Here at DT, we love tech cameras. They are mechanical, tactile, visceral, and all manual. The control a tech camera offers inclines the user to the crafting of images rather than the snapping of pics. They are a respite from a world populated by speed, stifled by convenience, and relentlessly restrained to shallow interactions.
Phase One loves tech cameras too, and has gone far out of their way to make sure the Phase One IQ4 150mp is the best tech camera digital back ever made. Here are 11 reasons tech camera users are going to love the Phase One IQ4 150mp.
1) Friendlier Pixels
Historically as pixel counts have gone up, those pixels have been less friendly to tech camera lenses, leading to more color cast and light falloff. The IQ4 150mp reverses that trend. The new BSI sensor moves the wiring/electronics behind the pixel wells, where they’ve always belonged. This improves the sensor’s response to off-axis light and therefore reduces color cast on tech cameras.
2) More Pixels
This is a full-frame 645 sensor with 150 megapixels of resolution, offering large native print sizes, vastly reduced need for stitching, and huge flexibility to crop. Tech camera lenses have crazy-high resolving power; they are thirsty for a sensor with lots of pixels; the IQ4 150mp is their perfect match.
3) Better Pixels
There is a misconception that bigger pixels are automatically better. That is true, but only where all else is equal. The technology in this sensor is one full generation ahead of the IQ3 100mp. As a result, despite smaller pixels, the IQ4 150mp has better dynamic range with lower noise and better high ISO performance.
4) Improved Dark Frame Handling
Having to manually and frequently capture dark frames is the bane of tech camera users. On the IQ4 Phase One has improved the system for capturing and managing dark frames, so that you can skip the dark frame until you want it, including when doing long exposures and time-lapse captures.
5) Improved ES
The Electronic Shutter (ES) is faster. That means less chance for rolling shutter, and more situations in which ES can replace a copal shutter.
6) Sequencing in ES
On an XF, the body itself handles sequence captures such as time lapse and bracketing. Tech camera users have as much need for these capabilities as XF users, so Phase One has built in timelapse and bracketing into the IQ4 platform.
7) Improved Live View Quality
Tech camera users don’t have an optical viewfinder and rely on features like live view for composition and focusing. The IQ4 features vastly improved live view image quality. The refresh rate is faster. The interface (e.g. zooming in, out, and panning around) is much faster. When using live view in dark scenes the noise and color of the image are significantly improved, making focusing tough scenes much easier.
8) Improved Live View Features
With the improved Electronic Shutter it’s likely users will stay in live view throughout the shooting process, so Phase One has really emphasized the user experience and toolset of Live View. Focus mask, previously relegated to post-capture review, is now available during live view. Exposure Simulation is now an option that can be enabled so that the brightness of live view properly previews the captured image, allowing the user to see the real-time effect of adjusting the shutter speed.
9) Improved LCD Review
Tech camera users are often in the field and away from a computer (or have a computer but would prefer not to). The image preview on the IQ4 benefits from the Capture One Inside feature. Since the math from Capture One is being used for the on-screen review the noise, sharpness, color, and detail on the LCD is improved over the IQ3.
10) No Needless Changes
The battery is the same. The chassis dimensions are the same. The flash sync port is the same. The multiport (for sync’ing to a copal shutter) is the same. The mount is the same. The button locations and sizes are the same. This means that even though there are tons of new features and enhancements to image quality, the IQ4 will feel like home if you’re already using an IQ3.
11) Upgrade Pricing
Most tech camera users already own a digital back, and won’t have a use for two. Fortunately, Digital Transitions offers upgrades from nearly any digital back. Contact us for pricing.
Bottom Line
One of the best attributes of tech cameras is how long they last as a platform. A tech camera such as the Cambo RS or Arca Swiss R with a Rodenstock 32HR was first sold in 2010. Eight years later that combination is not just “competitive,” it is still unmatched in image quality. In this context, the IQ4 is a wonderful modular upgrade. If you’re a tech camera user, the IQ4 will improve the technical quality of your image, speed your workflow, and remove several headaches. Working with an IQ4 on an tech camera is just plain more enjoyable. It is the best back ever made for tech cameras.
