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This week, Hasselblad announced the X2D II, its latest medium format camera. While its "end-to-end" HDR capabilities are perhaps the most eye-catching feature, there are other upgrades that make it a more versitile camera than its predecessor.

In this week's roundtable discussion, editors Abby Ferguson, Dale Baskin and Mitchell Clark sat down to discuss the camera and what it means for the industry. Of course, there are some bits about the moon in there, too (we couldn't resist).

If you're looking for more info on the X2D II, check out our first look video, presented in HDR, or read our initial review.

These cards may physically look the same, but they'e all very different.

At first, choosing an SD card to go in your camera may seem like an easy task. After all, they all look more or less the same, so picking one should be as simple as going to the store, finding the highest-capacity one that fits in your budget, and putting it in your camera, right?

Unfortunately, that's not quite the case. While that strategy will probably work for most modern cameras, there are some considerations you'll want to take into account if you're using older cameras or if you're shooting video or bursts of photos.

The need for speed SD card labels have a lot of information, but not all of it is relevant.

Looking at the label of a typical SD card can be an assault on the senses. They're often covered with numbers and letters, and while the meaning of some (such as the size) may be obvious, others are less so.

Many cards advertise a write and/or read speed, usually denoted in MBps. You can pretty much ignore this; often the card only shows the read speed, which isn't particularly important for cameras, as you'll mainly be writing to it, and even when it does include a write speed, it's almost always showing the best-case scenario rating, which won't be particularly applicable to real-world shooting.

You can ignore the listed read/write speeds

If that number isn't useful, what should you look at instead? It depends on your use case. If you just plan on taking single photos and maybe a few short video clips, most modern SD cards will work just fine; you don't need to pay extra for a super-fast model, which will often come with labels like V60 or V90.

If you have a high-resolution camera, plan on doing a lot of burst shooting with both Raws and JPEGs, or shooting long 4K60p clips or even 8K video, you'll want to spend the extra money to get one of the high-end cards. If you get a card with a low speed rating like V30 or even no V-rating at all, it could hinder your camera's performance.

What about the other ratings? UHS-I cards (top) have fewer pins than UHS-II ones (bottom).

The SD standard has had several speed ratings over the years, enough that it could be its own separate article. If you're using an older camera, it may be worth checking if it recommends a certian C or U-rating, but nowadays the most important spec will be the card's UHS rating. Most cards you're likely to run into are UHS-I or UHS-II. It's easy to tell the difference between the two, as UHS-II cards have a second row of pins on the back.

If you have an older or lower-end camera, it'll likely have a UHS-I slot, and you won't get any benefit from a UHS-II card. It'll likely still work with your camera, but it'll only be able to run at the slower UHS-I speeds. Likewise, UHS-I cards will work in cameras with UHS-II slots, but as we noted in the speed section, they may bottleneck your camera's performance if your usage is particularly demanding.

Can an SD card have too much storage? Some cameras won't be able to accept larger cards.

While high-capacity SD cards are always getting less expensive, there are situations where you may need to avoid getting the one with the most storage. For example, if you're using an older camera, it may not work with larger cards.

If you look closely at your card, you may notice that it has a few letters after "SD," such as "SDHC" or "SDXC." These actually denote different generations of cards, and while most newer cameras will be able to use any of them, older cameras may not be compatible with newer generations of cards.

Some cameras have a printed or engraved indicator that shows which version of SD they support; if not, that information should be available in the manual, or online. If your camera says "SDHC," for example, you'll probably only be able to use it with cards that are 32GB or smaller. Cameras that just support "SD," meanwhile, are limited to cards that are just 2GB or less, which can be difficult to find new.

SD eXtended Capacity, or SDXC, was introduced in 2009 and supports cards up to 2TB, so this will mainly be a concern for cameras released around that year or before, though some lower-end cameras from the 2010s may also lack SDXC support.

microSD vs SD

While it's not particularly common, a few cameras use microSD cards instead of full-size ones. The name makes the difference obvious: microSD cards are SD cards, but much smaller. The speed ratings and classes will all be the same, so the advice for buying a microSD card is much the same as it is for full-size ones; figure out how big and fast a card you need, and go from there.

If your computer only has a full-size SD card reader or you want to be able to use your card in a variety of cameras, fear not: microSD to SD adapters are widely available, and may even be included when you buy a microSD card. This only goes one way, though; you can't gracefully fit a full-size SD card into a microSD slot.

What is SD Express?

It's not particularly likely, but you may come across cards labeled as "SD Express." If you do, we don't recommend buying it, as there are currently no cameras on the market that support the standard. While SD Express cards are backwards compatible with standard SD slots, they'll only run at UHS-I speeds, so you'll be paying for a high-speed card without any benefit at all.

Wait, this isn't SD at all! Higher-end cameras may have a CFexpress slot alongside an SD one... or even two CFexpress slots!

While SD cards have been the industry standard for years, if you buy a vintage point-and-shoot, you may wind up with something that doesn't take them. Unfortunately, there may not be much you can do about that, as finding obsolete cards such as xD or the original Memory Stick is increasingly difficult. In some cases, you may be able to find an adapter that will let you use SD or microSD cards in other slots, and some older formats like Compact Flash are still around, but generally it's best to stick to cameras with SD card slots.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are high-end modern cameras, which may use standards like CFexpress Type B. While most people won't have ended up with one of these cameras by accident, if you see a port that's far too big for an standard SD card, that may be what it's meant for.

When in doubt...

If you bought a new camera and are unsure what card to use with it, check the manual. Most come with recommendations for specific SD cards that the manufacturer knows will let you get the most out of your camera. Cards not on the list will almost certainly work with it, but if you want to be sure you're not getting something that will slow your camera down, it's a good place to start.

Image: Rollei

Rollei Analog may have something new coming for analog shooters, according to its first Instagram post in four years. The company shared "We are back" on its account this week, with hints that something is coming.

The Instagram account rollei_analog hadn't posted since October 14, 2021. This week, though, it shared a post with a Zebra and text saying "We are back" and "be prepared and stay tuned!" The caption of the post said it has "big plans, new projects and analog inspiration." It isn't clear if it's simply an announcement that the Instagram account will be active again, or if there will be new products coming.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rollei Analog Official (@rollei_analog)

Hans O. Mahn GmbH & Co. KG manages the Rollei Analog brand, which specializes in film, photo chemicals and photographic papers. It last shared news on its website in 2020, so even that platform has been quiet for a while. You can still buy Rollei-branded film; however, it's not produced in-house by Rollei and is repackaged from other major manufacturers.

Over the past year, we've also seen the Rollei name pop up on other products, including a mirrorless lens and the Rollei 35AF film camera. However, those products are the result of licensing deals, with other companies obtaining the rights to use the Rollei branding on their products. The lens looked as though it was likely a re-branded 7Artisans offering. The revival of the iconic Rollei 35 in an autofocus format was a project by Mint Camera, which licensed the Rollei name from Rollei GmbH & Co. KG.

Rollei Analog's cryptic post leaves a lot to the imagination, and the comments are peppered with requests. We'll just have to wait and see what it means by "big plans," though.

One of the most critical parts of photography is getting the right exposure. Unfortunately, mastering that process isn't always straightforward. Tricky lighting conditions like backlighting or high-contrast scenes can complicate things, whether you're using automatic or manual exposure settings. The key is to master metering modes, settings that tell your camera how to measure light in a scene.

Metering modes can be confusing, though, especially since each brand uses slightly different names. In this article, we'll break down the most common modes and provide examples of when you should use each.

What are metering modes?

Before exploring the different settings, it's important to know what metering modes are. Digital cameras are able to measure light within a scene. The camera uses that information to suggest how bright or dark your photo should be, helping you get an accurate exposure.

We'll have more on how to use that light meter later, but for now, what's key to understand is that you can adjust how your light meter reads the scene, allowing you to tell the camera what's most important in terms of exposure. For example, you may want it to evaluate the entire scene for a balanced exposure, or the center of the frame could be what matters most.

Changing the metering mode will affect how your camera determines a proper exposure. This is vital in automatic or priority modes, but it's also helpful if you're using manual mode. After all, if the meter reads the wrong part of the scene, you may end up with an image that is far too dark (underexposed) or bright (overexposed).

Evaluative metering This scene doesn't have any particularly challenging light, so evaluative metering mode handles the metering nicely.
Photo: Abby Ferguson

Evaluative metering is the default setting for most cameras. Canon and Sigma call this mode Evaluative, and it's labeled as Matrix on Nikon, Multi on Sony and Fujifilm and Digital ESP on OM System.

While each brand might have its own nuance, it's typically more than just a basic average of the entire scene on modern cameras. Broadly speaking, this mode divides the scene into zones and assesses the brightness of every zone. The camera may also factor in color and the location of the focus point. That information is all processed using an algorithm that suggests a balanced exposure for the entire setting.

Evaluative metering is the default because it works well in most situations. It is useful for landscapes, portraits, wildlife and many other everyday scenarios.

Center-weighted metering My subject was right in the middle of the frame, making center-weighted metering a useful choice.
Photo: Abby Ferguson

Center-weighted metering (also called Center-weighted Avg. on Canon and Center on Sony), as the name suggests, prioritizes the center of the frame. It doesn't completely disregard the edges of the frame, but the camera will make sure the center is correctly exposed, even if that means the edges will be a little too dark or bright.

Center-weighted metering is useful for any situation where you know the subject will be centered. Portraiture is a great example, as it typically involves the subject in the center of the frame.

Spot metering High contrast scenes, like a black dog on a snowy field, can benefit from spot metering.
Photo: Abby Ferguson

Spot metering is the most precise metering option. This mode calculates exposure based on a small area of your selected focus point. Each system is different in the size of the area it references, with most using just 1-5% of the frame. In addition to Spot metering, Canon also offers what it calls 'Partial' metering, which is similar but uses a larger section that covers 6-10% of the frame.

This mode is ideal when your subject is on a very dark or bright background. Situations like backlit portraits, a dark subject against a snowy backdrop or the moon in the night sky are good candidates for Spot metering.

Highlight-weighted Backlighting is a great example of when you might want a highlight-weighted metering mode, if you have it available. In this case, the highlights were more important to me than the rest of the scene.
Photo: Abby Ferguson

Highlight-weighted metering is less common, but is available on some Nikon models. Sony also offers a similar mode called Highlight. As the name suggests, it prioritizes highlights in the image to ensure bright areas aren't overexposed. It uses the same information as evaluative metering, but instead of balancing the exposure, it calculates what's necessary to retain highlight detail.

Highlight metering mode is useful in bright or high contrast situations where you want to pay particular attention to highlights. In such situations, you may be willing to underexpose the image to retain highlight detail with the intention of lightening the shadows when editing. Capturing a sunset, photographing in the snow or documenting someone on a stage with spotlights are good examples of when you may want to use this setting.

Final thoughts on metering modes

Metering modes aren't something you need to change for every image. Most situations will call for one mode the entire time, and the default mode is a safe option that works for a wide range of scenarios. However, if you notice that your images are consistently darker or lighter than they should be (or than you want), it's worth assessing whether the lighting conditions may call for a different metering mode than what you have set, and adjusting accordingly.