Hasselblad's 200-megapixel camera

The new top-end model from medium-format camera maker Hasselblad is now on the market, and it's not cheap: the 200-megapixel H4D-200MS will set you back 32,000 euros, or about $45,000.

The camera actually uses a sensor with a mere 50 megapixels, but with Hasselblad's multishot technology combines six shots into one. That means moving subjects such as fashion models need not apply. But a lot of this very high-end photography involves static subjects such as jewelry, watches, cars, and paintings for reproduction.

Hasselblad announced the H4D-200MS last September at the Photokina show. At the time, the company said it hoped to release the camera in the first quarter.

The multishot technique isn't as crude as taking a bunch of shots and stitching them together. Instead, it works with a piezoelectric motor that moves the camera's image sensor a tiny amount before taking each photo.

The six-shot extended multishot mode augments an earlier option, the four-shot multishot mode. The multihsot modes offset each frame by a half or a full pixel width, an approach that compensates for the fact that each sensor pixel captures only red, green, or blue light. The four-shot mode takes about 20 seconds for a full photo; the six-shot mode takes about 30 seconds. Yes, you need a tripod. 

Expensive luxury products are a core market for medium-format photography. Jonathan Beer took this shot with an H4D-200MS in its highest-resolution configuration.

Credit: Hasselblad/Jonathan Beer