Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish firm which produces medium-format cameras and photographic equipment based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company is best known for the medium-format cameras which has been manufactured since World War II. The most famous use of the Hasselblad camera was during the Apollo Program missions when man first landed on the Moon. Almost all of the still photographs taken during these missions used specially modified Hasselblad cameras.
Hasselblad's traditional V-System cameras are still widely used by professional and serious amateur photographers. One reason is a reputation for long service life and quality of available lenses. Their newer H-System cameras produced in cooperation with Fuji are market leaders, competing with Sinar, Mamiya and others in the medium format digital camera market. The company was established in 1841 in Gothenburg, Sweden, as a trading company, F. W. Hasselblad and Co. The founder's son, Arvid Viktor Hasselblad, was interested in photography and started the photographic division of the company.
In 1877, Arvid Hasselblad commissioned the construction of Hasselblad's long-time headquarters building, in use until 2002. While on honeymoon, Arvid Hasselblad met George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak. In 1888, Hasselblad became the sole Swedish distributor of Eastman's products. The business was so successful that in 1908, the photographic operations were spun off into their own corporation, Fotografiska AB. Operations included a nationwide network of retail stores and photo labs. Management of the company eventually passed to Karl Erik Hasselblad, Arvid's son (grandson of founder F. W.). Karl Erik wanted his son, Victor Hasselblad, to have a wide understanding of the camera business, and sent him to Dresden, Germany, at the age of 18 (circa 1924), then the world center of the optics industry.
During World War II, the Swedish military captured a fully functioning German aerial surveillance camera from a downed German plane. This was probably a Handkamera HK 12.5 / 7x9, which bore the codename GXN. The Swedish government realised the strategic advantage of developing an aerial camera for their own use, and in the spring of 1940 approached Victor Hasselblad to help create one. In April 1940, Victor Hasselblad established a camera workshop in Gothenburg called Ross AB in a shed at an automobile shop near a junkyard and working in the evenings in cooperation with an auto mechanic from the shop and his brother, began to design the HK7 camera.
In 1948, the camera later known as the 1600F was released. The new design was very complex, and many small improvements were needed to create a reliable product; the watchmaking background of many of the designers produced a design which was sophisticated, but more delicate than what was required for a camera. In 1953, a much-improved camera, the 1000F was released. In 1954, they took the 1000F design and mated it to the groundbreaking new 38 mm Biogon lens designed by Dr. Bertele of Zeiss to produce the SWA (Supreme Wide Angle, later changed to Super Wide Angle).
In 1957, the 1000F was replaced by the 500C. The landmark 500C design formed the basis for Hasselblad's product line for the next forty years, with variants still being produced in small quantities in 2008. It was not until 1960, though, that Hasselblad's cameras became profitable; prior to this point, the company was still being entirely supported by sales of imported photographic supplies, including their distribution of Kodak products. In 1962, NASA began to use Hasselblad cameras on space flights, and to request design modifications. The first motor-driven camera, the 500EL, appeared in 1965 as a result of NASA requests. While Hasselblad had enjoyed a slowly but steadily growing reputation among professional photographers through the 1950s, the publicity created by NASA's use of Hasselblad products dramatically increased name recognition for the brand. Other famous V-System Hasselblad cameras are: 501C, 503 CW, 903 SWC, 905 SWC, 201F.
In 1976, Victor Hasselblad sold Hasselblad AB to a Swedish investment company, Säfveån AB. When he died in 1978, he left much of his fortune to the Hasselblad Foundation. In 1977, the 2000 series of focal plane shutter equipped models were introduced. This was the last major technical development in the course of the classic (now known as "V-System", after Victor) Hasselblad camera. The 2000FC and the 2003FCW cameras belong to the 2000 series.
In 1998, Hasselblad began selling the XPan, a camera designed and made in Japan by Fujifilm. In 2002, they introduced the H-System, retroactively renaming their original camera line the V-System. The H-System marked an essential transition for the company. It dropped the traditional Hasselblad square negative format, instead using 6×4.5 cm film and a new series of lenses. It was intended to be used with digital backs and eventually made as an all-digital camera, and it is largely designed and manufactured by Fuji and sold under their name in Asian markets.
In January 2003 Shriro Group acquired a majority shareholding in Hasselblad. The group had been the distributors for Hasselblad in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia for over 45 years. The following year, in August 2004, Shriro Sweden, the holding company of Victor Hasselblad AB, and Swedish subsidiary of Shriro Group, announced the acquisition of high-end scanner and digital cameraback manufacturer, Imacon. The intent of the move was to accelerate Hasselblad’s ambitions in the professional digital photographic sector.
Hasselblad's traditional V-System cameras are still widely used by professional and serious amateur photographers. One reason is a reputation for long service life and quality of available lenses. Their newer H-System cameras produced in cooperation with Fuji are market leaders, competing with Sinar, Mamiya and others in the medium format digital camera market. The company was established in 1841 in Gothenburg, Sweden, as a trading company, F. W. Hasselblad and Co. The founder's son, Arvid Viktor Hasselblad, was interested in photography and started the photographic division of the company.
In 1877, Arvid Hasselblad commissioned the construction of Hasselblad's long-time headquarters building, in use until 2002. While on honeymoon, Arvid Hasselblad met George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak. In 1888, Hasselblad became the sole Swedish distributor of Eastman's products. The business was so successful that in 1908, the photographic operations were spun off into their own corporation, Fotografiska AB. Operations included a nationwide network of retail stores and photo labs. Management of the company eventually passed to Karl Erik Hasselblad, Arvid's son (grandson of founder F. W.). Karl Erik wanted his son, Victor Hasselblad, to have a wide understanding of the camera business, and sent him to Dresden, Germany, at the age of 18 (circa 1924), then the world center of the optics industry.
During World War II, the Swedish military captured a fully functioning German aerial surveillance camera from a downed German plane. This was probably a Handkamera HK 12.5 / 7x9, which bore the codename GXN. The Swedish government realised the strategic advantage of developing an aerial camera for their own use, and in the spring of 1940 approached Victor Hasselblad to help create one. In April 1940, Victor Hasselblad established a camera workshop in Gothenburg called Ross AB in a shed at an automobile shop near a junkyard and working in the evenings in cooperation with an auto mechanic from the shop and his brother, began to design the HK7 camera.
In 1948, the camera later known as the 1600F was released. The new design was very complex, and many small improvements were needed to create a reliable product; the watchmaking background of many of the designers produced a design which was sophisticated, but more delicate than what was required for a camera. In 1953, a much-improved camera, the 1000F was released. In 1954, they took the 1000F design and mated it to the groundbreaking new 38 mm Biogon lens designed by Dr. Bertele of Zeiss to produce the SWA (Supreme Wide Angle, later changed to Super Wide Angle).
In 1957, the 1000F was replaced by the 500C. The landmark 500C design formed the basis for Hasselblad's product line for the next forty years, with variants still being produced in small quantities in 2008. It was not until 1960, though, that Hasselblad's cameras became profitable; prior to this point, the company was still being entirely supported by sales of imported photographic supplies, including their distribution of Kodak products. In 1962, NASA began to use Hasselblad cameras on space flights, and to request design modifications. The first motor-driven camera, the 500EL, appeared in 1965 as a result of NASA requests. While Hasselblad had enjoyed a slowly but steadily growing reputation among professional photographers through the 1950s, the publicity created by NASA's use of Hasselblad products dramatically increased name recognition for the brand. Other famous V-System Hasselblad cameras are: 501C, 503 CW, 903 SWC, 905 SWC, 201F.
In 1976, Victor Hasselblad sold Hasselblad AB to a Swedish investment company, Säfveån AB. When he died in 1978, he left much of his fortune to the Hasselblad Foundation. In 1977, the 2000 series of focal plane shutter equipped models were introduced. This was the last major technical development in the course of the classic (now known as "V-System", after Victor) Hasselblad camera. The 2000FC and the 2003FCW cameras belong to the 2000 series.
In 1998, Hasselblad began selling the XPan, a camera designed and made in Japan by Fujifilm. In 2002, they introduced the H-System, retroactively renaming their original camera line the V-System. The H-System marked an essential transition for the company. It dropped the traditional Hasselblad square negative format, instead using 6×4.5 cm film and a new series of lenses. It was intended to be used with digital backs and eventually made as an all-digital camera, and it is largely designed and manufactured by Fuji and sold under their name in Asian markets.
In January 2003 Shriro Group acquired a majority shareholding in Hasselblad. The group had been the distributors for Hasselblad in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia for over 45 years. The following year, in August 2004, Shriro Sweden, the holding company of Victor Hasselblad AB, and Swedish subsidiary of Shriro Group, announced the acquisition of high-end scanner and digital cameraback manufacturer, Imacon. The intent of the move was to accelerate Hasselblad’s ambitions in the professional digital photographic sector.
Victor Hasselblad AB
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