Medium format sounds like a spec sheet flex until you live with it for a few weeks and notice how it changes the way you shoot. The Hasselblad 907X & CFV 100C sits right in that gap between “I can get the shot on anything” and “this tool makes me work differently.”
Coming to you from Chrystopher Rhodes, this candid video frames the Hasselblad 907X & CFV 100C as a photo-only system that earns its keep through the shooting experience, not a checklist of video features. Rhodes breaks down the two-part design: the 907X body paired with a 100-megapixel digital back, built so the back can also mount to vintage Hasselblad bodies. That matters if you like older glass, older handling, or just the slower rhythm of a classic body without giving up a modern sensor. Rhodes is clear that the “why” of this camera is not convenience, it is intent, and the moment you accept that, the rest of the video lands differently. The camera’s waist-level approach is the pivot point, since it changes where your attention goes while you compose.
The most useful part is how Rhodes describes the physical act of shooting and why it nudges you into better decisions. Instead of defaulting to eye-level and firing, you’re looking down at a large tilting screen, working the frame edge-to-edge, and pressing a front-mounted shutter button. That sounds like a small ergonomic quirk, but it shifts posture, pace, and even how people react to you in public, since you are not hiding behind a viewfinder. Rhodes also points out the surprise: “100 megapixels” and “medium format” make you expect a big brick, yet the setup is more compact than your mental picture of medium format. If you tend to leave larger cameras at home because they feel like a commitment, that point should get your attention.
Then Rhodes gets into image character, and this is where the video raises questions worth testing on your own. He talks about the familiar Hasselblad reputation: color that feels natural, files that look crisp without looking brittle, and results that often feel good before you touch them. He also notes something many modern systems try to hide, like vignetting, and explains why seeing more of the lens’s behavior can be a positive instead of a defect. The 100-megapixel files also change how you think about distance, because heavy cropping becomes a realistic option when you misjudge how close you can get. If you shoot portraits or travel and you sometimes regret not bringing a longer lens, that cropping headroom can cover mistakes, but it can also tempt lazy framing if you let it.
Rhodes does not pretend it is perfect, and the complaints are practical rather than dramatic. Self-portraits and solo work get awkward because interval shooting does not refocus for each frame, and the mobile app can trigger the shutter but lacks a self-timer, which can leave a phone in your hand and ruin the point of the shot. He also wants deeper customization, even with the camera’s minimal button layout, since small control options add up when you shoot often. The video also touches the brand’s “luxury” positioning with a car analogy, including the blunt reminder that you do not need a $10,000 body to make a strong image, but you might pay for how the camera feels in your hands. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Rhodes.