Rumor: Hasselblad to introduce a new family of digital cameras at Photokina (digital X-Pan?)
Hasselblad X-Pan film camera
I received a tip that Hasselblad will introduce a new family of digital cameras this year, probably at Photokina. One of the possibilities is a smaller DSLR type camera. The other rumor is for a digital X-Pan camera, which will use a customized sensor in order to provide the wide panorama format. The sensor will be smaller then the original film double frame (24mm x 65mm) and will probably have 1.5x crop factor. The price will be at the Leica M9 range ($6000-$7000).
In June last year, Hasselblad was acquired by Ventizz Capital Fund IV, a private equity fund. The new owners are likely to provide the R&D funding for the new projects as stated in the press release:
Hasselblad, the premium medium format camera manufacturer, is planning a rapid expansion of cutting edge capture products and is set to target new imaging markets following the company’s acquisition by Ventizz Capital Fund IV, LP, a private equity investor exclusively advised by Swiss and Germany based Ventizz Capital Partners AG.
Ventizz, which specializes in funding growth in companies across various high-tech industry sectors including communications technology and renewable energy, says it plans ‘no major structural or key management changes’ at Hasselblad.