LEICA S with HC300mm

Review of HASSELBLAD HC300mm (orange dot) with Leica S typ007

When used with the LEICA S, it becomes a medium telephoto lens with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 240mm, but this lens and the Tele Apotessar 350mm of the CONTAX 645 are the only autofocus compatible long-focus lenses that can be used with the LEICA S mount, so they are valuable. However, this lens and the Tele Apotessar 350mm of the Contax 645 are the only autofocus compatible long focal length lenses that can be used with the LEICA S mount.
The disadvantage of using this lens with the LEICA S is that it is not compatible with the H Converter X1.7, which is a pity, because if it were compatible, the 35mm equivalent would be 400mm, which is a reasonable telephoto lens.
The Tele Apotessar can use the Mutar x1.4 teleconverter, which gives it a focal length of about 400mm.

The AF operation with the HC300 and LEICA S typ007 is very slow, and even with seagulls and dragonflies, it is not instantaneous, but rather a gradual process that is quite difficult.
However, since the LEICA S itself is not capable of continuous shooting, it is like a one-shot game.
Even at f/4.5, the focus is thin at 300mm, and when the eyes of even a duck the size of a duck are in focus, the area around them blurs gently. It is also no doubt severely susceptible to camera shake.
Still, it weighs about 1 kg less than the Tele Apotessar, so it can be carried hand-held.
The samples were taken only in the horizontal position, but since I do not have a vertical grip, I have no desire to use the lens in the vertical position.
This lens is better to use with X2D because of its AF speed and X2D’s image stabilization and teleconverter (image stabilization does not work when using teleconverter in X2D firmware 2.0), so it is unlikely that you will use this lens with LEICA S.

lens + adapter

HC300mm lens configuration diagram (taken from the official Hasselblad page)

Tele-apoTessar lens configuration (taken from the official Carl Zeiss page)