I love Photokina week. Our friends at Hasselblad have announced the follow-on to the proven (and IMHO wonderful) H4D series with the H5D. Don't get too excited because it won't be available until December 2012 at the earliest but it looks freaking beautiful. The new camera looks at this point as more evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Setting aside the new lens and macro converter, the camera will have more focus performance and an upgrade to the existing True Focus function. The ergonomics are improved with a new display style and larger buttons. Weather sealing is improved. You'll be able to get JPEGs right out of the camera and will have the option of compressed RAW files for increased shooting performance.

I confess I don't have a use case for these last two features as I don't shoot sports with my H4D, and actually prefer the current uncompressed RAW to the compressed RAW that some other vendors push out. Fast processors are a given and always nice to have. Physically the camera looks more compact with a lower profile to the viewfinder. More information will come as we get closer to the release date.

The camera will be available with a variety of back configurations in 40MP, 50MP, 60MP as well as multi-shot versions of 50MP and 200MP.

Specifications courtesy Hasselblad USA

New HCD 4.8/24mm lens New Macro Converter More accurate focusing with True Focus II New Immediate Focus Confirm New print ready Jpeg files New compressed multi-shot RAW files for faster and smoother workflow New Camera Configurator Larger and more ergonomic buttons Larger, easier to read display style Updated Graphics User Interface More programmable buttons New and improved weather sealing New and faster processors implementing Hasselblad Image Processing Architecture