rebranded

Hasselblad Says the Lusso is Its Last Rebranded Sony Camera

Hasselblad is a legendary brand name in the photo industry, but over the past few years the company has taken a hit in the eyes of some photographers by choosing to sell luxury, rebranded versions of Sony cameras. Starting with the Lunar back in 2012, Hasselblad made a habit of taking a popular Sony camera, redesigning the body with luxury materials, and then selling the "new camera" for multiples of the original price.

But things are going to be different moving forward: Hasselblad is saying that it will no longer be spitting out rebadged Sony cameras in the future.

Hasselblad Launches the Hasselblad HV, a Tougher Sony A99

Hasselblad today announced the next camera in its line of Sony re-makes: The Hasselblad HV. Unlike the Lunar and the Stellar before it, this one has neither an astronomical name nor a particular focus on rare materials, although the differences between the HV and the full-frame Sony A99 it's based on are still minimal with the exception of price.

Sketches Suggest Hasselblad May Also “Luxurify” Sony’s RX100 and DSLRs

It seems that everyone has something to say about Hasselblad's new line of Lunar mirrorless cameras, with "ugly" being one of the common adjectives used. The fact is, Hasselblad is trying to pull a Leica by taking the Sony NEX-7, rebranding it, "upgrading" it with a new look and rare materials, and slapping a $6,500 price tag on the resulting camera. The Lunar's Photokina booth, brochure, and website feature concept sketches that show how the camera's design came about.

What's interesting is that not all the sketches show a modified NEX-7. Some of them appear to show a compact camera, and others a DSLR.

Hasselblad Lunar is a Rebranded Sony NEX-7 with $5,000 of Luxury

Hasselblad mixed things up today by announcing a new "ultra luxury" APS-C mirroress camera. Sounds like Earth-shattering news, right? Take a little closer, and you'll notice that it's not as monumental as it sounds. Basically, the company has taken a page from Leica's book by playing the rebranding game. Just as Leica -Lux compact cameras are essentially rebranded Panasonic Lumix bodies, the new Hasselblad Lunar is a dressed-up version of the Sony NEX-7.