Rumor: Hasselblad will announce a new wide-angle zoom lens in September

Hasselblad is rumored to be making a big addition to its lens lineup next month. According to one trusted source, the Swedish camera manufacturer is looking to unveil a new wide-angle zoom lens next month.

Reliable leaker @camerainsider revealed on X that Hasselblad will be announcing a new addition to its lens roster. The insider shared "A Hasselblad wide-angle zoom lens will be available in September."

This rumor has a lot of credence as the other lens mentioned in the rumor which is the Tamron 50-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD for Nikon Z has already been announced. And this is also the second time that @camerainsider mentioned the Hasselblad wide-angle zoom lens. The insider talked about the upcoming lens on July 19 alongside the aforementioned Tamron 50-400mm lens for the Nikon Z.

The user has an impeccable track record of predicting camera and lens announcements. Earlier this year, @camerainsider also predicted the exact release date of the Panasonic Lumix S9 compact full-frame camera.

What wide-angle zoom lens are we expecting?

Hasselblad isn’t a camera manufacturer that is known for producing zoom lenses. The company only has one zoom lens for the X System cameras in the XCD 35-75 F3.5-4.5 zoom lens.

Looking elsewhere, Fujifilm has several zoom lenses for its medium-format lineup. However, only one lens fits the wide-angle zoom lens description mentioned in the leak in the Fujifilm GF 20-35mm F/4 R WR. It would make sense for Hasselblad to create its own version of the 20-35mm lens.

A 20-35mm will have the focal length equivalent of 16-28 on a full-frame camera. We assume that Hasselblad will have a variable aperture on the upcoming lens similar to the XCD 35-75mm F3.5-4.5. Having a constant aperture of F4 similar to the Fujifilm lens would be ideal, but it will significantly bump up the price. The variable F3.5-4.5 aperture makes more sense in terms of pricing.

If Hasselblad does end up making a 20-35mm F3.5-4-5, it will be the widest lens in the X System lineup. The XCD 21mm F4 is the current widest lens available for the X System. The company could also go with a 25-35mm, but matching Fujifilm’s lens offering would still be the ideal direction.

The upcoming lens will pair nicely with the XCD 35-75 F3.5-4.5 zoom lens. It will be similar to how the Nikkor 14-28mm F2.8 G was often paired with the 28-70 F2.8 G on the old Nikon DSLRs. The Nikon “holy trinity” set also had the Nikkor 70-200 F2.8 to complete the focal range from 14mm to 200mm. Hasselblad may consider launching a 70-200mm equivalent in the future to complete the trifecta.

Do we see this lens arriving in September? We are very confident in this prediction as the source has been pretty reliable so far. As for the focal length, we are leaning towards the 20-35mm but it wouldn’t be strange if it turns out to be a 25-35mm.

Hopefully, we do not have to wait too long before Hasselblad makes the announcement.