Hasselblad, a company known mostly for making professional medium-format film and digital cameras, announced its plans to release a small mirrorless camera meant to bring the coveted Hasselblad name to a broader market. The project is dubbed "Lunar," possibly because it costs as much as a moon rock.
Though Hasselblad has only released illustrations of the Lunar, it is scheduled for release in the first part of 2013 for around 5000 Euros, or over $6500 USD. Yes, that is a shit ton of money.
What can Hasselblad possibly offer for such an extravagant price? The specs look to be mostly standard fare for a high-end mirrorless, with a 24.3 MP APS-C sensor, full HD video recording, and a 3" display. What really jumps out as a wallet-busting attribute is the set of materials the Lunar rocks. Hasselblad claims it is using carbon fiber, titanium, wood, leather, and—wait for it—GOLD. Yeah, GOLD.
Clearly Hasselblad has a different idea from most concerning what accessibility is in terms of price. While Leica seems to have cornered the market for people looking to spend $7000 on a small-ish camera with their M series full-frame rangefinders, Hasselblad is going to have a lot of work to do convincing people that there is a reason to invest in a Lunar beyond sheer rich-guy appeal.
Check out the full press release with specs here.
UPDATE: Various sources on the ground at Photokina 2012 have confirmed that the Lunar is pretty much a $1200 Sony NEX-7 on the inside, including the same sensor and lens mount compatible with E and A lenses. It looks like Hasselblad just hurled some disgusting opulence on the outside and is charging a fortune. Check out photos of the camera at PetaPixel and PopPhoto.