Phase One IQ3 100mp. Shipping now.

[bjanes]

For those that aren't quite following the math-oriented digging around of raw file offsets...

DT will have real-world dynamic range tests available later this week. That is, photos, showing the visual difference.

The DR that Bart measured is the engineering DR. Photographically useful DR is less, since a SNR of 1:1 with engineering DR is not useful photographically. Photographic DR depends on the noise floor used for its determination but is typically a couple of f/stops less. For example, the engineering DR of the Nikon D810 at base ISO is reported by DXO at 13.67 stops. Bill Claff reports the photographic DR of the D810 at 11.53 stops.

Since the new MF chip is 2.5x the area of the D810 and of a newer generation, but I would expect that its DR would be no more than 1.5 to 2 stops greater than the D810.

Bill

[Doug Peterson]

IMO, while this is welcome advancement, Phase One have put themselves into a corner for a competitor to emerge.  Sony has Phase One by the boot straps with sensor development as they have demonstrated they will sell the same sensor to anyone (Pentax rocked the 50MP implement for a lot cheaper)

We sold 50mp CMOS backs at a faster pace after the introduction of Pentax 645Z than before. It was one of our most commonly traded-in cameras.

Medium format is a niche. It's a small small percent of all cameras sold. So any competition, marketing, or awareness raising, helps everyone in medium format with a strong product. Our hardest task, by far, is getting people to come take a picture with our camera; once they are looking into any medium format solution (of any brand) they are far more likely to do so.

[Theodoros]

No need to do so since high ISO on the Sony sensor is already very good?

Cheers,
Bernard

I doubt that... There are so many pros that value DR more than anything and 25mp are more than enough for most of their work... In fact the better of the best wedding pros, (just comes to mind as an example, other pros too...) wouldn't want to shoot with 100mp... It's also the capacity of the card to consider (other than keeping DR and decreasing size of files) for many pro tasks...

[markymarkrb]

We sold 50mp CMOS backs at a faster pace after the introduction of Pentax 645Z than before. It was one of our most commonly traded-in cameras.

Medium format is a niche. It's a small small percent of all cameras sold. So any competition, marketing, or awareness raising, helps everyone in medium format with a strong product. Our hardest task, by far, is getting people to come take a picture with our camera; once they are looking into any medium format solution (of any brand) they are far more likely to do so.

I agree that it brings more awareness.  Do not get me wrong, I really hope MF keeps going but both the Phase One and the Pentax are optical viewfinder cameras and while some people will use this back with technical cameras (assuming it works), the door is wide open for someone, probably Sony, to introduce a mirrorless camera with the same sensor at a far cheaper price and smaller package.

[Ken R]

Geeezus Guys.

The handful of usual suspects are already on the prowl and looking to have PhaseOne's head on a platter. Ok, step back for a second. This is a 100MP CMOS full frame 645 (40.4mm x 53.7mm) back with the latest (or at the very least very recent) SONY CMOS sensor technology. It has twice the MP of the previous SONY MF sensor and a larger form factor.

You guys need to chill out and head out and make images for a change.

Yunli, you have some awesome images on you 500px. The ones using the D4s and the IQ260 are superb among others. At the very least the new Phase 100MP back is gonna be as good or most likely a lot better regardless of whether it has 13.1 stops or 14.99 stops of DR or whatever. It is gonna have much more color sampling due to more pixels and if they are as good pixels as the one in the 50MP Sony sensor (or even if they are sightly worse, possible better!) there is just a lot more of them. Its gonna be splitting hairs regarding per pixel quality.

[Doug Peterson]

FPS or SPF?

It has both a focal plane shutter and a line of leaf shutter lenses.

I don't know what an SPF is, but I'd recommend against using this back as sunscreen. It won't cover much of your skin, even with the larger lenses mounted.

Stabilized lenses, or sensor?

No.

Focus speed, Focus Tracking, Multi Point Focus or PDAF Track Focus?

Focus speed on the XF is very good and it has a continuous mode for tracking. You'd have to test it and tell me what you think. We have Phase One open houses in LA and NYC this month, or you could set up a remote evaluation.

Single point AF, no PDAF Tracking. You can capture from live view, whether using the zoom-to-fit or zoomed-to-100% mode.

With HDMI out, does this allow for motion imagery, and if so Specs?

See earlier comments. Not really intended for motion, but if you want to you could record the HDMI signal which is up to 1080p.

Useable ASA?

"usable" means something different to everyone. Printed 36" wide I personally would be happy with ISO6400 from what I've seen so far. But I don't mind grain if it is well shaped and free of color and weird artifacts.

Download the raws and make up your own mind. Phase One IQ3 100mp Raw File Download

Articulating LCD?

No. But wifi to any iOS device and HDMI out so feel free to put an iPhone or iPod touch or monitor wherever you want.

[Transposure]

Hey Guys,

So, I have a question.  I have had this question for awhile and always thought that if/when a new bigger back was introduced (like this new 100MP back), that medium format "full frame" would actually mean "full frame" akin to the definition and terminology used in comparable DSLR vocabulary.

Looking at the specs...

40MP back = 43.9mm x 32.9mm
50MP back = 44mm x 33mm
60MP back = 53.9mm x 40.4mm
80MP back = 53.7mm x 40.4mm
100MP back = 53.7mm x 40.4mm

Original 645 film frame = 60mm x 45mm

It seems the 60, 80 and 100MP backs are all the same size, yet not quite full frame, although they are called full frame.  And by full frame, I am referring to the original 645 film frame size of 60mm x 45mm.  In actuality, the 60, 80 and 100 are 80% of full frame (by area).

Much in the way the DSLR's use the term "full frame" to be the exact size of an original film frame size of 36mm x 24mm, can we expect this medium format term of "full frame" to equal this "almost" full frame size?

Don't get me wrong, I am completely enamored that Phase One appears healthy and innovative and that is great for medium format and all of us.  It was just a question that I always had and thought this would be an opportune time to ask.

Thanks!

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

The DR that Bart measured is the engineering DR. Photographically useful DR is less, since a SNR of 1:1 with engineering DR is not useful photographically. Photographic DR depends on the noise floor used for its determination but is typically a couple of f/stops less.

Hi Bill,

Yes, engineering DR is what I calculated, but with such low read-noise, the look is somewhat similar to photon shot noise at low intensity levels. So I'm not too sure about the otherwise assumed few stops less DR for actual photographic use. And there is also software noise reduction available tp improve visual/photographic DR, which is therefore much harder to define than engineering DR, IMHO. The (lack of) structure in the read-noise is also an important factor as to how far one can push shadows, if they need to be pushed at all.

And as you said, the downsampling to a common output size also helps the IQ3 100MP to improve the apparent/photographic DR.

What I've seen so far looks really nice, with tolerable noise despite low exposure (=relatively high photon shot noise) levels. And the benefit of a physically larger sensor is still that a higher MTF can be had for the same features that would be smaller on a smaller sensor for the same field of view.

Cheers,
Bart

[Doug Peterson]

Original 645 film frame = 60mm x 45mm

This is where you went astray.

No 645 film camera ever exposed an image on film which was 60 x 45mm.

The "film gate" of the Mamiya 645 (i.e. how big the picture, as exposed on the film) is the benchmark used by Phase One.

Stepping back, the relevant thing here is when you use a "crop" sensor back you have to put a mask in the viewfinder. With a "full frame" back like this one there is no need for a mask. What you see is what you get.

[Transposure]

That's why I asked and that's what's missing for 50 grand.  18/20/35 mpx in focus is worth a million mpx out of focus, unless you've come up with the lytro thing where focus doesn't matter.

Heere, heere!

[Ken R]

This is where you went astray.

No 645 film camera ever exposed an image on film which was 60 x 45mm.

The film gate of the Mamiya 645 (i.e. how big the picture, as exposed on the film) is the benchmark used by Phase One.

Exactly, the gate on 645 film is about 56x42mm IIRC. No need to use viewfinder masking when using the phase 60/80/100 mp backs on a 645 body.

[Transposure]

This is where you went astray.

No 645 film camera ever exposed an image on film which was 60 x 45mm.

The film gate of the Mamiya 645 (i.e. how big the picture, as exposed on the film) is the benchmark used by Phase One.

Doug,
So the sensor size of the 60, 80, 100 (53.7mm x 40.4mm) is equivalent to what has always been captured on film?

[Ken R]

Doug,
So the sensor size of the 60, 80, 100 (53.7mm x 40.4mm) is equivalent to what has always been captured on film?

Close enough see my post above.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Original 645 film frame = 60mm x 45mm

Hi,

Actually, the film image of 645 is 56 x 41.5 mm, so the sensor is getting pretty close to "full 645 frame".

Cheers,
Bart

[Ken R]

And Guys, again geez, it is best to have the choice of 100MP if one wants/needs it. There are many awesome cameras out there to choose from.

Choosing a camera is a very personal choice.

I own several and choose according to the job at hand. It is obviously not always about more MP in fact it is sometimes better to have less. There are lots of factors to consider. But at the end of the day it is cool that Phase has the new IQ 100MP back available.

[Doug Peterson]

Actually, film 645 is 56 x 41.5 mm.

+/- a hair on different manufacturer's bodies

[Doug Peterson]

So the sensor size of the 60, 80, 100 (53.7mm x 40.4mm) is equivalent to what has always been captured on film?

More or less.

Just a hair smaller if you're being nitty-gritty-technical.

[Transposure]

Close enough see my post above.

Thanks Ken!

[Theodoros]

 Doug, why sensor + isn't used on P1's Cmos backs? Is there a (technical) reason for that? Personally, I find it the most attractive feature of P1 backs...

 Also... Sony A7rII & the new 100mp back seem to have exactly the same pixel size... Is there a relevance between the two sensors? (other than both being Sony of course)

[markymarkrb]

Geeezus Guys.

The handful of usual suspects are already on the prowl and looking to have PhaseOne's head on a platter. Ok, step back for a second. This is a 100MP CMOS full frame 645 (40.4mm x 53.7mm) back with the latest (or at the very least very recent) SONY CMOS sensor technology. It has twice the MP of the previous SONY MF sensor and a larger form factor.

You guys need to chill out and head out and make images for a change.

Yunli, you have some awesome images on you 500px. The ones using the D4s and the IQ260 are superb among others. At the very least the new Phase 100MP back is gonna be as good or most likely a lot better regardless of whether it has 13.1 stops or 14.99 stops of DR or whatever. It is gonna have much more color sampling due to more pixels and if they are as good pixels as the one in the 50MP Sony sensor (or even if they are sightly worse, possible better!) there is just a lot more of them. Its gonna be splitting hairs regarding per pixel quality.

Do not get me wrong, I think this will be an incredible camera.  100MPx from Phase One.  Awesome, really awesome.  My point was that the door is wide open for competition in that they are using a Sony sourced sensor and they are implementing it on an Optical viewfinder camera.  I really do believe Sony will produce a mirrorless MF camera.  Time will tell.