Welcome to **"Shutter Speed Shenanigans,"** the podcast where we zoom in, focus up, and sometimes completely miss the mark—just like Hasselblad did in the digital age! Today, we’re unraveling the epic tale of how this legendary Swedish camera maker, known for capturing the moon landing, found themselves stumbling through the cosmic chaos of digital disruption. Spoiler alert: It's a bit like watching someone swap their beloved vintage film camera for an iPhone... but in slow motion and with more Swedish accents.

Let’s rewind to the 1980s. Hasselblad is the king of high-end cameras, basking in the glow of their moon-shot fame. They’ve got professional photographers hooked on their slick, medium-format film cameras, and life is good. But, as with any good story, trouble is lurking in the shadows. Enter the digital age. It’s creeping up on everyone like an overexposed negative, and while other companies are starting to dabble with newfangled digital tech, Hasselblad’s execs are confidently sipping their coffee, saying, “Film is forever!”

Then Sony drops the **Mavica**, a fully digital camera that stores photos on... floppy disks? Yes, floppy disks—the same ones we used to save homework on! Hasselblad’s CEO, Jerry Öster, heads over to Japan, takes a look at this new contraption, and with a raised eyebrow says, “Nah, this is not a threat to film.” Well, in retrospect, that’s like telling Netflix not to worry about streaming. But hey, hindsight is 20/20.

By the 1990s, it’s clear that digital cameras are more than just a novelty. Hasselblad finally starts thinking, “Hmm, maybe we should look into this whole ‘digital’ thing?” They launch a little side project called **Digiscan**—think of it as Hasselblad’s attempt to dip a toe into the digital waters without jumping all in. They manage to make a digital scanner that sends photos from the 1984 Olympics back to Sweden in real time, which was revolutionary at the time. Expressen, a Swedish newspaper, loves it, but Hasselblad still isn’t sure about going full digital. I mean, they’re still holding onto film like it’s a life raft in a pixelated sea!

But soon, the cracks begin to show. Enter the 90s, and the digital revolution is in full swing. Competitors like Nikon, Canon, and even Kodak are going all-in on digital. Meanwhile, over at Hasselblad, they’ve got **Big Berta**—a digital camera prototype so large and unwieldy, it looks more like a piece of furniture than a camera. It’s basically the size of a small appliance and requires a tripod and enough wiring to run a small office. The board sees it and thinks, “Uh, this thing is a monstrosity.” And with that, the digital development at Hasselblad takes a hit. They nickname the camera "Big Berta," and it quickly becomes the laughingstock of the boardroom. Imagine being so ahead of your time that you’re, well, too far ahead for your own good!

Fast forward to the mid-90s. Hasselblad has started to realize that digital isn’t just a passing fad—it’s the future. But at this point, they’re playing catch-up in a race that everyone else has already started running. To their credit, they try. They create a digital division, roll out a few new products, and even collaborate with Philips to develop a top-notch image sensor. But here’s the kicker—while Hasselblad is slowly inching toward digital, the rest of the camera world is already lapping them with cheaper, more practical digital cameras that photographers actually want to use. Oops.

And let’s not forget **Mickey Mouse**—the digital back that Hasselblad engineers created after Big Berta’s downfall. With circuits sticking out of both sides, it looked so ridiculous that even its creators couldn’t help but give it a nickname. They attach it to a traditional Hasselblad camera, snap a few photos of the board members, and display the images on a computer screen. The board? Not amused. Turns out, executives don’t like being the subject of an impromptu photo shoot, especially when it involves a cartoonish contraption like Mickey Mouse.

By 1997, the writing is on the wall. Hasselblad pulls the plug on its internal digital camera development. The board decides that customers just aren’t asking for digital cameras yet. Spoiler alert: the customers were *definitely* asking for digital cameras. Hasselblad basically pulls a Kodak—thinking they have more time to adjust, when in reality, they’re running out of it fast.

But wait, the drama isn’t over yet! In 1998, Hasselblad begins development on what they hope will be their saving grace: the **H1**, a hybrid camera that can use both film and digital backs. Sounds like the best of both worlds, right? Wrong. By the time it finally launches in 2002, the camera is neither fully digital nor fully film, and it ends up frustrating photographers who don’t want to shell out extra cash for the digital back. Photographers are switching to the cheaper, more advanced digital cameras from Canon and Nikon, and Hasselblad’s once-mighty hold on the high-end market is slipping faster than a lens cap in a windstorm.

By the early 2000s, Hasselblad is in full-on survival mode. They’ve laid off most of their workforce, their analog sales are in freefall, and they’re teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. But, just when it seems like the end is near, they pull off one last Hail Mary: a merger with **Imacon**, a Danish manufacturer of digital backs. Together, they launch a fully digital system that finally puts Hasselblad back in the game—albeit as a super high-end brand catering to the elite. It’s not the moon landing, but hey, at least they survived... sort of.

So, what’s the moral of the story? In the world of cameras, whether you’re shooting film or digital, one thing is clear: if you don’t adapt, you’ll get left behind—no matter how legendary your brand is. Stay focused, stay flexible, and for goodness’ sake, don’t let your cameras end up as historical artifacts before their time.

That’s all for today on **"Shutter Speed Shenanigans!"** Keep snapping, stay sharp, and remember: the future may be digital, but nostalgia will always be in analog.