Editing Hasselblad (section)

=== Fuji, Shriro, Imacon, and the digital age ===
In 1998, Hasselblad began selling the XPan, a camera designed and made in Japan by [[Fujifilm]].

In 2002, they introduced the H-System, retroactively renaming their original camera line the V-System. The H-System marked an essential transition for the company. It dropped the traditional Hasselblad square negative format, instead using {{Nowrap|6 × 4.5}}&nbsp;cm film and a new series of lenses. The then owners had no confidence in Hasselblad's already advanced digital project returning a profit, and, seeing the relative success in the market of the modern (i.e. fully automated) 645 cameras made by manufacturers like Pentax and Mamiya, closed down Hasselblad's digital department and directed all effort towards making this 645 film camera. The H-System is largely designed and manufactured by Hasselblad, with Fuji's involvement being limited to finalizing Hasselblad's lens designs and producing the glass for the lenses and viewfinders. Fuji was allowed under the agreement to sell the H1 under their name in Japan only.

In January 2003, the [[Shriro Group]] acquired a majority shareholding in Hasselblad. The group had been the distributors for Hasselblad in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia for over 45 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shriro.com/hasselblad.html |title=Hasselblad |access-date=2007-10-12 |publisher=Shriro Group |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031091846/http://www.shriro.com/hasselblad.html |archive-date=2007-10-31 }}</ref>

The following year, in August 2004, Shriro Sweden, the holding company of Victor Hasselblad AB, and Swedish subsidiary of Shriro Group, announced the acquisition of high-end scanner and digital cameraback manufacturer, Imacon (established in 1995 to launch the Flextight scanners). The intent of the move was to correct the mistake the previous owners made when they thought there was no money to be made selling digital products and put a stop to Hasselblad's own advanced digital project, and to renew Hasselblad's ambitions in the professional digital photographic sector.<ref name='DPR 2004'>{{cite news | title=Hasselblad and Imacon merge | date=2004-08-17 | publisher=Digital Photography Review | url =http://www.dpreview.com/news/0408/04081701hasselbladimacon.asp | work =Digital Photography Review | access-date = 2007-10-09 }}</ref>

The move was perceived as part of an industry-wide move to respond to the trend away from film to digital. Christian Poulsen, chief executive of Hasselblad after the merger (previously founder and CEO of Imacon), said, "They finally realized there was no future. It was impossible to keep Hasselblad alive without digital".<ref name='IHT 2005'>{{cite news | first=Andreas | last=Tzortzis | title=Facing a digital world: Famous makers from yesteryear run to catch up | date=2005-05-30 | publisher=International Herald Tribune | url =http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/29/business/photo30.php | work =International Herald Tribune | access-date = 2007-10-07 }}</ref>

This has secured their market position, with nearly all of their previous medium format camera competition going through sale ([[Mamiya]]), closure ([[Contax]], [[Bronica]], [[Exakta]] 66, [[Kiev (brand)|Kiev]]), or greatly reduced market presence ([[Rollei]], [[Pentax]]—which was also sold to [[Hoya Corporation|Hoya]]), and other medium format digital back makers being faced with accordingly restricted markets. Despite this Hasselblad has struggled to turn a profit relative to the market share leader [[Phase One (company)|Phase One]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.proff.se/foretag/victor-hasselblad-ab/g%C3%B6teborg/fotoutrustningar/13095623-1/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107145553/http://www.proff.se/foretag/victor-hasselblad-ab/g%C3%B6teborg/fotoutrustningar/13095623-1/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 November 2013|title=Victor Hasselblad AB – GÖTEBORG – Se Nyckeltal, Befattningar med mera|date=7 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.proff.dk/firma/phase-one-as/frederiksberg/fremstillingsvirksomhed/13477705-2/|title=Phase One A/S – Frederiksberg – Se Regnskaber, Roller og mere<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=2014-05-15|archive-date=2017-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320143702/https://www.proff.dk/firma/phase-one-as/frederiksberg/fremstillingsvirksomhed/13477705-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 30 June 2011, German private equity firm Ventizz announced it had acquired a 100% stake in Hasselblad.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/07/05/hasselblad-bought-by-capital-fund-could-the-hasselblad-4-kidz-kamera-be-coming-soon/ |title=Hasselblad Bought By Capital Fund, Could The Hasselblad 4 Kidz Kamera Be Coming Soon? |last=Biggs |first=John |date=2011-07-05 |publisher=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref>

In late 2015, Chinese aerial photography and drone manufacturer [[DJI]] acquired a minority interest in Hasselblad. In early January 2017 DJI acquired the majority stake.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/6/14188914/dji-acquires-hasselblad-majority-stake |title=DJI reportedly acquires majority stake in historic camera company Hasselblad |first=James |last=Vincent |date=January 6, 2017 |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media|access-date=January 9, 2017 |quote=The news was first reported by photography site The Luminous Landscape, with TechCrunch confirming the story based on testimonies from "multiple industry insiders."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foi.se/rest-api/report/FOI%20Memo%206903 |title=Kinesiska bolagsförvärv i Sverige: en kartläggning |last1=Hellström |first1=Jerker |last2=Almén |first2=Oscar |last3=Englund |first3=Johan |date=2019-11-27 |agency=[[Swedish Defence Research Agency]] |pages=10–11 |language=sv |trans-title=Chinese company acquisitions in Sweden: a survey |format=PDF |access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref> In August 2018, DJI announced Mavic 2 PRO, the first drone to carry a camera featuring the Hasselblad branding.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DJI Introduces Mavic 2 Pro And Mavic 2 Zoom: A New Era For Camera Drones |url=https://www.dji.com/newsroom/news/dji-introduces-mavic-2-pro-and-mavic-2-zoom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203141448/https://www.dji.com/newsroom/news/dji-introduces-mavic-2-pro-and-mavic-2-zoom |archive-date=2023-12-03 |website=DJI}}</ref>