adobe Lightroom Archetype CC already has a one-click correction bachelor to compensate for the baloney. It works well, straightening the lines of our test nautical chart perfectly with a single click. Since nobody will shoot in JPG format with the X1D (it's just capable of 12.7MP JPG output), Raw conversion is a necessity when using the organization.

In addition to curved lines, the lens captures images with corners that are noticeably darker than the centre of the frame. At f/four the vignette effect is strongest, dropping illumination past 3.3 stop (-three.3EV). Information technology lessens at f/v.six to -2.7EV, but stays steady there through f/32. Thankfully, as with distortion, the vignette is removed using the Lightroom lens profile. And, if you want to remove distortion but get out corners dark (or vice versa), you can conform how much vignette compensation the contour applies using a slider.

Into the Bang-up Wide Open

At that place'south something magical about shooting with an ultra-wide lens, especially when walking through the tight confines of an urban environment. The XCD 4/21mm'south angle of view certainly comes in handy for cityscapes, simply it'southward also sure to find its way into the bags of travel and mural specialists who use the Hasselblad mirrorless system. Its optics are strong and it balances quite well on the X1D. If you're invested in the arrangement and require an ultra-broad lens, it'south an excellent performer.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/consumer-electronics-reviews-ratings-comparisons/28425/hasselblad-xcd-421mm

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