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Focus on AF
Another area where the H1 excels is in AF performance. It’s the only medium-format
autofocus SLR with a central cross-field AF sensor, and it certainly is a giant
step ahead of all other medium-format cameras without cross sensors. In low
light, with low-contrast subjects, it snaps into focus with speed and alacrity.
Under unfavorable focusing conditions, it proved noticeably better than its
competitors. Aiding its stellar performance is a near-infrared AF-aid light
built into the grip, with a tested range of 7.3 meters (about 24 feet).
No AF system can autofocus under all conditions, and the H1 clearly indicates
when it can’t. If your subject is too close, only the left-hand focus-confirmation
arrow lights up. In other cases, when AF cannot be achieved, both AF arrows
flash in warning. To focus manually, just keep the shutter button partially
depressed and turn the manual focusing ring. However, you must then judge the
sharpness of the finder screen image visually—the arrows confirm focus
only in manual-focus (M) mode.
The H1’s built-in flash is a marvel of compact, integrated design. Push
a tab on the left side of the finder housing to pop it up. When it’s fully
charged, a lightning bolt (which also indicates low flash and flash OK) lights
up in the finder. When the flash is in use, the metering system continues to
read out the ambient light exposure and indicate the deviation from the correct
exposure via the exposure-compensation scale. By turning the front wheel, we
were able to easily balance the flash-to-ambient ratio to get any effect we
wanted, from a hint of fill to an all-flash exposure. Brilliant!
This technique is easiest to use in A, S, or M modes. In P mode, the camera
automatically selects a 1/60 sec exposure. This flash unit also reads TTL and
OTF (off-the-film), and we found it to be extremely accurate. While its power
output (Guide Number of 40 at ISO 100) is reasonable for a small built-in unit,
it won’t cover the field of lenses shorter than 80mm—you’ll
see light falloff with wide-angle lenses.
As our lab data suggest, the Hasselblad H1 provides a very high level of performance
in terms of exposure and shutter-speed accuracy, autofocus speed, and (judging
by the 80mm lens for starters) optical performance. These data are fully corroborated
by its field performance, which we found generally outstanding. We shot close
to 1000 pictures on a variety of color transparency, color negative, and black-and-white
films. The H1 acquitted itself admirably, producing sharp, accurate available-light
and flash exposures even under less-than-favorable conditions.
Nobody’s perfect
Criticisms? You have to be precise when installing the finder unit, lens, or
film magazine. If you’re sloppy, what you’re mounting may seem to
click in place, but the contacts on the module and body may not mate perfectly.
Result: a strange reading on the grip LCD (such as “autofocus not possible
with this lens,” when an AF lens is mounted). Once, the camera wouldn’t
turn on at all; we cured the problem by removing the finder unit and remounting
it properly, as suggested in the manual. Speaking of the manual, what we received
with our H1 was a “preliminary version.” It’s a valiant effort,
but we found it to be organizationally challenged in places, with a few rough
edges. Hasselblad expects an improved manual to be in the hands of H1 owners
by late this year.
So what, in the final analysis, do we think of the H1? Frankly, it’s
the camera Hasselblad had to produce for the company to prosper in the future.
On balance, they did a splendid job. No, it’s not all European, and it’s
not compatible with 2-1/4-square Hasselblads. But, in our opinion, it is also
the best integrated, most technologically advanced medium-format SLR on the
planet, and the one best positioned to allow photographers to expand into today’s
brave new world of combined film and digital photography.
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