Photography

Let me say right off the bat that the price point of the Hasselblad Flextight X5 is a consideration... this scanner is designed for professional use and the image quality and performance are what you would expect. Exterior - Shibuya, Tokyo Photo: Canon EO...  

At the link below you can access one of the images in TIF format as scanned using the X5... If you are so inclined, I would like to see your version of this image as you would post process it... Dropbox: Link to img008 (184 MB) Thanks for reading, Casey

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On each of my monitors the images look different... my work monitor is calibrated, but my laptop and tablet are just left as delivered... Sometimes I wonder how people see some of the posted images. I sure had a lot of fun taking that photograph... Casey

cshimokita Thanks for the report even if I will never ever use a Hasselblad Flextight X5. (I don't shoot film anymore and could not find stock anyway). All the way through the review, I kept asking, "But why?" In the last paragraph, you had anticipated me...  

For sure the number of film users (while not small) is only a percentage of... The X5 is a bench mark for me now that I have worked with the scanned images. Keep trucking with the P&S... any gear is better than no gear ;) Thanks for sharing the Kamaku... 

Maybe not clinically colour blind but I certainly have trouble between dark blue and black, so says the current Mrs MTF. She's threatened to sew name tags on my clothes for colour matching..... Here are iterations 3 and 4: Must be a colour monitor screen ...  

Having multiple monitors I can attest to challenges of keeping consistency across viewing options. Still, better than the monochrome monitors we used 30 years ago... my first Toshiba laptop had an orange screen. As you may remember from your time in Japan... 

I had a wonderful time at the Tokyo Metropolitan equivalent of the Department of Vehicle Licencing for my theory examination for foreigners. The traffic lights multiple choice questions were a challenge with my Japlish language skills. There is no word fo... 

I just showed my (foreign) drivers license and they issued me a Japanese license... of course that was in 1987 ;) When I got my 400cc motorcycle license the examination was at the driving school (road course only). Only one moving violation in almost 30 y... 

During my 2nd stint in Japan c.2004, I entered the theory examination for conversion of foreign driving licence. Selected foreign drivers' licence were allowed a Japanese licence provided you passed the multiple choice theory exam including the visual cog... 

I know someday I MUST enter those big brand world for photography, when I have more free time..... I am still struggling for "today" :-) Thanks for introducing the HB Scanner. I will keep that in mind, but I will consult you anyway when and if I go into t... 

I agree... make some time... The next time you're in the Harajuku area stop by the HB gallery, they have some wonderful photos printed large... Good area for street shooting as well... Casey

Go Sweden! ;) Each time my father hear the name he get's a "dreamy look" on his face.... He had one when he was young! Thank you for this walk-through about the Flextight X5 scanner. I do understand the fascination of using film instead of digital and I g... 

Both of my maternal grandparents emigrated to the US Midwest in the early 1900s and my mom grew up speaking Swedish as a child... I visited the old country some years ago and had a great time. That whole film / digital discussion has been interesting. I r... 

Next time you head this way, let me know! We should meet up! :) Best Blomman

I have a plan on the back burner to visit Europe again... timing is everything and certainly not this year. When that happens I will definitely let you know... Casey

Thanks for this very well written article, Casey. I will have to test that by myself. Best, Nicolas

I enjoyed the process of seeing the X5 go through it's paces and doing research on the product for the write up... I am interested in the brand / product line-up as a starting point !! Then hands on with the scanner and later this month a V-System & d... 

Technology advances and it is so easy to take it for granted. Pioneering.

technology and well thought out user interface... it was so easy to move between formats... the film holders are coded and for the most part you just select the film type and dpi setting... framing is automatic, so adjust the crop if necessary and scan. P... 

Thanks Casey for the well written article.

Film scanning is a bit of a niche area and due to a number of factors there are only a few players... and the options for those of us who use film & scan are segmented (relatively low cost and relatively high cost with more or less corresponding level... 

I'm happily surprised that there are still companies interested in this market, which is obviously much smaller than it used to be. Like you I use consumer level 35mm and large format scanners, but I don't rely on them for printing so high def isn't such ... 

The X5 has batch and slide feeder capability... according to the documentation, the batch feeder allows up to 60 originals to be scanned, unattended. You can also scan using the "3F file format", which like RAW is not altered during post processing... I r... 

Hi Casey, Thanks for the hardware review. Do you scan all the prints you make, or do you scan from slides or negatives? And when you have a scanned photo database to manage, as well as cabinets full of slides and prints! how do you do it? Are you able to ... 

Q1) Do you scan all the prints you make, or do you scan from slides or negatives? A1) I don't make prints. When I shoot color / B&W negatives or color reversal film (slide film) I just have the film developed without prints and cut in strips of six fr... 

You are using the old fashioned computer - the one between our ears - for retrieval, along with some clues in the file names. I do very much the same thing although I thought I was getting clever and using Aperture's strengths - only to face Apple's disco...  

Both of my scanning PCs are Windows XP and both of these PCs are disconnected from the internet. I transfer files using a USB memory stick... The Nikon Coolscan V ED has been discontinued for some years and the scanning interface was designed to work with... 

Nice review of the X5. Very generous of Hasselblad to offer you this test drive of the X5. Regards, ED-209

I agree, a good bunch of guys... the brand has always been of interest to me so it's a great opportunity... Casey

I don't use a photography scanner. But even I can see the difference between the X5 and the Epson GT X830. Thanks for sharing!

One of the problems of sharing via the internet is that when viewed online the difference (or rather the benefits) are not that outstanding... but up close ;) Thanks for taking the time to comment... Casey

The true photography professional world is something that I've seen, but I don't fully understand. When I look at all this equipment in the studio, I have no idea what any of it is. I just know not to touch anything nor break anything.

re: "not to break anything" ... always a good approach ;-)

that should be interesting to more people... really looking forward to trying the CFV-50c digital back with a V Series body.... Casey