08/07/2008 - The new powerful, portable, HTS 1.5 adapter, which is patent pending, adds tilt, shift and rotation to the Hasselblad HCD28mm, HC35mm, HC50mm and HC80mm lenses. It delivers corrective and creative image control to the H3DII series of cameras and opens entire new segments of photography to this exciting form of photographic expression.

Christian Poulsen, Hasselblad Chief Executive Officer, says, “We are extremely excited about this new product. Thanks to its extreme portability, the HTS 1.5 will not only bring creative image control to demanding applications such as architecture and landscape photography, but opens the doors to a wide range of exciting new creative application areas. This means more creativity for all photographers in their current shooting style as well as the opportunity to enter into new areas photography.”

Poulsen continues, “It has always been a standard creative practice to break rules in order to produce images that are a bit different than the norm, and large-format users have been well acquainted with the creative possibilities that arise from ‘wrong’ camera or lens movements. Hasselblad users can now also enjoy this stimulating freedom.”

Expanding on Hasselblad’s camera integration strategy, the HTS 1.5 delivers a new groundbreaking level of image quality and precision, never before achieved with a tilt/shift camera. The HTS 1.5 is equipped with integral sensors on all axes that tell the camera exactly where the lens is positioned and what its optical axis point is, so that correct perspective and lens alignment are obtained automatically within the camera. The sensors also communicate key data to the camera in order to enable Hasselblad’s digital lens correction for optimal image quality. Certain lens movements require that the image be refocused, and with the HTS 1.5 solution, this occurs automatically too. These superior results are achieved by integrating superior digital technology with the benefits of superior optic movements.

Poulsen concludes, “The continuing need for optical image control is evidenced by the large number of photographers that use some form of hybrid camera for movement shots. These mix and match capture systems do not provide the optimum format and performance gained by integrating superior digital technology with the benefits of superior optic movements. At Hasselblad we do not want to talk about view cameras or large- and medium-format, but rather of an integrated professional image capture system, designed to offer maximum flexibility and benefits to its user. Today’s technology should allow a system to exist that will satisfy the most demanding photographer with any project they are undertaking. I trust the H3DII and accessories like the HTS 1.5 have done a lot in helping to achieve that goal, and can’t wait to see the photographic results.”

The Hasselblad HTS 1.5 adapter is priced at $5,395 excluding tax and will be available from Q1, 2009.

About the Hasselblad HTS 1.5
The HTS 1.5 uses optical elements, which enlarge the image circle of the lens by a factor 1.5 to allow for the +/- 18 mm range of shift movement. Focal length is also magnified by 1.5. Tilt can be set between -10° and +10° and the adapter can rotate +/- 90 degrees, maximizing the flexibility of using the plane of sharpness for various technical or creative uses. The HTS 1.5 adapter is compatible with all H system cameras for basic mechanical use. Access to automatic digital lens corrections and focusing requires that the HTS 1.5 adapter be used together with a Hasselblad digital capture product.

About Hasselblad
Hasselblad A/S has developed, manufactured and delivered the very best in high-end camera systems for over 50 years. A Scandinavian company, headquartered in Gothenburg and Copenhagen, the company employs more than 250 people, has subsidiaries in the USA, the UK, Germany and France and is represented worldwide by more than 90 distribution partners, through which it reaches every segment of the professional photographic market. Inspired by the vision of its senior management to create the world’s best high-end DSLR cameras and to become the market leader in that sector, Hasselblad continues to pursue its founder’s philosophy of combining the most advanced technology available with a passion for photography to give professional photographers the best possible tools to capture the best possible images.

To satisfy the evolving requirements of today’s customers, Hasselblad continues to offer analogue cameras while delivering the ultimate in flexibility and digital image quality through its H3D camera line and it’s digital backs, the flagship of which is the H3DII, the world’s first high-end, DSLR camera system. By developing the H3D’s integrated camera architecture specifically for digital users, Hasselblad is able to provide customers with the full benefits of professional medium-format digital cameras as well as the ease of use of the best 35mm DSLRs.

An iconic brand throughout the world of professional photography and probably best known for the cameras that the Apollo astronauts took to the moon, Hasselblad remains synonymous with outstanding craftsmanship and unsurpassed image quality.