Hasselblad just made its 100MP camera EVEN BETTER, with "improved image quality" firmware

Sebastian Oakley
·2 min read
Hasselblad X2D.
Hasselblad X2D.

While upgrading from full frame to medium format is a big step for any photographer, both financially and career-wise, and while they come with their trials of ownership, it is great to hear when the highest resolution cameras receive firmware updates to help improve the user experience.

However, the latest firmware update for the Hasselblad X2D goes one step further.

Hasselblad X2D 100C Lightweight Portrait Kit
Hasselblad X2D 100C Lightweight Portrait Kit

While firmware tends to fix issues or bugs that might appear when using cameras, this latest update (version 3.1.0) from Hasselblad is providing new features to your X2D to enhance the overall experience – including improving the overall imaging quality, meaning that your 100MP medium format camera just got even better!

Some of these new features include:

  • Added face detection in Autofocus mode.

  • Added the HEIF format with a color depth of 10-bit. Select HEIF or RAW+HEIF as the image format in the Quality settings.

  • Added live view support for tethered shooting when the camera is connected to the Phocus Mobile 2 app or Phocus for Mac.

  • Added support for Profoto A10 for Nikon in TTL mode. This flash is now compatible with the following air remotes: Profoto Connect Pro, Profoto Connect, and Air Remote TTL.

Hasselblad X2D with Hasselblad XCD 2,5/55V
Hasselblad X2D with Hasselblad XCD 2,5/55V

However, one bullet point that caught my eye was "Optimized sensor calibration to improve image quality". What this means is left to our interpretation but, from a company that prides itself on the utmost quality, seeing Hasselblad improve the image quality of its flagship model is a rather intriguing statement.

Whether this could "fix" an image quality issue that we did not know about, or it is a software-based improvement over the original output of the sensor, who knows. What we do know is that firmware 3.1.0 will improve the overall image quality of your Hasselblad X2D – not bad for a camera with already impressive image quality!

"The 100MP Hasselblad X2D might just be the iconic brand's best ever camera," said James in his review. "With a 100MP sensor, native 16-bit color, 15 stops of dynamic range, 7 stops of in-body image stabilization and 1TB of internal storage, it's holding absolutely nothing back and goes toe to toe with Fujifilm's GFX100 series. While it lacks any video capability whatsoever, as a pure imaging machine it's practically untouchable."

Take a look at the best Hasselblad lenses for the X system.