Merry Christmas! PhaseOne IQ250 High-ISO Sample Files

[Brian Hirschfeld]

For all of you out there who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas.

Today, I share with you images I took at the 2014 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. I was lucky enough to be able to take the PhaseOne IQ250 and SK 28mm f/4.5 LS lens along with me thanks to the generosity of Lance Schad and Digital Transitions.

On my website, you can find some of my thoughts about the files produced by the PhaseOne IQ250 (they are amazing) and you can also download full-resolution JPEG's and .IIQ files from a dropbox link in the article.

http://brianhirschfeldphotography.com/2014/12/24/phaseone-iq250-does-christmas-rock-center-with-sample-files/

As always, let me know what you guys think!

Best,
BH

[BobDavid]

I guess if your bread and butter depends on using an IQ 250, these photos demonstrate the camera is able to deliver pristine files at ISO 6400. I think an Oly EPL-5 and two or three fast primes are better suited for night time street photography. With IBIS and f/1.8 lenses, it's possible to capture compelling pictures with very, very little light. Sometimes a little noise adds character. I'm not sure the law of diminishing returns justifies the cost of an IQ250, unless of course you are a well-heeled dabbler, shoot for high profile clients, or are a well-funded archive, museum, or some other type of
institution. I used to handhold an 8 X 10 camera loaded up with ASA 400 film pushed a stop or two. Wow, those images were smooth as silk, albeit stiff. ... Thanks for sharing, Brian.

[Paul2660]

Considering the ISO 51K examples I have seen from the 645z I would expect the 6400 from the IQ250 to be very good.  However I think for night work I will stick to Nikon as its a bit more reasonable in price.

Thanks for posting.

Paul

[Joe Towner]

Very nice, and thank you for posting the IIQ's.  I wonder what it would take to get Phase to unleash the chip a bit, going over ISO 6400, even with a beta firmware.  Part of what makes C1 and the Phase backs such a strong pairing is knowing the chip really well, and not pushing it too much.  It would be interesting to see how the chip would function, going up to ISO 25k or higher.  Unfortunately, someone would try doing a 10 minute exposure at max ISO where the chip couldn't dump enough heat out and would break it then come on here and b*tch about it.