DJI Acquires Minority Stake in Hasselblad

2015: The year a Chinese drone company bought a percentage of one of the most illustrious medium-format photography brands in history—Hasselblad.

We probably should have seen it coming ever since Hasselblad started running out of ideas. Once we saw the fifth reiteration of their rebranded Sony cameras weighed down once more with lacquered oak, it was pretty obvious Hasselblad were in dire need of cash.

DJI, flying higher and higher.

Partnering up with DJI does make sense in some roundabout way; the company’s very first camera back in 1941 was an aerial camera for the Swedish government. They also even recently released a new digital medium format line of aerial cameras in the A5D line. Imagine one of those 80-MP bad boys on an Inspire 1.

Note that this won’t affect either company’s existing products. DJI will keep making their drones and gimbals in Shenzhen, China, while Hasselblad will keep the production of their gear in Sweden.

DJI CEO Frank Wang:

“Hasselblad and DJI share a passion to provide creative people with cutting-edge, inventive technology to help them take visual storytelling to the next level. With this partnership, we combine our strengths to further push the borders of what’s possible in imaging technology.”

Hasselblad CEO Perry Oosting:

“We are honored to be partnering with DJI, the clear technology and market leader in its segment. DJI and Hasselblad are equally enthusiastic about creativity and excellence, and we are looking forward to sharing technical expertise and paving the way for future innovations.”