Phase One P45 39 megapixels, Phase One P 30 31 megapixels

PhaseOne H20 digital camera back

The new Phase One P 45 will give owners of the now wienie 16.7 megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II the rude reminder that “size does matter.” The P 45 offers a 39 megapixel back. So if you have a Mamiya 645 AFD, Hasselblad H1, or Contax 645, you can now dream and drool over the Phase One P 45 or P 30.

The third new Phase One back, the P 21, is for speedy shooting: claimed to be 60 frames per second. Does this mean you can do sports photography with medium format digital quality? Move over Canon.

The speed is mainly in associated hardware and software, so we can assume the chip itself can handle the situation. It sounds like this sensor may be ideal for natural photography, especially of birds. At present some animals move too quickly for a normal digital camera to capture them, due to the delaying aspects of a normal digital camera.

Phase One is now emphasizing wireless connections. Wireless image transfer was offered by the Leaf Valeo but it often stuttered (the wireless on the Leaf Valeo often did not function). Leaf did not make the Aptus available for testing, so I don’t know whether the Aptus has the same failure rate for its wireless technology.

Since portrait photography is a major market, for the Leaf Valeo 22 we are testing it for portrait and fashion photography. Here is Nicholas on the campus of his university in Guatemala photographing model Michele, one of the 15 employees of FLAAR international office there. Camera is the Mamiya 645 AFD.

Phase One tri-linear scanning backs

Phase One is the only company which makes both a medium format and a large format digital back. All the other large format backs, BetterLight, Kigamo, and Anagram, make only that size. And all other medium format back manufacturers, Imacon-Hasselblad, Leaf, Sinar-Jenoptik, and MegaVision, make only medium format. Phase One makes both. Their large format back is PowerPhase FX+.

Phase One + Rollei

Rollei (now known as Franke & Heidecke) currently offers a 16 megapixel PhaseOne digital back at an attractive price on a Rollei camera, as a package. The Rollei 6008 is one of my all-time favorite medium format cameras: it has a range of lenses much greater than anything offered by Hasselblad. But the last time I used a Rollei camera professionally was in 1965, so until I can test drive the PhaseOne db20p + Rollei 6008 AF combo I can’t say more about it.

A 39-megapixel Phase One P 45 is enough to make even Nicholas smile. We thank Global Imaging Inc for providing three Phase One backs in a row: P 30, P 25, and now the P 45. Next month we will evaluate Leaf, Imacon-Hasselblad, or Jenoptik-Sinar backs.

Most recently updated July 11, 2006.

Previously updated Dec. 9, 2002 and August 1, 2005. Updated January 17, 2006. Updated Feb. 27, 2006.

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Medium Format Digital Camera Initiative For over 30 years Nicholas Hellmuth has used Rolleiflex and Hasselblad cameras to record the flora, fauna, and Maya archaeology of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Now, for the last six years, he is extending his medium format experience to digital photography. Since FLAAR works both in a studio as well as out on location, we are an ideal focus for judging portability. We have experience with large format digital scan backs (the excellent BetterLight) and we also use Nikon (D300) and Canon (EOS 5D) digital cameras. A full-service digital pro should have at least one medium format digital system and should consider large format digital options as well. FLAAR also has an 80-megapixel large format camera (yes, they do exist, we have a Cruse). Although we started with a Leaf Valeo 22 coupled with a Mamiya 645 AFD body and lenses, we are open to showcasing all bodies as well as other digital backs. Indeed we tested an Imacon 4-shot back on a Hasselblad H1 body. For a month (February 2006) it was possible to evaluate a MegaVision black-and-white dedicated back for fine art photography. We are also considering the Rolleiflex 6008 AF, one of the outstanding medium format cameras that still offers European precision. However in the last 40 years we have not received any Rollei (or Franke & Heidecke) equipment for evaluation, so we can comment only on the Hasselblad and Mamiya (loaned briefly two years ago by Mamiya America). Camera resellers or manufacturers who wish to have their cameras, lenses, and backs included in the digital photography evaluation initiative are welcome to send their equipment for evaluation. Curently all the medium format backs are coming from Global Imaging Inc, Greg Lamb, CEO (contact 800 787-9802, press 4, fax 212 722-0988). This is one of the few camera stores in the entire US or Canada that offers ALL major brands of medium format (so they have no incentive to push one brand over the other). However we are also open to receiving medium format backs directly from the manufacturer. Over 381,154 visitors came to this www.digital-photography.org web site to learn which cameras, lighting, tripods, and accessories have proven themselves during evaluation by FLAAR. Since we deliberately do not review low-end cameras, our reviews attract a sophisticated audience. The total "visit" count is 791.562 during 2007, but we prefer to use the visitor count, 381.154 as being more realistic. FLAAR is the de facto source of information on medium format digital cameras because we are university based, independent, blunt, and we are one of the few review sources that dares to review advertising specs, advertising claims, and advertising hype. We can afford to reveal all the pros and cons because FLAAR is a research institute. Photographers feel they can trust a university research professor who has devoted years to understanding the pros and cons of each aspect of a digital camera system and workflow. You can download our colorful FLAAR Reports on our medium format digital camera initiative.