The Hasselblad family business is founded in Göteborg.
A modular camera built to travel farther
Hasselblad made the square frame a world of its own
The Hasselblad name began in a family trading company in Göteborg, but the camera story became Victor Hasselblad’s. His ambition was a camera that could be carried into the field, adapted to the task and trusted with a large negative. The modular 6×6 system answered with interchangeable lenses, film magazines and finders.
Its cameras became associated with studio portraiture, fashion and space exploration. That reputation came from a practical design: the image magazine could be swapped, the viewfinder changed, and leaf shutters in the lenses offered flash sync at every shutter speed.
1941The HK7 reconnaissance camera is developed for the Swedish Air Force.
1948The 1600F brings Hasselblad’s postwar camera system to market.
1957The 500C begins the long-lived V-system lineage.
1962Hasselblad cameras enter space with astronaut Walter Schirra.
1941–1957 · A camera made for the field
From reconnaissance work to a modular 6×6 system
During the Second World War, Hasselblad developed aerial cameras for the Swedish military. Victor Hasselblad then pursued a civilian camera with a high-quality square negative. The 1600F, introduced in 1948, established the company’s postwar system-camera ambitions; its focal-plane shutter was technically daring but needed refinement.
The 500C of 1957 shifted the shutter into each lens. That decision made interchangeable lenses and magazines practical while allowing flash synchronization across the shutter-speed range. Hasselblad’s square format was not just a graphic choice: it gave portrait, fashion and editorial photographers room to compose in several directions without rotating the camera.
“I am the camera.”Victor Hasselblad, a line associated with his philosophy of photographic design; see Hasselblad Foundation history.
1962 onward · From the studio to orbit
A modular instrument becomes an icon of human exploration
Astronaut and keen photographer Walter “Wally” Schirra owned a Hasselblad 500C and proposed taking it on his Mercury mission. NASA adapted cameras for space, changing controls and finishes for the environment. A camera that had been built for flexibility on Earth was redesigned for a place where a dropped screw could float away forever.
The 500 series endured through refinements such as the 500C/M and 503 models. Hasselblad later moved into digital backs and integrated digital systems, but retained the idea that a camera could be a carefully balanced assembly of body, lens, viewfinder and image carrier. In 2019 the company introduced the X1D II mirrorless medium-format camera, a new form of the same high-resolution ambition.
A longer view · people, choices and turning points
A Swedish camera with a view of the whole world
Hasselblad’s camera story begins with a family trading company, but Victor Hasselblad’s own interest in photography gave it a more personal direction. He wanted a camera that could be adapted to the work: choose a lens, finder, film magazine and body configuration rather than accept one fixed package. The 1600F brought that modular idea to post-war medium format; the 500C refined it into a system that studio photographers could trust. The square frame became the famous visual signature, yet working photographers valued the practical freedom just as much. A portrait session, a catalogue shoot and a landscape assignment could all be served by changing part of the kit rather than replacing the camera.
The NASA association sounds like a marketing legend, but it began as a working relationship. Astronaut Wally Schirra owned a Hasselblad and recommended it; NASA later used modified cameras because the format, image quality and modular design suited demanding space work. Film magazines and controls were adapted to the mission, and the cameras that came back from the Moon made the Swedish name familiar around the world. The company did not become a mass-market giant; it served a small audience willing to pay for a specialized instrument. That focus was its strength and its vulnerability. Precision medium-format production is expensive, and each generational shift requires careful investment.
Hasselblad’s later ownership changes reflect that challenge. The company joined the Shriro group, merged with digital-back specialist Imacon, and later brought DJI in as an investor. The digital future made the modular idea relevant again: the X1D placed medium format in a compact mirrorless body, while CFV digital backs let some classic V-system users carry an old camera forward. Hasselblad’s success has depended on preserving a recognizable experience while changing the technology hidden behind it. For many photographers, that continuity matters more than being first or cheapest. Its cameras have always asked for a slower, more deliberate way of working—and made that pace feel like a choice, not a limitation.
Milestones in Hasselblad history
Aerial camera development begins for Swedish military needs.
Victor Hasselblad introduces a modular medium-format system. The idea of changing backs, finders and lenses gives professionals a camera that can adapt to the assignment.
The 500C puts leaf shutters in the lenses, making flash practical across shutter speeds and turning the system into a dependable studio tool.
A modified Hasselblad travels to space with Wally Schirra.
The medium-format system moves into compact mirrorless form.
Wally Schirra carries a Hasselblad into orbit. NASA’s later modified cameras bring the company’s name before a worldwide audience through space photography.
A mirrorless medium-format system makes Hasselblad’s large-sensor tradition more portable.
Hasselblad enters a new chapter under DJI while continuing specialist medium-format development.