Conclusion

If the new Hasselblad XCD 45mm f/3.5 lens is anything to go by, Hasselblad X1D owners are going to be delighted by the XCD lens range. The Hasselblad XCD 45mm f/3.5 is a fairly fast and tack-sharp lens that exhibits low chromatic aberrations and very little barrel distortion. Vignetting at wide-open apertures is the only real optical issue of note - stopping down to f/8 solves the problem altogether.

Build quality is excellent, with the metal lens mount and sober all-black design adding to the high-quality feel, and Hasselblad have also included a very good metal lens hood and soft cloth bag. Manual focusing is a pleasure, with manual focus over-ride at any time a great feature, although auto-focusing on the X1D proved to be both slow and rather noisy.

As the lens that the majority of new X1D owners will purchase, Hasselblad had to ensure that the XCD 45mm f/3.5 was a high-quality optic, and they've certainly succeeded in that aim. It's simply a must-have buy for early X1D adopters.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	5
Image quality	5
Value for money	4.5