why are hasselblads so expensive?

[tron]

so i was surfing the web and it hit me, why are hasselblads so expensive?

my uncle has one and i never understood what makes them so great.

the specs show that they do have ridiculous megapixels, but everything else doesnt make it seem worth the tens of thousands of dollars.

 

[RyanLilly]

Why are Ferrari's so expensive? It basically all the same reasons.

 

[tron]

with a ferrari you get insane levels of performance; grip, handling, screaming redlines, etc.

translated into photography terms, hasselblads dont seem to have those same performance levels looking at the specs

 

[Iron Flatline]

Why is my Porsche 911 so much more expensive than a Nissan 350 or some other Japanese sports car? The specs seem largely the same... but on the track it's still three seconds faster.

It's really hard to quantify, but there is a real difference.

I answered this very same question with more specifics and examples about four weeks ago on this forum. Search if you're genuinely interested.

 

[jlykins]

Because they look cool... lol

 

[JerryPH]

1 - Quality of workmanship in construction is higher
2 - Quality of final result is superior
3 - Because people are willing to pay for it

Basically the same reasons like for cars, houses, boats, pens... pretty much anything and everything.

 

[Village Idiot]

with a ferrari you get insane levels of performance; grip, handling, screaming redlines, etc.

translated into photography terms, hasselblads dont seem to have those same performance levels looking at the specs

Even the "entry level" digital MF hasselblads have a sensor that's 36mm x 36mm. The $40,000 Hasselblads have sensors that are 48mm x 36mm. Compare that to a full fram camera with a sensor that is 36mm x 24mm and a APS-C 1.6x crop that's 22mm x 14mm and you might start to see a difference. That's why a Canon 5D MKII cost $3000 and a Canon 50D cost $1200. The sensors are all cut from a giant wafer, so the size of the sensors determine how many they can make from one wafer. The small the sensor, the less surface area it has to have defects on it. So say they cut 50 sensors from a wafer for a $1500 camera and they have 10 defective. They're going to lose a lot less money than if they cut 40 for a $3000 camera and lose 10.

If you look at the sensor sizes, the largest Hasselblad sensor is more than double the size of your standard APS-C Canon camera. That's a good chuck of the reason that a ff dslr cost what is does and that mf or lf dslrs cost what they do.

 

[TamiyaGuy]

Also, Villiage Idiot, bear in mind that the largest Hasselblad sensor is over 4x the size of a crop sensor in each dimension. From this, it's most likely possible to get a 60mp Hasselblad. Screw the price, and it could probably get to 90mp in a year or two.

 

[ksmattfish]

with a ferrari you get insane levels of performance; grip, handling, screaming redlines, etc.

translated into photography terms, hasselblads dont seem to have those same performance levels looking at the specs

Compared to almost all small format DSLRs they've got more resolution, more dynamic range, more bit depth, more color and tonal range, etc... More raw image quality. It might be better to compare a digital Hassy to a construction vehicle: specialized power. The Ferrari cameras are the D3 and 1D. I have no idea what bulldozers and excavators cost, but they may be much more expensive than a Ferrari.

A lot less of them will be made and sold. DSLR sales quantity will be measured in 7 figures annually; MF digital Hassy system sales may not make it to 5 figures. They have to make a lot more profit per unit. All the stuff that comes with the camera is more expensive too.

 

[djacobox372]

Compared to almost all small format DSLRs they've got more resolution, more dynamic range, more bit depth, more color and tonal range, etc... More raw image quality. It might be better to compare a digital Hassy to a construction vehicle: specialized power. The Ferrari cameras are the D3 and 1D. I have no idea what bulldozers and excavators cost, but they may be much more expensive than a Ferrari.

A lot less of them will be made and sold. DSLR sales quantity will be measured in 7 figures annually; MF digital Hassy system sales may not make it to 5 figures. They have to make a lot more profit per unit. All the stuff that comes with the camera is more expensive too.

Okay... now please explain the cost of a new lecia rangefinder.

 

[JerryPH]

Okay... now please explain the cost of a new lecia rangefinder.

Bof... chump change. Look at it as the approximate cost of a custom semi-portable tripod for the hassy at $7000US... lol

 

[Mike_E]

AFAICT Name and Zeiss glass.

 

[usayit]

Okay... now please explain the cost of a new lecia rangefinder.

Why must Leica be mentioned whenever $$$ is the topic at hand?

A lot less of them will be made and sold. DSLR sales quantity will be measured in 7 figures annually; MF digital Hassy system sales may not make it to 5 figures. They have to make a lot more profit per unit. All the stuff that comes with the camera is more expensive too.

Bingo!! Just like any other item that caters to a small niche market.

 

[epp_b]

The gigantic sensors they have are not cheap to produce.

 

[JerryPH]

Why must Leica be mentioned whenever $$$ is the topic at hand?

Because the base price is your first born son?