The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 is a seriously hot camera, but its understated black-box body won't win a pizzazz contest. The Hasselblad Stellar is the same camera as the Sony RX100, gussied up with fancy accoutrements such as a zebra-wood grip, a matte gold-colored body, handsome black packaging, and a wide leather wrist strap.
It’s the point-and-shoot equivalent of the Pentax LX Special Gold Edition. It’s a Sony RX100 in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers helmet, moseying through a wild-west theme park. It's a really attractive camera. Want.
Based on current exchange rates, the Stellar costs $1,958.63 (1,480 Euro). That's three times the RX100’s already-beefy $650 sticker. Hasselblad has played this game before, giving the excellent Sony Alpha NEX-7 mirrorless camera a high-end makeover, renaming it the Lunar, adding one of those fancy leather cases, and selling it for more than five times the price. So, by Hasselblad's playbook, this camera is a deal.
The big addition to the Stellar is its handgrip. Not sure you really need one, but it looks excellent. The stock version of the RX100 doesn’t have a grip, but it’s small enough to hold comfortably with one hand without it. If you must: Handgrip options include carbon fiber, mahogany, walnut, padauk wood, and olive wood.
Beyond the aesthetic differences (and the leather bits), there are no differences between the Stellar and the RX100. That’s good, because the RX100 is arguably the best compact camera available right now. It has an F1.8 aperture at the widest end of its 3.6X zoom (28mm to 100mm), it has full manual controls, it shoots RAW still photos and 1080p video at 60fps, and it fits in your pocket.
You know what else fits in your pocket? Two grand. Oh well, at least looking at the camera is free.
All images courtesy Hasselblad
