Introduction
The Hasselblad XCD 25mm f/2.5 V is a wide-angle, wide aperture lens for Hasselblad’s newest medium format cameras. In full-frame terms, this lens has an equivalent focal length of about 20mm. It’s a useful focal length for things like landscape and architectural photography, but considering the wide aperture of f/2.5, Milky Way photography looks to be one of its biggest strengths.
Hasselblad has been revamping their lenses recently, with this 25mm f/2.5 being the fourth lens in their “XCD V” line. It joins the 38mm f/2.5 V, 55mm f/2.5 V, and 90mm f/2.5 V. They’re not cheap lenses – the wider three each cost $3700, while the 90mm f/2.5 V costs $4300. But they also comprise Hasselblad’s most advanced line of optics yet. All four lenses sport an upgraded leaf shutter that’s small and lightweight, while capable of shooting at 1/4000 second with flash sync. They’re also Hasselblad’s fastest-focusing lenses and have optics designed specifically for 100-megapixel medium format sensors.
In this hands-on review, I’ll take you through the capabilities of the Hasselblad 25mm f/2.5 V and whether it lives up to the lofty promises of the XCD V line. I tested an early sample of this lens both in the lab and in the field, including measuring its coma performance for Milky Way photography at various apertures. The results are encouraging, but is it worth adding this lens to your bag? Read on to find out!
Build Quality
The Hasselblad XCD 25 f/2.5 V features an all-metal lens barrel, including the focusing and control rings. It feels very reassuring to hold, and the engraved text is a nice touch both for legibility and longevity. Everything about it feels high-end. (Although it does get quite cold if you’re using it in sub-freezing temperatures.)
I like that this lens isn’t particularly large or heavy. It weighs 592 grams (1.31 pounds) and measures 105 mm (4.1 inches) long. That’s a little less portable than the other XCD V lenses so far, but it’s still pretty reasonable for a wide-angle, wide-aperture medium format lens.
I used the Hasselblad XCD 25mm f/2.5 V in windy, sandy, and rainy conditions. I didn’t encounter any issues with it at all. Although Hasselblad does not specify the degree of this lens’s weather resistance, there is a rubber seal at the lens mount for preventing the ingress of dust and water. Nothing about the lens gave me pause when using it in harsh conditions.
Handling
This lens handles like a charm. There are two rings – one for focusing, one customizable – as well as a switch to click/de-click aperture. That may be a little surprising because Hasselblad cameras don’t have video capabilities, but it’s probably just future-proofing.
I find it interesting how Hasselblad implemented the manual focus control on this lens. If you want to switch quickly to manual focus, you just slide the focusing ring forward. This also reveals a focus distance scale, which you can use in tandem with the depth of field markings to estimate which aperture you should use. These rings are more about rough focusing distance rather than precision accuracy, though. For example, I found that true infinity focus, where stars at night were maximally sharp, occurred when the focusing ring was slightly before the infinity marker.
A major feature of the XCD 25mm f/2.5 V is the leaf shutter. Hasselblad has redesigned and improved the leaf shutter on their XCD V lenses, allowing a 1/4000 shutter speed (rather than 1/2000 on previous generation XCD lenses) and taking up less space in the lens. This makes the lens smaller and lighter, while also increasing its capabilities for flash photography in bright conditions. However, I did find that the leaf shutter on this lens was a bit on the loud side – clearly louder than the leaf shutter of the Hasselblad XCD 38mm f/2.5 V that I was also testing, for example, and even louder than that of the Hasselblad XCD 90mm f/2.5 V.
Speaking of the 38mm f/2.5 V and 90mm f/2.5 V, I appreciated the fact that these lenses have the same 72mm filter thread size as the 25mm f/2.5 V. It also matches the threads of the 55mm f/2.5 V – in other words, so far, Hasselblad has standardized all their XCD V lenses to a 72mm thread. This makes it easier to share filters and lens caps across the lenses, which can be useful when working quickly in the field. (Granted, most of the non-V XCD lenses have different thread diameters.)
All told, I have no serious complaints where handling is concerned. The Hasselblad XCD 25mm f/2.5 V is quick and smooth to use in the field, with all the handling-related features that I could ask for.
Alternatives
This is Hasselblad’s widest f/2.5 lens, not to mention the widest lens yet made in the XCD V series. In that sense, it doesn’t have any obvious competitors – if you’re planning to do Milky Way photography with a Hasselblad camera, this is definitely the most obvious choice.
However, there are other wide-angle prime lenses available if that’s what interests you. The XCD 28mm f/4 P is probably the most interesting choice considering how small and lightweight it is (plus, it’s the only non-XCD V lens to also have the upgraded leaf shutter capable of 1/4000 second shutter speeds). It’s also significantly less expensive at $1680.
If you want something even wider, maybe the Hasselblad XCD 21mm f/4 is more your style. It has a full-frame equivalent focal length of 17mm and is currently the widest lens available from Hasselblad – though it’s expensive at $3750 and very hard to find.
Among Hasselblad’s H System lenses, only the 24mm f/4.8 and 28mm f/4 are similarly wide. If you’re using the 0.8x XH converter, you may also consider the HC 35mm f/3.5, which becomes a 28mm f/2.8 due to the focal length reduction of the adapter. All three of these lenses can be updated to the newest firmware to allow for autofocus on Hasselblad’s X-mount cameras using the XH adapters.
Hasselblad 25mm f/2.5 V Specifications
- Full Name: Hasselblad XCD 25mm f/2.5 V (Hasselblad also calls it the XCD 2.5/25V)
- Mount Type: Hasselblad X
- Focal Length: 25mm prime (20mm full-frame equivalent)
- Angle of View: 95°30′
- Maximum Aperture: f/2.5
- Minimum Aperture: f/32
- Aperture Blades: 8
- Filter Size: 72mm
- Lens Elements: 13
- Lens Groups: 10
- Special Elements: 4 aspherical, 3 ED glass
- Anti-Flare Coatings: Yes
- Internal Focusing: Yes
- Control Rings: Focus and custom
- Control Buttons: No
- Control Switches: Click/de-click aperture
- Focus Motor: Linear stepping motor
- Minimum Focus Distance: 25 cm (9.8 inches)
- Maximum Magnification: 0.17× (1:5.8)
- Mount Material: Metal
- Weather/Dust Sealing: Yes
- Dimensions (Length × Diameter): 105 × 75 mm (4.1 × 3.0 inches)
- Weight: 592 g (1.31 pounds)
- MSRP: $3700 (check current price)
The next page of this review covers the optical characteristics of the Hasselblad XCD 25mm f/2.5 V, including image quality tests in the lab. So, click the menu below to go to “Optical Performance”:
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