Hasselblad X2D II: Three Firmware Quirks Worth Knowing About

The X2D II is an excellent camera, but a few interface behaviors work differently than you might expect coming from other systems. This guide documents three quirks that aren't obvious (to me, at least) from the manual - none affect image quality, but knowing them in advance can save confusion in the field.

A note on terminology: The X2D II uses some terms differently than other camera systems. What Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fujifilm call "Playback Mode," Hasselblad calls Browse Mode - accessed via the Browse button (the physical button with a triangle icon, top-right of the rear controls). The manual also uses "toggle" to describe rotating the scroll wheel, which is unconventional—a toggle typically refers to a switch that changes state and springs back. Throughout this guide, I'll use Hasselblad's terminology but wanted to flag these differences for photographers coming from other systems.

X2D II Touchscreen vs Physical Button Controls

What to Expect

The X2D II has a large, responsive touchscreen, but it doesn't work the same way in all contexts. Some operations are touch-only, some require physical buttons, and some use a combination of both.

Formatting storage is the clearest example. When you format the internal SSD or a CFexpress card (Main Menu → Storage → Format SSD or Format CFe), the confirmation dialog requires you to use the physical buttons beside the LCD - not the touchscreen. The touchscreen displays the prompt, but the "yes" and "no" responses must be entered via the hardware buttons.^[1]

This pattern also appears in other potentially destructive operations. The camera appears to use physical button confirmation as a safeguard against accidental taps.

Why This Stands Out

Most modern touchscreen cameras - particularly in the mirrorless full-frame segment - allow touch confirmation for nearly all operations, including formatting. The X2D II's mixed approach can feel inconsistent until you recognize the underlying logic: critical operations often require physical button confirmation.

Practical Tip

When a dialog appears and touch doesn't seem to work, look to the physical buttons beside the LCD. The camera may be waiting for hardware input rather than a screen tap.

How to Create and Name Folders on the X2D II

Where to Find It

Folder creation is located in Browse Mode (Hasselblad's term for image review/playback), not in the shooting or storage menus. To access it:

1. Enter Browse Mode (press the Browse button or tap the image preview)
2. Rotate the rear scroll wheel left three times (or press the AE-L button three times) to reach Folder Browsing view—this shows the current folder name
3. Tap the folder icon in the top-right corner to create a new folder^[2]

By default, Browse Mode shows the CFexpress card (if inserted). To browse the internal SSD instead, you need a fourth scroll wheel rotation or AE-L press to reach the Storage Location view, then select SSD.

A UX note: There's no clear on-screen indication of which storage location you're currently browsing. The camera assumes you'll know it defaults to CFexpress over SSD - mirroring the storage priority hierarchy - but this isn't intuitive. If you're looking for images and can't find them, you may simply be browsing the wrong storage location without realizing it.

You can only create folders on the storage location currently set as your Primary Slot.^[2:1]

Automatic Naming

Folder names follow the DCF (Design rule for Camera File system) standard and are assigned automatically. The format is ###HASBL where ### is a three-digit number (e.g., 136HASBL). You cannot customize folder names on the camera.^[3]

What happens after folder 999? The DCF standard specifies folder numbers from 100 to 999.^[4] Behavior at the limit varies by manufacturer - some cameras create a new directory structure, others display an error. Hasselblad's official documentation doesn't specify what happens when the X2D II reaches this limit. In practice, most photographers will never encounter it (900 available folder numbers is a lot), but it's worth noting the uncertainty.

Formatting and folder numbers: The camera automatically increments the folder number each time you format a card in-camera.^[5] Whether this increment is tracked per-card (so different cards maintain their own sequences) or globally is something I haven't yet looked into - this may be worth testing if you use multiple cards and care about folder numbering consistency.

Why This Matters

On many camera systems - Canon and Sony among them - folder creation is accessible from the shooting interface, and you can select which existing folder to use as the storage destination.^{[6] [7]} The X2D II's implementation is more limited: folder creation is buried in Browse Mode, and once you create a new folder, it becomes the active destination. There appears to be no way to select a previously created folder - if you create five folders, you can't go back and tell the camera to store images in the first one. This makes the feature useful primarily for sequential organization (creating a new folder when you change subjects or locations) rather than as a flexible filing system.

X2D II Custom Profiles: Setup and Limitations

What They Do

The X2D II supports five custom profiles for storing camera configurations. These are useful for switching between different shooting scenarios - studio versus outdoor, for example, or different lens setups.

How to Access Them

1. Press the Menu button twice (or swipe to Main Menu)
2. Navigate to General
3. Select Custom Profiles
4. Choose Profile 1 through Profile 5

The Limitation

Profiles are labeled only as Profile 1, Profile 2, Profile 3, Profile 4, and Profile 5. There is no option to rename them or add descriptions.^[8] The camera provides no visual distinction between profiles—no color coding, no icons, no text labels.

This means you'll need to remember what each profile contains. If you use multiple profiles regularly, consider keeping a note (paper or phone) with your profile assignments until they become second nature.

Comparison

Many cameras in this class allow custom naming for profiles or shooting banks. The X2D II's generic numbering is functional but requires more memorization from the user.

Summary

Touchscreen consistency - Destructive operations (like formatting) require physical button confirmation, not touch

Folder creation - Located in Browse Mode only; requires navigating three to four levels deep; names are automatic and not editable; no indication of which storage you're browsing; cannot select existing folders as destination

Custom profiles - Five available, but no custom naming - only "Profile 1" through "Profile 5"

None of these quirks affect your images. They're interface decisions that differ from some other camera systems. Once you know where things are and how they behave, they stop being surprises.

References

1. X2D II 100C User Manual v1.0, p. 43: "In the Storage settings, scroll to the bottom and select Format SSD or Format CFe. Follow the on-screen instructions." ↩︎
2. X2D II 100C User Manual v1.0, p. 47: "Go to storage location from Browse Mode and select SSD or CFexpress for browsing. Tap to create a folder. Folders can only be created in the storage set as the primary slot." ↩︎ ↩︎
3. Hasselblad folder naming follows DCF conventions with the manufacturer code "HASBL". File naming uses the format B#######, as noted in the manual's File Counter section (p. 58). ↩︎
4. "Design rule for Camera File system," Wikipedia: "The subdirectories each consist of a unique three-digit number—from 100 to 999—and five alphanumeric characters." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_rule_for_Camera_File_system ↩︎
5. X2D II 100C User Manual v1.0, p. 58: After resetting the file counter, "a new folder will be created in the storage in use and set as the default storage folder to avoid images using the same number." ↩︎
6. Canon Support: Folder creation available in shooting menu. https://support.usa.canon.com ↩︎
7. Sony ILCE-1 Help Guide: "Menu → Image (Shooting) → [File] → [Create New Folder]" https://helpguide.sony.net ↩︎
8. X2D II 100C User Manual v1.0, General Settings section. Profile interface shows only numbered designations without customization options. ↩︎