Hasselblad X2D II 100C review: The finest stills camera ever made

I’ve used Hasselblads for years, but the way the Hasselblad X2D II 100C blends technology and tradition is really quite remarkable. This camera is still tangibly steeped in heritage, providing a pure and luxurious shooting experience first and foremost, embracing advancement in the most sensitive and unobtrusive ways.

Unlike most mirrorless cameras with clever features, you’re not bombarded with menus and options and clutter that feel more like using a computer than a camera. Instead, the technology in the Hasselblad X2D II feels invisible – it only exists to make taking photographs feel even more frictionless.

While the Canons and Sonys excitedly slap you in the face with settings like an excitable teenager trying to prove something, the Hasselblad X2D sits calmly back with its hands folded. Quietly confident, knowing that it’s going to give you the finest shooting experience and the finest results you’ve ever had.

Industry-best color science, with 100MP of resolution and 15.3 stops of dynamic range. Industry-best 10 stops of in-body image stabilization. Industry-first integrated LiDAR autofocus. Industry-first end-to-end medium format HDR.

These are the Hasselblad X2D II’s rippling muscles, but they’re rippling beneath an Armani sweater. This camera isn’t trying to impress you with its specs, because it knows that results are all that matter – and the results speak for themselves.

Hasselblad X2D II 100C: Price

The Hasselblad X2D II 100C is available now, priced $7,399 / £6,400 (Australian pricing to be confirmed).

To put that into context, its predecessor, the Hasselblad X2D 100C, currently costs $8,199 / £7,369 / AU$13,150.

Its direct competitor, the Fujifilm GFX 100 II, sells for $8,299 / £6,999 / AU$11,399.

Hasselblad X2D II 100C: Build and handling

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While the X System cameras all look and feel pretty much the same, it’s been fascinating to experience the evolution of their handling since the original X1D in 2016.

The X1D II, for example, introduced drag-and-drop focus placement, so you could use the rear screen as a virtual joystick while shooting through the EVF – but it was still fixed. So the X2D brought with it a tilting screen, to use the camera at waist level, but part of it was obstructed by the viewfinder.

The Hasselblad X2D II shakes things up, and answers the prayers of many X System users, by introducing a physical joystick (and a new, customizable button beneath it) along with an improved rear screen that not only tilts up 90° and down 43° – it also extends back so that the EVF is no longer blocking the view when shooting top-down.

While it’s the same 3.6 inches and 2.36 million dots as its predecessor, it now boasts 1,400nits of brightness, a contrast ratio 2,000,000:1 – enabling you to view true HDR images on the back of the camera. Unlike the X2D screen, it’s also calibrated to the D65 industry standard for color temperature – giving more accurate on-screen color.

The joystick is definitely a very welcome addition, even though I was perfectly happy using drag-and-drop on the rear screen. My only criticism is that the joystick feels a little too low down – my thumb always searched around to find it, as it wasn’t where it felt like it “should” be. I was used to it after a month of shooting, though.

In addition to the custom button beneath the joystick, the front exposure dial is newly customizable when you click it. I’ve never personally felt the need for more buttons, as one of the reasons I love shooting Hasselblad is the minimal controls, but it’s good to have the option if you need it – especially with the new focus modes to fiddle with (more on that in Performance).

There are subtle refinements including new magnetic closures on the USB and memory card doors, and a new autofocus lamp that doubles as a self-timer countdown. You’ll also notice a discreet new window next to the front handgrip, which houses the new LiDAR emitter (again, more on that below).

The Hasselblad X2D II is virtually identical in dimension to its predecessors, though it’s 55g lighter. While it retains the same signature orange-gold shutter button, the body has gone from the Batman black of the X2D to a graphite grey (which is slightly darker than that of the X1D II, ditching the white Hasselblad logo for a matching black).

It can’t be argued that this is a truly beautiful camera – arguably the most beautiful on the market. Moreover, it’s also the most comfortable camera on the market; the ergonomics are absolutely perfect, and everything feels perfectly balanced whether you’re using one of the compact XCD P(ortable) lenses or a longer and heavier E(xclusive) trinity equivalent.

Hasselblad X2D II 100C: Performance

There are two main headline improvements for the Hasselblad X2D II 100C, but while one of them will drop jaws the other one might raise some belly laughs.

Let’s start with the former: this camera boasts an astonishing, best-in-the-business, 10 stops of in-body image stabilization (IBIS). That. Is. Just. Crazy. For context, the previous high for IBIS was 8.5 stops, possessed by the Canon EOS R5 Mark II and OM System OM-1 Mark II.

And let’s be real: stabilizing a tiny Micro Four Thirds sensor is one thing. Even a full-frame sensor. But getting TEN STOPS OF STABILIZATION ON A MEDIUM FORMAT SENSOR is nothing short of witchcraft.

For more context, the Fujifilm GFX 100 II has 8 stops of IBIS – which is still frankly ridiculous, but the X2D II is on another level entirely. Handholding with this thing is now a game of chicken.

Wanna shoot streaky car headlights at night? Fancy photographing waterfalls at super-slow shutter speeds? Just plain want to take pictures after you’ve been drinking? This camera has your back.

Word to the wise, if you’re not a regular Hasselblad user, you might struggle to get similar results to smaller systems right off the bat. I say this as an OM System user (yes, I shoot both Micro Four Thirds and medium format, because it’s all about having the right tool for the job), as it’s inherently easier to hold and steady a smaller and lighter camera system.

If you’re an experienced X System shooter, however, then you can achieve some absolutely wild results with the stabilization here. And it’s not just about things like crazy-long exposures; it’s also about using lenses like the new XCD 35-100E with a narrower f/4 aperture. Again, it goes back to the friction-free shooting experience – the tech is in service of helping you take great photographs.

As is the autofocus system… and here’s where some guffawing might come into play, because the X2D II introduces continuous autofocus to a Hasselblad camera for the very first time.

Yes, I know that DSLRs have been doing it for decades, and yes, a $7,000 camera bloody well should have C-AF. But that’s not all it has: the X2D II also introduces subject recognition and LiDAR autofocus – another first for a mirrorless camera system.

The subject recognition isn’t as extravagant as on other cameras, but its algorithms cover all the essentials: human, dog and cat, and vehicle. I’ve tested all three and was genuinely impressed at how well the detection and tracking work, particularly paired with the C-AF.

As someone who’s primarily a portrait photographer – and as someone who cursed the gods at the original X1D’s treacle-slow AF system that sometimes wouldn’t focus on a face at all – shooting subjects with the X2D II is just a joy.

I had a couple of client shoots in a woodland setting with some very challenging light (in one case it was the lack of, in the other it was harsh backlighting) and this camera didn’t lose track of their faces once.

I didn’t test the dog and cat AF too extensively, other than throwaway snaps of family pets and dogs in the park, but again it never once struggled for me – even with moving subjects. The vehicle AF impressed me, too, able to recognize and follow moving cars, vans, lorries and a motorbike.

Was it as effective as an R1 or an A1? No, it wasn’t – but this isn’t supposed to be a sports camera. And it’s still pretty dang good, making the X2D II an incredibly agile and responsive medium format camera – a far cry from those X1D days that still give me nightmares!

In addition to the algorithms, the improvements are also down to a 45% increase in the number of focus points (up from 294 to 425, matching the GFX 100 family) and the implementation of the new LiDAR system. This is the first time I’ve overtly felt DJI’s fingerprints on a Hasselblad since it bought the brand, but it’s certainly not unwelcome.

DJI’s LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) tech has been used in its drones, as well as the DJI Ronin 4D (a 6K cinema camera) and external AF modules used for the Lumix S5II and S5IIX cameras. Combined with the deep learning and additional focus points, the result is an enviable autofocus system that enables the X2D II to perform with almost any subject in almost any lighting situation.

I’ve waxed lyrical about Hasselblad color science before, and I truly believe it’s the best in the industry. Canon does the best skintones, Fujifilm does the best film sims, Hasselblad does the best everything.

Its 16-bit images boast an unrivalled 15.3 stops of dynamic range, with expanded highlight latitude, and the result isn’t just unparalleled color accuracy – it’s also a sense of dimension, texture and form that other cameras simply aren’t capable of. If you’re one of those people looking for “3D pop”, that’s exactly what you get here.

The X2D II also gives you a true, end-to-end HDR workflow – from the improved and HDR-optimized rear screen to the new Phocus Mobile 2 app, which enables you to display and edit true HDR images on your iPhone or iPad (iOS 18 and above) and even apply Hasselblad’s noise reduction on RAW files.

Hasselblad X2D II 100C: Lab data

Because the Hasselblad X2D II possesses the same core sensor and processing technology as the X2D, their lab performance is essentially identical.

Take a look at our lab tests for the X2D to see how the camera performs in our suite of imaging tests.

Hasselblad X2D II 100C: Samples

Hasselblad X2D II 100C: Verdict

It’s hard not to talk about the Hasselblad X2D II’s tech – the 10 stops of IBIS, 15.3 stops of dynamic range, deep learning autofocus, LiDAR system – but ultimately none of that matters. What matters are the photographs it takes and the experience you get while taking them – both of which are just glorious.

I have never used a better stills camera. The colors and dimensionality, straight out of camera, are absolutely unrivalled. And while GFX cameras can match the resolution and dreamy depth of field, their usability and interface aren’t a patch on Hasselblad’s. The only thing that comes close is a Leica – surprise, surprise, luxury cameras give you a luxury experience.

If you want to shoot video or you need a slightly faster burst (8fps on the 100 II compared to 3fps on the X2D II), the GFX 100 II will suit you better. But with the X2D II you’re getting a more lightweight body, with better dynamic range, lower base ISO, superior stabilization and a better storage system (a 1TB internal SSD supported by a CFexpress B slot). And it’s cheaper!

A far cry from the iterative updates of many “Mark II” cameras from other brands, the Hasselblad X2D II boasts a bounty of upgrades over the original X2D, both in terms of handling (from the reduced weight to the addition of a joystick) and performance (from the improved IBIS to the supercharged AF). And on top of that, again, the II is actually cheaper.

I can honestly say that the Hasselblad X2D II has no weaknesses (again with the caveat that I really don’t think anyone is buying a mirrorless medium format camera for video). This is simply the ultimate photographic camera.