Camera connoisseurs of the world have cause to celebrate. High-end Swedish brand Hasselblad, the Rolls-Royce of the photographic world, has joined forces with Imacon, one of the leading producers of digital camera backs. The union has produced the Hasselblad H1/Ixpress, released earlier this summer, a medium-format digital camera bound to have photographic professionals and serious amateurs slavering. The H1/Express has a range of hi-tech features, but the most impressive is the much-heralded auto-focus function. With an 80mm lens, it takes just 400 milliseconds to focus from close range to infinity and the film can advance at approximately two frames a second (perhaps it's more Ferrari than Rolls-Royce). The company promises vibration-free exposures, even at the longest shutter speeds and when using the multi-shot feature. User profiles can be customised and stored for different shooting conditions, which are then available at the touch of a button. When working in a studio all settings can be controlled from your computer (Macintosh or Windows). The list of superlatives goes on, but before budding amateurs get too excited, we should reveal the price: $198,000. The H1/Ixpress is available only through Shriro (HK), tel: 2912 1182. Start saving.