Essential Hasselblad X2DII Settings (Street / Travel Photography)
In this blog I will share some of my essential settings for the Hasselblad X2Dii that I use for my street and travel photography. I only use this camera for these use cases, and not studio / portrait / commercial work. With that in mind, my approach to setup and settings might be different to others. This blog won’t cover all the settings, just the most important ones that make the biggest difference to me. Go into the main menu, and follow me starting from Exposure in the top right, down to General in the bottom left.
Exposure
Reset After Exposure - Off
Reset After Reboot - On
Electronic Shutter - Off
True Exposure - Off
Shutter Speed Limit - 500
Simulated Shutter Sound - Off
Max ISO - 12800
Min ISO - 50
Focus
Reset Focus Point - Never
AF Result Sound - Off
AF Assist Light - Off
Arbitrary Tracking - See “How I Shoot” later in the blog
Tracking Scope - Full Screen
MF Assist - Focus Peaking
Peaking Colour - Orange
Touch - All Disabled
Quality
Image Format - RAW
Bit Depth - 16 bit
HDR - Disabled due to RAW
Crop Modes
Crop Mode - See “How I Shoot” later in the blog
Mask Opacity - 100%
My Crop Modes - 65:24 | 3:2 Crop
Display
EVF Rear Screen - Auto
Rear Screen Auto Brightness - On
EVF Brightness - Max
Preview - All Off
Overexposure Warning - Off
Eye Sensor Distance - Normal
Variable Frame Rate - On
Power
Display Off - 5m
Power Off - 30mm
See “How I Shoot” later in the blog
Storage
Primary Storage - CFe
Secondary Storage - Backup
See “How I Shoot” later in the blog
Stabilisation
Stabilisation on and mode is normal
General - Touch
Enable Touch - Off
Vibration - Off
See “How I Shoot” later in the blog
General - Custom Buttons
Front Dial - Exposure Mode Cycle
Front Fn - Crop Mode Cycle
Lens Ring - Shutter Adjust
M Button - Focus Mode Cycle
ISO Button - Arbitrary Tracking On / Off
Rear Dial - Reset Exposure Compensation
Joystick - Reset Focus Point
Rear Fn - Focus Point / Subject Detection
General - Custom Overlays
Grid + Exp Info - On
Combined - On
The Rest - Off
Combined - Grid
How I shoot - General Operation
The first thing I do is turn off the touch screen and vibrations. The touch screen is wonderful, but with the addition of the joystick in the X2Dii, it’s not needed. I also don’t want accidental interactions from the touch screen. The second thing I do is increase the power limits. This includes a five minute time for screen off, and a 30 minute time for power off. If I want to save power between shooting, I just put the camera to sleep by pressing the power button once. This saves battery and ensures the camera boots up instantly the moment I need it. This approach saves time and reduces missed shots.
When it comes to crop modes, I use the 3x2 crop with the 38mm prime. This gives me a full frame equivalent feel of view of 35mm with room to crop later.
Finally, I use a 512GB CFexpress card as my primary storage, and the 1TB internal SSD as my backup. At the end of each shoot, once the files are offloaded, I only format the CFexpress card. The SSD is kept as a running backup and gets cleaned once full.
How I shoot - Exposure
I keep exposure simple and spend most of my time in aperture priority mode. I set the minimum shutter speed to 1/500 and the min and max ISO values to 50 and 12800 respectively. The reason for such a high minimum shutter speed is to ensure pin sharp images. The more resolution you have, the more motion blur will be visible, so I’d rather avoid it. The reason for such a high ISO value is due to this sensor being excellent at handling noise.
When shooting in the daytime, I will typically start at around f/5.6 and adjust as needed. If I need more image separation, f/2.5 will achieve that. If I need everything pin sharp, f/11 and above is where I go. If I want a nicer balance, then f/5.6 to f/8 is a good place to be. I leave exposure metering on centre, and seldom move the exposure value unless it’s clearly wrong. I would slightly underexpose if the highlights look too bright.
If I am shooting in low light, or I want greater shutter speed control, I switch to shutter priority mode. At night, I need to ensure the shutter remains locked, and the only way to do that is to shoot in shutter priority mode. I will usually shoot around 1/125 at night, but it depends on the lens. A longer lens like the 90mm would require a higher shutter speed. It also depends on how steady you are. If I want to get creative, I slow the shutter down to around 1/20 and experiment.
How I shoot - Focusing
I spend most of my time in AFC, which is continuous focus mode, because this is where the camera is the fastest and most reliable. This mode tracks any changes in distance and automatically adjusts the focus if needed, however even for still life I use this mode because it’s so much faster. The only time I switch back to AFS, which is single autofocus, is when I am shooting landscapes, still life, need 100% precision, or need to focus and recompose.
When shooting in AFC, if I need to quickly lock the focus, I will slide the manual focus dial on the lens to enable manual focus mode. This allows me to fine tune the focus and lock it. This also overrides any AF mode.
Another way I focus is to enable manual focusing in camera, not on the lens, and then use the rear AF-D button to acquire focus. This removes focus from the shutter button and effectively enables back button focusing. I don’t do this too often, but it’s a nice feature to have.
When it comes to AF modes, I usually shoot in the expanding focus mode which is a single point with a larger square around it. This is a good balance between accuracy and speed. This mode is also the one that works with tracking. When tracking is enabled, I can half press to lock onto a subject, and the camera will track it around the screen. This works very well and is great for tracking moving subjects.
The other two AF modes I use include a single point and a larger zone. I customise the zone to take up a large portion of the middle of the frame and use it for more sporadic shooting scenarios. The single point AF mode is great when used with AFS for very precise focusing. Zone for speed, and single point for accuracy.
Instead of telling you how these will change your life, I would rather be practical and answer the most common questions that people tend to have when buying presets.
What are presets?
They are editing settings that are saved in a file and can be applied to any image.
Why do people buy presets?
Sometimes because they like the work of the photographer and want that style for their own photos. Mostly because they would like to see how other people edit and learn by reverse engineering the presets. Other times it’s just to support their favourite photographers, thank you!
What’s the overall style of these presets?
- Filmic
- Minimal
- Soft
- Bright
What are these presets suitable for?
Street & Travel Photography
Some Nature (with further editing)
Some Portraits (with extensive editing)
What do these presets look like?
These presets 100% reflect my current editing style. Please see examples of work below.
Do these presets get updated?
Yes, as my style changes, these presets will also be updated. Any time a new update is available, you will get a free update via email. Of course you also keep all the old presets in case you prefer the older looks. Only presets purchased from 2025 onwards will receive the updates.
What file types are these presets for?
- All RAW files
- JPEGs & TIFFs (not recommended)
What camera brands are these presets for?
These were designed around Fujifilm, Sony, and Leica sensors. With that said, they will work with all camera brands. While there might be subtle colour changes due to individual camera colour science, the overall feel of the preset will carry over.
Will these work with JPEG files?
Yes, but you will need to reduce the intensity and make further edits. I strongly recommend editing RAW files.
Are these one click edits?
95% No. You would need to do some basic adjustments as each image is different. These adjustments can include exposure, colour balance etc. In 5% of cases you can just apply and leave it alone.
Do I need to know how to edit?
You need to have a basic understanding of adjusting exposure, highlights, shadows, etc. A more comprehensive editing skillset will let you get the most out of them.
How many presets are included?
15 in the main pack and 20 in the extras pack
Why two packs?
The main pack is what I use for 99% of my edits. The extras pack is random test presets, one-off looks, and looks I don’t use often.
What software do I need?
These presets will work with any of the following:
- Photoshop (adobe camera raw)
- Lightroom Classic
- Lightroom Desktop
- Lightroom Mobile
Will these presets work with free versions of the above software?
You need to research and double check before buying. These presets were designed for the full paid versions.
Will these presets work with very old versions of the above software?
You need to research and double check before buying. These presets were designed on and for the latest software.
What file type do I get?
XMP
What else do I get?
- Comprehensive PDF guide
- Short video of me editing using these presets
Can I modify these and turn them into my own?
Yes! In fact I encourage you to modify them and play around. Use these to help you get your own style.
I have more questions…. What do I do?
Make a cup of tea and drop me an email on hello@snapsbyfox.com
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
Finally I want to say a massive thank you for supporting me. Buying these presets is the most direct way you can support my work thus allowing me to make more videos / photos / tutorials for you.
Thank you for your support!