Hasselblad XCD 75mm f/3.4 P Review: Portable, Pleasing Portraits

Dec 07, 2024

Chris Niccolls

Hasselblad is a name that screams premium optics at a premium price. However, Hasselblad recently developed a line of more compact and somewhat more affordable lenses categorized under the “P” for portable moniker.

At $2,300, I wouldn’t call the new 75mm lens a bargain or anything but it does save you some money compared to the faster Hasselblad lenses. I got the latest 75mm f/3.4 P series lens from Hasselblad to test out on the streets of Calgary.

The Hasselblad 75mm f/3.4 is gorgeous as all XCD lenses tend to be.

Hasselblad XCD 75mm f/3.4 P Review: How it Feels

The new 75mm lens is coincidentally 75mm in physical length and does represent its portable namesake well with a very compact body design and a minimalist 14-ounce (398 gram) weight. The front of the lens is cut for 72mm filters and comes with a classic Hasselblad metal hood. There are no controls on the lens save for a manual focusing ring and it does not have the manual focus clutch that we would get on the higher end lenses. The manual focusing is by wire but at least the action is smooth and with practice even precise focusing is possible.

There isn’t much to find when it comes to controls. A manual focus ring is the only feature.

A black and white photo of a city street corner with a "Paris Baguette" storefront. The street is wet, reflecting light, and there's a puddle in the foreground. Two people walk near the store. — The 59mm full-frame FOV is ideal for street photos and I prefer it to a normal 50mm look.

Even though the P series lenses are slower because they sport lower prices, they are still built to the same construction standards that all XCD lenses are and therefore feel fantastic to use with a fully weather-sealed design to protect them. There is honestly not much else to say about the handling on a lens that is made with such a minimalistic design.

Close-up of a camera lens with an aperture marking of 3.4/75 on the rim. The lens is dark with a reflective surface showing a hint of color. The background is softly blurred. — The main downside to the 75mm is the relatively slow aperture. This keeps the cost down but you may want more light.

A person with long brown hair and a beard wearing a black beanie and a denim jacket. They are standing against a gray background, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression. — As a head and shoulders portrait lens, the 75mm is fine although I would probably stand back farther and crop a little bit instead.

Hasselblad XCD 75mm f/3.4 P Review: How it Shoots

The 75mm focal length gives us a roughly 60mm full-frame equivalent which does make for a nice street photo lens. Hasselblad wants to market this as a portrait lens too which is an opinion I don’t really agree with. However, it is fine for head and shoulder portraits, maybe with a little cropping, and ideal as more of a full-body portrait lens too.

A person with long brown hair and a beard wearing a black beanie, red and black plaid shirt, and a denim vest stands in front of a gray background, looking directly at the camera. — The roughly 60mm focal length here is great for environmental shots or full body portraits on the street.

A man with gray hair and a beard is holding a camera up to his eye, taking a photo. He is standing outdoors in front of a building, wearing a dark jacket, with a focused expression. — The main advantage to the P series lenses are the lighter weight and convenience of a smaller optic.

The f/3.4 aperture is one of the main reasons why this lens is more compact and more affordable. It gives the equivalent of an f/2.8 lens on a full-frame camera so it doesn’t exactly qualify as a lens with a particularly shallow depth of field, but you can get some soft backgrounds. The bokeh was okay with some very minor onion rings in the highlights which gives an almost messy look to the highlights as opposed to clear concentric rings inside. There is a fairly strong soap-bubble effect as well. This makes backgrounds look a little harsh but it was a mild effect and overall I found the look generally pleasing.

A menu titled "Mad Mules the Unicorn on 7," with drink specials like Moscow and Kentucky, priced at 2oz for $10.00. The background is blurred, featuring round, warm lights. — You can see the strong cat’s eye effect and somewhat busy looking specular highlights.

Two men sit across from each other at a wooden table in a cozy pub. The walls are adorned with beer signs, and a TV displays a sports game. Stockings hang along the wall under festive decorations, creating a warm, inviting atmosphere. — Focus is quick when the X2D does its job right. The field of view is very natural looking.

There is a dramatic cat’s eye effect when shooting at f/2.8 which I happen to like very much. The lens also is free of LoCA (longitudinal chromatic aberration) and very well corrected against flare and ghosting. There is a fair amount of vignetting, though, at f/3.4, which makes sense considering that the lens is designed to be as small as possible.

A man in a gray blazer crosses a city street at a crosswalk. Cars are lined up on the road, and a building with storefronts sits in the background. The sun shines brightly, creating a flare effect. Snow is piled along the sidewalk. — Flare is well controlled with no ghosting issues. Sunstars are pretty lacklustre.

A building with a minimalist architectural design features a vertical sign that reads "TIVOLI." The structure is bathed in warm sunlight against a clear blue sky, highlighting its geometric shapes and modern style. — The old Tivoli theatre. This was the location for my first job ever back when it was a coffee shop.

Sharpness is excellent throughout the image with this latest Hasselblad lens. The center of the image is full of detail at f/3.4 and doesn’t really need to get any better as you stop the lens down. The corners do show a touch of softness wide open but sharpen up really nicely, really quickly, as the lens is stopped down. This 75mm lens will please any photographer with its overall sharpness and easily manages the 100-megapixel resolution on the latest Hasselblad bodies.

A bare tree branches out against a clear blue sky, framing a modern building with yellow and white geometric sections. The sun casts shadows, highlighting the contrast between the natural and architectural elements. — The 75mm lens is super-sharp and the corners are decent at f/3.4.

A test image comparing two sections labeled f/3.4 and f/6.8. Each section has a detailed optical pattern, currency notes, and color swatches from cyan to magenta. — The Hasselblad 75mm does a great job on the test chart with lots of detail retained.

I would consider this optic to essentially be a “normal” lens, and these don’t usually have any sort of macro capability. The 75mm f/3.4 P continues this expectation as the minimum focusing distance is 0.55-meters from the sensor plane and only gives a reproduction ratio of 1:5.8. A macro lens this is not. The focusing speed was decent, though, and as mentioned earlier, the manual focusing was precise enough close up.

A person taking a photo through a glass window with a camera on a tripod. The reflection shows part of a street scene outside, with buildings and a hint of a snowy landscape. Text on the glass is partially visible. — Jordan reflected in the soft winter light of a late afternoon.

A woman in a pink coat and sunglasses walks down a city street, talking on her phone. She carries a tote bag and is passing by a graffiti-covered utility box. Snow is piled along the curb, and houses are visible in the background. — I liked the light on the street here and was about to take a photo when this woman walked through. The light is beautiful on her.

Hasselblad XCD 75mm f/3.4 P Review: Portable But Pleasing

I enjoyed my time with this little lens and the image quality is excellent as always. Small concessions have to be made comes to bokeh and vignetting in order to reach this lower price but the lens is still fun to use and very capable. Basically, you have to mostly just be okay with the somewhat lessened light gathering potential of this lens.

Black and white portrait of a man with a mustache, looking thoughtfully out of a window, with light falling on his face from the side. The expression is contemplative and the background is blurred. — The look of the focus falling off into the distance is pleasant but the backgrounds can look a little harsh.

A man in a gray jacket walks a small dog on a leash past a red ladder leaning against a building with a bright yellow doorway. Another person in black workout clothes stands near the entrance. — It’s bad luck to stand under a ladder so I decided to do a talking point under it instead.

The closest competition in the Hasselblad lineup is the 65mm f/2.8 XCD lens which does have a slight aperture advantage. However, I think I prefer the slightly longer focal length and smaller size of the 75mm lens. The true star in this range is the 80mm f/1.9 which will deliver much shallower depth-of-field and is incredible optically, but the size and price go way up. You could also go the 90mm f/3.2 route which is more suited to dedicated portraiture and will still give softer backgrounds but will also involve a $1000 premium.

Two construction workers in safety gear stand on a ladder against an orange tarp-covered fence. One worker holds the ladder while the other works above. A puddle on the ground reflects their image and the bright orange covering. — A puddle shot for all the fans. There is a nice flow to shooting with this lens as you walk about. It would be a great travel lens too.

A lot of potential buyers will like this lens instead of the alternatives. That’s only if you don’t already have it covered.

The 75mm P has to be appreciated as an alternative to the 65mm lens most of all and will win users over with its image quality and portability. As a handy walk-around lens which can also work for the occasional portrait, Hasselblad have made a good product. It’s still a pricey lens but I think most people will appreciate the results that this lens delivers and the slightly longer focal length compared to the 65mm lens, the lower price being an added bonus. If I already owned the 35-70mm f/3.4-4.5 zoom though, I would probably choose something with a faster aperture to really differentiate what photos I could capture.

A person poses playfully in front of a billboard displaying black-and-white portraits of various people. Snow is visible on the ground, and the billboard has "ULTRAWHITE" written at the top. — This is how Jordan stands while relaxed.

A small courtyard with a wooden fence and a bare tree in the foreground, casting long shadows on the snow-covered ground. Brick buildings and balconies are visible in the background, partially lit by the sun. — Warm light and shadow play are always fun to look for. Winter light is some of my favorite but the temperature is freezing.

Are There Alternatives?

The Hasselblad 75mm f/3.4 P comes in at $2,300 which compares favorably to the 65mm f/2.8 at $2,750. You could go to the high-end 80mm f/1.9 at $4,845 for the shallowest depth of field possible. Hasselblad’s 90mm f/2.5 V is also an option but, frankly, covers a different range altogether.

Should You Buy It?

Yes. If I was looking for a normal lens for an X2D and have nothing at the moment, the 75mm f/3.4 P would make a lot of sense. It saves your wallet a bit of cash and has the optical performance to boot.