Company history Hasselblad

1 company history

1.1 world war ii
1.2 post-war
1.3 hasselblad camera comes own
1.4 1970s onward
1.5 fuji, shriro, imacon, , digital age

company history

the company established in 1841 in gothenburg, sweden, fritz wiktor hasselblad, trading company, f. w. hasselblad , co. founder s son, arvid viktor hasselblad, interested in photography , started photographic division of company. hasselblad s corporate website quotes him saying don’t think earn money on this, @ least allow take pictures free.

in 1877, arvid hasselblad commissioned 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 sole swedish distributor of eastman s products. business successful in 1908, photographic operations spun off own corporation, fotografiska ab. operations included nationwide network of shops , photo labs. management of company passed karl erik hasselblad, arvid s son (grandson of founder f. w.). karl erik wanted son, victor hasselblad, have wide understanding of camera business, , sent him dresden, germany, world center of optics industry, @ age 18 (c. 1924).

victor spent next several years studying , working in various photography related endeavors in europe , us, including rochester, new york george eastman, before returning work @ family business. due disputes within family, particularly father, victor left business , in 1937 started own photo store , lab in gothenburg, victor foto.

world war ii

during world war ii, swedish military captured functioning german aerial surveillance camera downed german plane. handkamera hk 12.5 / 7x9, bore codename gxn.

the swedish government realised strategic advantage of developing aerial camera own use, , in spring of 1940 approached victor hasselblad create one. in april 1940, victor hasselblad established camera workshop in gothenburg called ross ab in shed @ automobile shop, working in evenings in cooperation mechanic shop , brother, began designing hk7 camera.

by late 1941, operation had on 20 employees , swedish air force asked camera, 1 have larger negative , permanently mounted aircraft. model ska4. between 1941 , 1945, hasselblad delivered 342 cameras swedish military.

in 1942, karl erik hasselblad died , victor took control of family business. during war, in addition military cameras, hasselblad produced watch , clock parts, on 95,000 war s end.

post-war

after war, watch , clock production continued, , other machine work carried out, including producing slide projector , supplying parts saab automobiles.

victor hasselblad s real ambition make high-quality civilian cameras. in 1945–1946, first design drawings , wooden models made camera called rossex. internal design competition held elements of camera; 1 of winners sixten sason, designer of original saab bodywork.

in 1948, camera later known 1600 f released. new design complex, , many small improvements needed create reliable product; watchmaking background of many of designers produced design sophisticated, more delicate required camera. around 50 units produced in 1949, , perhaps 220 in 1950, of collectors have designated series 1 camera. series 2 versions of 1600 f, perhaps many 3300 made 1950 1953, more reliable still subject frequent repairs, many units having been cannibalized or modified factory. biggest problem shutter, focal-plane shutter hard keep accurate. using 120 size film. formatted square 6 cm x 6 cm or 2 & ¼ 2 & ¼ inches. meant no more need turn camera on side.

in 1954, mated groundbreaking new 38mm biogon lens designed dr. bertele of zeiss shallow non-reflex body produce swa (supreme wide angle, later changed super wide angle). though specialty product not intended sell in large numbers, swa impressive achievement, , derivatives sold decades. hasselblad took 2 products 1954 photokina trade show in germany, , word began spread.

in 1953, much-improved camera, 1000 f released. it, too, had focal-plane shutter led final replacement 500 c nonetheless provided big leg in medium format. had fine 200mm f4 sonnar sport lens made great wildlife camera. lenses ranged 60mm distagon, standard 80mm planar , on 200 mm.

in december 1954, 1000 f camera received rave review influential american photography magazine, modern photography. put on 500 rolls of film through test unit, , intentionally dropped twice, , continued function. 1000 f had shutter problems , gave way lens-mounted, tried-and-true compur shutter, retaining focal-plane shutter/curtain mask film until compur shutter closed, opened expose film. far more dependable system. though meant shutter in each lens.

the hasselblad camera comes own

the real turning point company occurred in 1957. 1000 f replaced 500 c. landmark 500 c design formed basis hasselblad s product line next sixty years, variants being produced until 2013. not until 1960, though, hasselblad s cameras became profitable; prior point, company still being entirely supported sales of imported photographic supplies, including distribution of kodak products.

in 1962, nasa began use hasselblad cameras on space flights, , request design modifications. first motor-driven camera, 500 el, appeared in 1965 result of nasa requests. while hasselblad had enjoyed steadily growing reputation among professional photographers through 1950s, publicity created nasa s use of hasselblad products dramatically increased name recognition brand.

in 1966, increasing success of camera division, hasselblad exited photographic supply , retailing industry, selling hasselblad fotografiska ab kodak.

1970s onward

in 1976, victor hasselblad sold hasselblad ab swedish investment company, säfveån ab. when died in 1978, left of fortune hasselblad foundation.

in 1977, 2000 series of focal plane shutter equipped models introduced. 2000-series cameras had been intended provide full exposure automation. 2000 fc rushed , introduced without automated features, partly because of rethink way automation should accomplished (electronic vs. electro-mechanical). last new camera produced during victor hasselblad s lifetime.

in 1984, victor hasselblad ab went public, 42.5% of company being sold on swedish stock exchange. next year, swedish corporation incentive ab bought 58.1% of hasselblad, , in 1991, acquired remainder of shares, taking vhab being private corporation.

in 1985 hasselblad established subsidiary, hasselblad electronic imaging ab, focus on digital imaging , transmission systems.

in 1991, 200 series of automated focal plane shutter equipped models introduced. last major technical development in course of classic (now known v-system , after victor) hasselblad camera.

in 1996, hasselblad sold, new owners being ubs, cinven, , hasselblad management.

fuji, shriro, imacon, , digital age

in 1998, hasselblad began selling xpan, camera designed , made in japan fujifilm.

in 2002, introduced h-system, retroactively renaming original camera line v-system. h-system marked essential transition company. dropped traditional hasselblad square negative format, instead using 6×4.5 cm film , new series of lenses. owners had no confidence in hasselblad s advanced digital project returning profit, and, seeing relative success in market of modern (i.e. automated) 645 cameras made manufacturers pentax , mamiya, closed down hasselblad s digital department , directed effort towards making 645 film camera. h-system largely designed , manufactured hasselblad, fuji s involvement being limited finalizing hasselblad s lens designs , producing glass lenses , viewfinders. fuji allowed under agreement sell h1 under name in japan only.

in january 2003, shriro group acquired majority shareholding in hasselblad. group had been distributors hasselblad in japan, hong kong, china, taiwan roc, singapore, , malaysia on 45 years.

the following year, in august 2004, shriro sweden, holding company of victor hasselblad ab, , swedish subsidiary of shriro group, announced acquisition of high-end scanner , digital cameraback manufacturer, imacon. intent of move correct mistake previous owners made when thought there no money made selling digital products , put stop hasselblad s own advanced digital project, , renew hasselblad s ambitions in professional digital photographic sector.

the move perceived part of industry-wide move respond trend away film digital. christian poulsen, chief executive of hasselblad after merger, said, realized there no future. impossible keep hasselblad alive without digital .

this has secured market position, of previous medium format camera competition going through sale (mamiya), closure (contax, bronica, exakta 66, kiev), or reduced market presence (rollei, pentax (which sold, hoya)), , other medium format digital makers being faced accordingly restricted markets. despite hasselblad has struggled turn profit relative market share leader phase 1

on 30 june 2011, private equity firm ventizz announced had acquired 100% stake in hasselblad.

in late 2015, aerial photography , drone manufacturer dji acquired minority interest in hasselblad. in january 2017, reports, citing reliable sources, indicated dji had since acquired majority interest. these reports have not been verified either company date have not been denied.