HTS 1.5 Draws Kudos on Both Sides of the Pond

Since the Hasselblad HTS 1.5 tilt-and-shift lens adapter began shipping to distributors earlier this year, the innovative accessory has met with glowing praise from photographers and the trade press worldwide.

Recent reviews in the New York-based Photo District News and in the British Journal of Photography, both lengthy, detailed reads, are among the latest to throw laurels on the adapter.

"Bending the Rules," the May 20 test drive compiled by BJP, concludes: "With the addition of the HTS 1.5 adapter, the H3DII is now arguably the most competent medium-format system available, being pretty well able to cover everything in or out of the studio. . . .On present evidence, those who invest in this system will enjoy a degree of freedom not available anywhere else in a single medium-format system. And with Hasselblad's recent dramatic price reductions, the top of the line looks surprisingly affordable."

The June 2 PDN review, "HTS 1.5: Hasselblad's inventive tilt shift lens adapter proves that what's old can be made new again," wraps up the review as follows: "You've got to hand it to Hasselblad for coming up with the HTS 1.5 tilt shift lens adapter, one of the most unexpectedly great accessories to hit the medium-format market in some time. While most of the headlines for medium-format cameras concern the whopping size of the imaging sensors and the pre-Recession pricing of the digital backs, Hasselblad's created a very simple, but beneficial, tool to give you more perspective control on your images."

For the H3DII-50 and all previous H-camera models, the following software upgrades must be installed before using the HTS 1.5 adapter:

• Phocus 1.1.3 for Mac and Phocus 1.0.2 for Windows
• H-camera firmware: 081222.hbf
• Capture unit firmware: R326.CIM (H3DII-50) or R248 (all other models)

The HTS 1.5 is kicking - take a look at this video:

Text by Alice B. Miller

Source: Hasselblad