Category Archives: News

Red Bull Illume: What’s In the Bag?

07.07.16

Red Bull Illume just posted a blog post about “What’s in my [camera] Bag.” I have done a few of these in the last year, notably one on ShotKit.com, and now this one on Red Bull Illume. This equipment overview also discusses some of my most challenging assignments, my recent medium format purchase and also...

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Red Bull 2016 Summer Solstice Photo Challenge

06.29.16

Last week I was out in San Francisco, California working with Red Bull for their 2016 Summer Solstice Photo Challenge. For this event ten photographers were paired up with ten top Red Bull athletes and each photographer and athlete team were tasked with creating a variety of images on the day of the summer solstice. I...

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Rock On: Professional Photographer Magazine Profile

06.02.16

Last month Professional Photographer Magazine, which is the magazine of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), featured a profile of my work in the May 2016 issue. The profile, titled “Rock On,” discusses a wide variety of topics including several close calls, a few specific pieces of gear I use, my Newsletter, how I market my...

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Spring 2016 Newsletter

05.19.16

The Spring 2016 issue of the Michael Clark Photography Newsletter is now available for download. If you’d like to sign up for the Newsletter just drop me an email and I’ll add you to the mailing list. This issue includes an editorial about working with a new Hasselblad medium format digital camera system, a review of the Hasselblad H5D 50c...

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Adventure Journal Interview: The Athlete’s Photographer

04.26.16

Adventure Journal did an interview with me last week for their venerable website, http://adventure-journal.com. It went live last Friday, and it featured some interesting questions – quite different than the normal ones I get. It also had one of the best intros I have ever read for one of my interviews. The author, Brook Sutton, prefaced the...

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Communication Arts 2016 Photo Annual

04.14.16

I am honored to announce that the image above has been chosen for inclusion in the 2016 Communication Arts Photography Annual, which will be published in the July/August 2016 issue of Communication Arts (CA). The CA Photography Annual is one of the most exclusive photography competitions anywhere. The Communication Arts Photography Annual competition has been held...

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Equipment Review: The Hasselblad H5D 50c WiFi

03.25.16

Last December, after doing some extensive testing of various medium format digital cameras, I decided to purchase the Hasselblad H5D 50c WiFi camera and three lenses. As you might suspect, this wasn’t a snap decision. It was over a year in the making. I started thinking about medium format cameras early in 2015 when I...

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SeanMarch 25, 2016 - 4:26 pm
Rad. Stoked to see you made the switch. MF is still king. Great lens choices and it’s nice to see that the Skyport works without issue.

Looking forward to seeing what you produce with this setup.
Ming TheinMarch 25, 2016 - 6:54 pm
Welcome to the club 🙂
Michael ClarkMarch 25, 2016 - 7:09 pm
Thanks! I enjoyed reading your blog posts about your experiences with the Hasselblad. Congrats on becoming a Hasselblad Ambassador!
Michael ClarkMarch 25, 2016 - 7:10 pm
Thanks! I enjoyed reading your blog posts about your experiences with the Hasselblad. Congrats on becoming a Hasselblad Ambassador!
Domenico RotaMarch 29, 2016 - 3:17 am
I agree, using this camera since it’s introducition without a problem or issues, before with first 50c I found a bug and Hasselblad send me a new camera in exchange!
It’s heavy, cumbersome and slow, but if IQ is important for You there’s Nothing best in the 50Mpixel reign.
The Hasselblad H5D 50C WiFi vs. The Phase One XF IQ350 » Michael Clark PhotographyMarch 31, 2016 - 1:45 pm
[…] camera systems before making any decisions. You can see my review of the H5D 50c WiFi right here on the blog. I realize there are a very small number of people out there that shoot with either of […]
PHOTOGRAPHER MagazineHasselblad VS Phase One - PHOTOGRAPHER MagazineApril 4, 2016 - 12:18 pm
[…] camera systems before making any decisions. You can see my review of the H5D 50c WiFi right here on the blog. I realize there are a very small number of people out there that shoot with either of […]
Digital Photo Pro article: Stepping up to Medium Format » Michael Clark PhotographyJuly 11, 2016 - 9:20 am
[…] medium format capture. I still use my Nikon DSLRs for the majority of my work but I have added the Hasselblad H5D 50c WiFi kit along with four lenses for those situations that don’t require wicked fast autofocus or […]
GeeJuly 12, 2016 - 11:23 pm
I found your article very helpful as I am hoping to move to medium format within the year. I know this article is old by the time I’ve come across it..but I see something rather disturbing in the images posted. The b&w that you said is sharp corner to corner and the shot with the trees that are covered with snow. There are tiny hair line dashes in the images.
I really want to see the sharpness corner to corner as you said and i noticed the reptilian in the lines. I don’t see it as much in the tree shot. Perhaps it’s because of all the white..but I found the same lines.
Maybe it’s a compression thing? Reducing a large file for web use. I’ve been looking at a lot of medium format photography online and those lines in these images stood out to me.
Your article was great, I appreciate the insight. If you can let me know what those lines are…if you don’t see them…I can certainly point them out for you if you’d like.

G.
GeeJuly 12, 2016 - 11:38 pm
*i apologize for the auto correct…ugh

*i noticed a “repetition” of horizontal lines …NOT reptilian in the lines

Please let me know..if in fact it’s a downsizing or a bit conversion that may have added those horizontal artifacts to the images. I believe I’ve noticed vertical ones as well.

Thank you in advance.
G
Michael ClarkJuly 13, 2016 - 1:53 pm
I don’t see any dashes in those images. That must have something to do with the way the images are being presented on your monitor. Hard to say not knowing what you are looking at. And these are massively lower resolution than the full res images files so it isn’t easy to tell anything online. Take it from me they are crazy sharp.
DPReview Field Test: The Nikon D5 » Michael Clark PhotographySeptember 12, 2016 - 11:40 am
[…] you can check it out on their website. Will I upgrade? That is the question. I still have another camera purchase to pay off before I buy any new cameras but at some point I will definitely be adding a new action […]
The Broketographers - BryanMarch 25, 2017 - 3:19 am
Great write-up, and ultimately what helped me make my choice as well. I just took delivery of a CPO H6D after trying out an older 645DF and IQ160 back, and even considered an H4X/H5X with the IQ160 back. Cheers!
Yoyo BuffaloJune 28, 2017 - 1:02 pm
The 100 2.2 becomes an 79mm 1.8, not 1.0
mathew MccarthyApril 19, 2020 - 11:47 am
I know this is a 4 year old post but do you still feel the same today as the day your published this article re: the H5D-50C? I’m just at the point in my photography where I can purchase a used H5d-50C (without wifi so i can put the extra $ to a lens). i did purchase a used one from hasselblad for $8000 w 4ooo clicks; and a new 80mm. any tips/tricks to using the system?
Michael ClarkApril 19, 2020 - 12:57 pm
Hasselblad makes some amazing cameras. The H5D is still a phenomenal camera in terms of image quality. It is quite slow though, which is the only downside. In the last year I have sold off my entire Hasselblad H5D 50c WiFi kit and almost all of the lenses and purchased the FUJIFILM GFX 100, which has better images quality and is a much faster, more versatile camera system for my needs. With that said, if you are a portrait or studio photographer the Hasselblad offerings are still excellent.
Simon MillerJuly 3, 2020 - 7:59 am
Just jumped in on a low miles version – I was a GFX user previously – far too complicated and just couldn’t get on with an oversized DSLR – this is magnifique – cheaper now than they used to be too – I read this post twenty eleven times before deciding
NickSeptember 20, 2023 - 9:13 am
Hi Michael, a blast from the past with this post. You wrote, “One Lens in particular, the Hasselblad HC 100mm f/2.2 medium telephoto lens (as shown above), caught my eye and had me drooling. On the H5D 50C WiFi this lens is the equivalent of an 80mm f/1.0 or so in 35mm DSLR terms.” How did you arrive at 80mm f/1.0? Wouldn’t the equivalent be 75mm f/2.8? as the H5D-50c sensor has a .75 factor compared to 35mm?
Michael ClarkSeptember 20, 2023 - 9:51 am
Nick – To get the focal length and aperture basically multiply everything by 0.78 as that is the conversion factor between this sensor and 35mm. Hence that would make the 100mm f/2.2 an 80mm f/1.7 or somewhere in there. I did get the math wrong on the aperture. In use, the images look like a wider aperture than f/1.7 because to get the same framing you stand in a different place so the bokeh seems shallower. Note that I no longer use this system and have moved onto the FUJIFILM GFX system with the 110mm f/2 and 80mm f/1.7 lenses among others.