Sensor plus is quite good and I have used it many times when maybe a 35mm cam may have been a better choice. Personally I find comments like MF can't do this cant do that and is slow to work with a little misleading. Sometimes I may agree with that but again I also find it very overblown comments. Here is a whole review on Sensor plus I did some time ago. Low light stage work all done with sensor plus both handheld and monopod and BTW I use the same techniques as I would with 35mm. Again photography is more about solving issues and working with gear and using it the best you can . I rarely ever found MF limitations I could not deal with. Both focusing , speed , handheld ability all come down to you as the shooter on how you deal with the system within your hands. I will say the more experienced you are the better success you will have working within those limitations of a system. Every system is a compromise, its how you as the shooter deal with it. Obviously some folks will fail and some will succeed , again knowing your system and making it work to its advantages and knowing the disadvantages the more success you will have. Check this out on sensor plus, its clean , it works and the files are great. I have shot these shows for years and my best looking files have come from sensor plus.
http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/digital-camera-reviews/29252-phase-one-iq-160-sensor-plus-high-iso.html
While these are good images to show what the image quality of the Sensor + function are like I would advise readers here not to think that they are representative of mainstream Fashion runway
While these are good images to show what the image quality of the Sensor + function are like I would advise readers here not to think that they are representative of mainstream Fashion runway. Not to take anything way from the good shots Guy took, but there is a big difference between this IMTA talent show and Paris, Milan or NY fashion runway. Both the conditions and the photography required. I very much doubt that the same camera Phase One DF and IQ160 could handle what it required.
First of all you are unlikely to have so much light. I've shot Milan and Paris shows
1/320th f7.1 at ISO 800 not really a low light situation.
Also the light is likely to be much flatter. The lighting at most fashion shows is much softer and would be harder for the DF to focus.
Lighting for the major fashion shows is set up primarily for TV.
A quick search to show what I mean:
Gianfranco Ferre Spring 2009 Fashion Show in Milan.
Try focusing that with the single center focus point of the DF.
GUCCI MILAN FASHION WEEK ISO 800 1/400th f3.5 (that's about 2 stops darker than the IMTA talent show.
This video is a good indication of the lighting you will get as well as the fast pace.
http://youtu.be/ylcPqmZ4ESwhttp://youtu.be/_6g5D2DDt5wChristian Serrano fashion show.
The designers often go for more atmosphere and less light. The light is likely to go up and down through the show.
For this reason you need to have selectable spot metering and focus points.
Then there is what it required image wise. Most magazines want shallow depth of field for cleaner
layouts of 4 or more photos per page.
Also the magazines what head shot, half shot, shoes and multiples of full length.
The shows are fast paced and last 7 to 20 minutes. The pace required is much faster than the 2,000 shots Guy took in three hours.
If the photographer is shooting for a magazine he or she will most likely shoot 6 to 10 shows in a day.
Then there is the issue of delivery. You will have to include custom data in the exif data. Designer, copyright etc.
Files need to be made available right away. Jpegs have to be ready to go. There is not time for the photographer to edit
out shots out of focus. For this reason the focus hit rate has to be very high.
This is clearly a job that a MF digital can't handle however skilled the photographer is and sensor plus won't change that.
This is a job for the high speed 10+ fps Canon and Nikons. With dual high speed card slots, stabilized lenses and built for combat.
All I'm saying here is that what may have worked at the IMTA talent show with 3 shots per model an 2,000 shots in 3 hours (that's about 1 shot every 5 seconds average)
won't work at a Paris, Milan or NY fashion show.
My point here is that the way many jobs are shot is changing fast and that Sensor plus is a very small step forward that isn't keeping pace with the speed
of progress else where. To not make comparisons with other tools available is like sticking your head in the sand.
The MF world has to understand that as image quality of 35mm increases fast by while taking all other performance level and features with it
the market will get used to those conditions of working.