Phase One P21

[coxyuk]

I've seen lots of posts about the P30, P25 and the P45 but very little about the P21, presumably because the new price was similar to the very lovely P30.  However the refurb price of the P21 looks to be good value and wonder if anyone has experience of using one, particularly on a Contax?

[yodelyo]

yeah i used one on my contax, it produced great usable ls even at iso800. the drawbacks that i have read about are moire issues with clothes, people say the P30 is much better in dealing with this problem.

[Akzidenz]

I have the P21 (not plus version) and the H2. I'm really happy with the quality of the files and the capture speed. I shoot mostly at ISO 100 so high ISO is not an issue, but I have made some test shots and they look quite ok.

I used a loan-P30 while waiting for my P21 to be delivered and liked the file quality alot but not the file size. Justed seemed to much for my needs. So the P21 is quite enough for me, making A3+ prints without any problems.
As far as moire issues I have seen some in clothing patterns, but its really not that bad. Not like the examples from P25 that I have seen. The moire in the P21 files are quite easy to remove in post.

The only major draw-back is the screen, but that goes for all the non-plus backs. It's really horrible, there is no other word for it. And no, I don't care that it is a little better to use in bright sunlight, it is still not useable for the lack of contrast and detail.

I have no experience with the Contax system.

[clawery]

The P30 deals with moire a bit better because it is 31 MP vs the P21s 18MP.  The P30 also has a pixel size of 6.8 x 6.8 microns and the P21 has a pixel size of 9x9 microns.  Both cameras do have micro lenses to help reduce moire.


Chris Lawery
Sales Manager
Capture Integration
www.captureintegration.com

[LA30]

The P30 deals with moire a bit better because it is 31 MP vs the P21s 18MP.  The P30 also has a pixel size of 6.8 x 6.8 microns and the P21 has a pixel size of 9x9 microns.  Both cameras do have micro lenses to help reduce moire.
Chris Lawery
Sales Manager
Capture Integration
www.captureintegration.com
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=122084\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The 18mp might just not be enough for some Advertising jobs, it does shoot quick though.  There seems to be a magic number of 22mp and up out there...With 39mp backs out there some folks think that they need 200 meg digital files...Not really true for most applications.  Cropping the capture is very nice for some art directors but if you and your A.D. have a clear focus you can do very well with an 18mp back.

Ken