Hasselblad at a glance
Hasselblad is a Swedish maker of medium-format cameras, based in Gothenburg. Its square 6 × 6 cm film cameras became studio and fashion standards, and modified Hasselblads took almost all the still photographs of the Apollo Moon missions. Today Hasselblad makes digital medium-format cameras. The Chinese drone maker DJI has been its majority owner since 2017, and DJI drones carry Hasselblad-branded cameras.
History
1940. Victor Hasselblad set up a camera workshop in Gothenburg to build aerial cameras for the Swedish Air Force.
1948. The first civilian Hasselblad, later called the 1600F, was a 6 × 6 cm SLR with interchangeable lenses and film backs.
1957. The 500 C, with a leaf shutter in each lens, became the basis of the V system for the next five decades. The 503CW was one of its last mechanical models.
1960s. NASA used modified Hasselblads in space. On Apollo 11 in 1969, a special Hasselblad Data Camera was used on the surface of the Moon. NASA’s Apollo photographs are in the public domain.
2002. The H system introduced autofocus medium-format cameras, later digital. It is no longer part of the range.
2016. The X1D 50c was the first digital mirrorless medium-format camera.
2022. The X2D 100C brought a 100-megapixel sensor.
Systems
X system. Digital mirrorless medium-format cameras with XCD lenses. H-system lenses work with an adapter.
907X and CFV. A small modular body and a digital back, the CFV, which also fits classic V-system cameras.
V system (history). The mechanical 6 × 6 film cameras, still widely used and collected.
Current cameras
Cameras listed on hasselblad.com, checked on November 3, 2026: X2D II 100C, and the 907X with the CFV 100C digital back.
Photographers who used Hasselblad
Photographers in Photopedia who have worked with Hasselblad include Michael Kenna (medium format since 1987), Lee Friedlander, Neil Leifer, Walter Iooss and Trey Ratcliff. The Hasselblad Award, given by the Hasselblad Foundation, is one of the major prizes in photography.
Sources: Hasselblad (Wikipedia), hasselblad.com (current range, November 2026).
Last updated: November 2026
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