Phase One News: XF Body, IQ3 backs, 35LS, 120LS, C1 8.3, Website

[Doug Peterson]

The Announcements
The new, ground-up, phase-one designed, 645 body is here! A few other goodies are arriving at the same time:
- Phase One XF body
- Phase One IQ3 Digital Back
- Schneider 35LS
- Schneider 120LS
- Capture One 8.3
- New PhaseOne.com website

See Them in Person
DT has Phase One XF Events coming up in LA, New York, Chicago, DC, Boston, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Philly, San Francisco, and Birmingham. Sign up now to secure your spot. With the XF especially you really need to put it in your hands to fully appreciate how much of a revolution it is.

Questions?
Ask any question you'd like. I have two XF bodies and two IQ3 backs on my person at the moment and just returned from Denmark where I interviewed the head of the XF project and many others in R+D.

[Doug Peterson]

Some answers to questions I've seen posted already. Most of which are covered in our Phase One XF blog post...

Does the XF work with the IQ1?
Yes. Some of the more advanced features won't be enabled, but the main functions of the camera will all work just as well as with more recent backs.

Does the IQ380 use a new sensor?
Yes. It is a Phase One exclusive 80mp sensor from Dalsa, which has significant R+D time to provide long exposures even better than the IQ260.The spec is the same "one hour" but quality of long exposure at any given length is improved. The IQ350 and IQ360 use the same sensors as the IQ250 and IQ260.

[PaulSchneider]

What is the upgrade path from a leaf aptus 12 to an iq380?

[Doug Peterson]

What is the upgrade path from a leaf aptus 12 to an iq380?

Upgrades are available from just about any digital back.

For the first time, Phase One also has an "cross grade" program which gives useful pricing for going, for instance, from an IQ280 to an IQ350 (which is not "technically" an upgrade in P1's terminology since it is going down in resolution). This was one of the biggest pieces of news in my opinion as we've had to disappoint clients in the past who were in this sort of situation (wanting the latest, but wanting to go down in resolution).

[Doug Peterson]

More questions from the forum...

Does the XF have dedicated shutter-speed, aperture, ISO dials?
The XF has programmable hard buttons and programmable dials. Three dials provides (by default) direct access without removing your eye from the viewfinder, to ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.

Labeled dials like they had on the Contax would be very limiting in several ways: it couldn't show the full range of shutter speeds (the body can go from 1/4000th to 1 hour with digital control, longer using Bulb or T mode) and couldn't be moved or repurposed in case you usually use Aperture-priority mode and don't need access to shutter speed.


When is this Stuff Shipping?
Nearly everything announced (body, lenses, backs, software) is either shipping now or will be shipping within two weeks.

Exceptions are the IQ380 and Waist Level Viewfinder which will ship in July.

[Doug Peterson]

Can you fire just the LS? What about vibration from the Focal Plane shutter (i.e. Shutter Bounce)?

Several notes:
- The mirror has been better dampened. They redesigned this mechanism entirely. In most hand held shooting the mirror, rather than the FP shutter was the main limiter.
- The LS can be fired without the FP or mirror. In most operation both are used because this increase the maximum frame rate, but in vibration sensitive work you can do any of these things to shoot with just the LS:
--- shoot from live view (only LS fires)
--- put the mirror up (only LS fires)
--- use seismograph mode (only LS fires, and only when vibration has ceased)
--- use bracketing mode (only LS fires)
- MUP mode is directly accessible from Capture One, the digital back screen (when using IQ2/IQ3), and from the body itself. You can also program it to a hard button.

[synn]

A few questions, Doug:

1) What functionality is missing when a Leaf Credo 40 is used with this body?
2) Is it compatible with legacy Mamiya AF lenses?
3) What is the pricing strategy for users who would like to upgrade a DF+ body to the XF? (PM would be fine if you cannot post it publicly).

Thank you.

[Doug Peterson]

A few questions, Doug:

1) What functionality is missing when a Leaf Credo 40 is used with this body?
2) Is it compatible with legacy Mamiya AF lenses?
3) What is the pricing strategy for users who would like to upgrade a DF+ body to the XF? (PM would be fine if you cannot post it publicly).

Thank you.

1) [Correction: Credo is not yet supported. It will be.]
2) Any lens that worked on the DF or DF+ is supported. This includes Mamiya AF lenses, Mamiya 645TL manual lenses, Phase One D lenses, Mamiya D lenses, Schneider LS lenses, Hassy 200 lenses, Hassy 500 lenses and a few other oddballs.

3) At DT the DF+ is worth $2k when traded in toward an XF. Contact your local dealer for pricing in other regions.

[synn]

Thank you very much for the quick answers. Much appreciated. The lost featureset isn't really critical for me, so I can live with them.

Thanks also for clarifying that the body will work with the Creo. As much as I hate to pit your word against CI's, their FAQ says that the body will not work with the Credos. That worried me.

Lastly, another dumb question. Is the trade in open to only Phase One branded DF+ bodies or is it applicable for Mamiya branded ones too?

Thanks!

[gerald.d]

The camera is compatible with the Credo?

Conflicting information out there.

[yashima]

Hi Doug, is it still available to order new backs in Contax mount? Thanks

[design_freak]

Hi Doug,
Whether in the future there will be a film magazine for this body ?

Best regards,
DF

[amsp]

More questions from the forum...

Does the XF have dedicated shutter-speed, aperture, ISO dials?
The XF has programmable hard buttons and programmable dials. Three dials provides (by default) direct access without removing your eye from the viewfinder, to ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.

Labeled dials like they had on the Contax would be very limiting in several ways: it couldn't show the full range of shutter speeds (the body can go from 1/4000th to 1 hour with digital control, longer using Bulb or T mode) and couldn't be moved or repurposed in case you usually use Aperture-priority mode and don't need access to shutter speed.

Since this was a response to my points made in the other thread I'd just like to say that I think it's decent solution to the problem. The important thing is that you can make basic adjustments without having to look at the screen. With that said I'm hugely disappointed that you are not able to use older P/P+ backs with it, seeing how the mount is the same it's obviously a deliberate move by Phase. I also have to say that this new body is way more of an incremental update than I had hoped for after so many years of waiting, but it's still nice to see improvements, especially to the AF system.

[Doug Peterson]

Whether in the future there will be a film magazine for this body ?

No.

[Doug Peterson]

Since this was a response to my points made in the other thread I'd just like to say that I think it's decent solution to the problem. The important thing is that you can make basic adjustments without having to look at the screen. With that said I'm hugely disappointed that you are not able to use older P/P+ backs with it, seeing how the mount is the same it's obviously a deliberate move by Phase. I also have to say that this new body is way more of an incremental update than I had hoped for after so many years of waiting, but it's still nice to see improvements, especially to the AF system.

We were sad to see the lack of P+ support (I don't think any of us expected P support). Support for the Credo/IQ/IQ2 was nice to see, but we would have loved to see one more generation. We have an article coming in a few days that tells the story behind the development of the XF, but in short, the operating system and communication protocols in the XF is built on the IQ platform so supporting the P+ would have required a lot of time that would have taken away from time spent on other cool features.

Still, I would have liked to have seen P+ support.

[Doug Peterson]

Hi Doug, is it still available to order new backs in Contax mount? Thanks

No.

From our Phase One IQ3 article...

Wait, Where’s Contax?
Digital Transitions LOVES the Contax body. It had great German glass, an optional waist level viewfinder which provides metering, simple intuitive operation, super durable mechanics, minimalist design, and uses a compact, inexpensive battery. The newly released Phase One XF body ticks off literally every one of those boxes while adding things the Contax never had, like a sync speed of 1/1600th.

Still, there is something special about the Contax system; if nothing else, the nostalgia factor can’t be beat. Unfortunately it has been years since this body was made new, and supplies of used bodies and parts/service/repair are waning. As of today Phase One will no longer make Contax mount digital backs. Here at Digital Transitions we’re so sad about this that we’re throwing a wake for the end of the era of Digital Contax. Shoot us a tweet if you’d like your words of remembrance to be read there.

Phase One will continue to provide service and support for the Contax backs it has sold for many years to come. As an indication of how seriously Phase One takes support of discontinued products look no further than the Phase One FX+ scan back, which was only end-of-life’d last year, more than15 years after it’s initial release.

Digital Transitions still has a few more NEW Contax digital backs, the last that will ever be made. We expect to sell through this supply within two months (maybe faster when word gets out) so contact us today if you’re interested in purchasing or demoing a Contax digital back.

By the way, if you love the Contax 80mm f/2 lens (and who didn’t??), stay tuned for our article titled “Big Buttery Bokeh on the XF: the Contax 80/2, Zeiss 110/2, Schneider 110/2.8, Schneider 130/2.1, and Mamiya 80/1.9” in which we mount a Contax 80/2 to the XF with great results.

[Doug Peterson]

More forum questions...

Is the Schneider 35LS the same lens as the 35D but with a Leaf Shutter?
NO. This is a completely new design. It is a moderately larger lens and performance is hugely increased.

Is the Schneider 120LS the same lens as the 120 AF D but with a Leaf Shutter?
Yes. Same elements, same performance, but with sync at 1/1600th.

[cyron123]

HI,
is the XF compatible with the Aptus series too?
Thank you.

[maeda]

Apparently no ! I'm so sad

[Doug Peterson]

HI,
is the XF compatible with the Aptus series too?
Thank you.

No P+ support. No Aptus support. See here.

Upgrades are available from the Aptus to more modern backs, which will gain a huge host of other advantages. Contact your local dealer for pricing and options.