
DJI acquires majority stake in Hasselblad, the iconic Swedish camera company - cocoflunchy
https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/05/dji-acquires-hasselblad-the-iconic-swedish-camera-company/
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saycheese
This article covers the topic much better:

[https://luminous-landscape.com/hasselblad-acquired-dji/](https://luminous-
landscape.com/hasselblad-acquired-dji/) __

Hasselblad has been in financial trouble since the late 90s and it has been
sold a number of times; see this press release for info:

[http://photorumors.com/2011/06/30/hasselblad-set-for-
growth-...](http://photorumors.com/2011/06/30/hasselblad-set-for-growth-under-
new-european-owners/)

And recent cameras[1] have been a joke ("Sonyblads") to some:

[http://photorumors.com/2012/09/19/hasselblad-goes-into-
damag...](http://photorumors.com/2012/09/19/hasselblad-goes-into-damage-
control-mode/)

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hcrisp
The cameras used on the Apollo 11 mission were Hasselblads, model 500EL [0].
There were three of them, and they generated pretty impressive photos.

[0]
[https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11-hass.html](https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11-hass.html)

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rodgerd
It's worth noting that the LL history and report are written by a former
employee of, and current shareholder of, Phase One, one of Hasselblad's major
competitors. It's entirely possible the report is accurate, but failing to
discolse that seems very pooor form.

Fingers crossed for less racist discussion of the possible aquisition than on
most photography sites!

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lb1lf
I have to admit I am throwing anxious glances at my Hasselblad kit as I type
this (No, I am not a gazillionaire; I have a 501C/M film body and a couple of
lenses.)

However, I am somewhat puzzled as to what DJI stands to gain from this apart
from the obvious 'camera by Hasselblad' marketing blurb.

Hasselblad aren't exactly known for making compact, lightweight cameras.

And they don't make their own lenses - that is being handled by Carl Zeiss (V
system) and Fuji (H system) They aren't exactly drone material, either.
(According to my kitchen scale, the 80mm f/2.8 lens is just a tad shy of 500g
(In excess of 1lb).)

So - what will happen to the medium format camera line now? I cannot see how
any development here can be beneficial to a drone manufacturer, which would
require smaller sensors, smaller lenses.

Exciting times.

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rodgerd
> Hasselblad aren't exactly known for making compact, lightweight cameras.

Well, except for their new mirrorless system, which is smaller than most small
format DSLRs.

> However, I am somewhat puzzled as to what DJI stands to gain from this apart
> from the obvious 'camera by Hasselblad' marketing blurb.

While DJI's most popular drones are 1" and m43 sensors units, they do have a
medium format drone, too. Given aeriel photography was traditionally large
format film and super expensive lenses, there's arguably a gap in the market
there that DJI may be looking to exploit.

Also, Hassleblad have been badly managed for a long time. Jaguar (Tata) and
Volvo are both examples of companies having a terrible time of it under US
ownership and enjoying a renaissance under Indian or Chinese ownership. It
would be hard to do worse than the Sonyblads.

~~~
lb1lf
In my ignorance, I had no idea DJI made a MF drone. Thanks! (What did they do?
Put a remote in a Cessna 172? ;-) Off to Google I go)

And don't even get me started on the Sonyblad. That was beyond embarrassing.
I'd like to think that some of the craftsmen at the factory exclaimed "Over
our dead bodies!" in aghast when the idea surfaced - only to have some icy
venture capitalist suggest that that could be arranged, yes...

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rodgerd
They were, but it's interesting _how much_ shit Hassleblad get compared to,
say, Leica: the Leica D-Lux cameras, for example, are much the same thing; a
Panasonic compact camera, stick the red dot on the front, charge three times
as much. Leica someohow manage to have navigated that kind of thing with much
less opprobrium (along with the S-series bein broken-as-shipped and so on).

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CapitalistCartr
The lightweight drone company and the really good, really heavy camera
company. Ought to be interesting.

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galago
It sounds like Hasselblad is dead. DJI is probably just buying patents and the
brand name. Its too bad they weren't subsumed they way Minolta was with Sony
or Mamiya was with Phase One. Cameras are a mature market with established
players. I doubt DJI is going to make giant-sensor cameras when there are
several other iconic companies doing the same thing.

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rasz_pl
its pretty ironic and unacceptable when Phantom 4 PRO delivers cheaper
4K@60fps recording than actual dedicated camera manufacturers.

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r00fus
Well, TBH, most people buy DSLRs for the stills not the movies.

If I want a movie, I'll pull out my iPhone - it has more memory and works
great on a selfie stick or if I need to hand it to someone else.

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buserror
Might be just Patent related; but to be fair to DJI, they DO make the best
(and by far) cameras for that volume you can get anywhere -- getting their
hands on Hassy with their knowledge of optics is clearly going in the right
direction.

I just hope the brand/company doesn't get tossed in the ditch when the drone-
bubble implodes in a little while. Hassy gave us the 'Earthrise' picture, and
millions of other stunning images, it'd be as bad as loosing Leica.

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467568985476
On the surface, it's a pretty weird acquisition. Hasselblad is known for
making high end, large format cameras for professional photographers. Their
flagship products are large, heavy, and cost tens of thousands of dollars. How
do you take a company like that and make it produce small, cheap, and
lightweight cameras?

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staticautomatic
A nitpick, but worth clarifying: Hasselblad is known for medium format
cameras, not large format.

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redsummer
Another important Swedish company bought by the Chinese, after Volvo and Saab.

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oh_sigh
It was bought by a Chinese firm...not "the Chinese".

