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Phase One IQ260, IQ280, and Achromatic - 11 Things to Know

Shashin

Well-known member
WOW. That was quick. It seemed like yesterday when we were saying you were dead and had no more advances to the backs.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
In normal mode you can get ISO50 for 1-2 minutes (final data on that still coming in). But if you want to do beyond 2 minutes you need to turn on long exposure mode which means raising the base ISO to 140.
That right there is worth the price of admission. You actually get 2 different performing backs into one. As they say at McDonalds make that a combo, hold the mayo. Hate that crap
 

jlm

Workshop Member
to satisfy a tech curiosity, what is the strategy behind boosting the base iso from 50 to 140 as part of exposing longer than 2 min? you get a 1-1/2 stop more from the iso change and can use the extra time, another 6 or seven stops, gaining about 8-9 stops EV just from using long exposure mode
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
to satisfy a tech curiosity, what is the strategy behind boosting the base iso from 50 to 140 as part of exposing longer than 2 min? you get a 1-1/2 stop more from the iso change and can use the extra time, another 6 or seven stops, gaining about 8-9 stops EV just from using long exposure mode
I'm writing an article about the technical underpinnings of the long exposure capability they've achieved with the IQ260.

Should be ready to publish Wednesday.
 

jagsiva

Active member
Doug, any chance the tech in the 260 sensor can/may/will be extended to the 280 or Achro backs? If you need to kill me if you tell me, I can wait (kids are still young):)
 
...
Edit: I've received confirmation that the Achromatic will be limited to 2 minutes. The downloadable datasheet was in error and has now been corrected. For those looking for long exposure in an IQ chassis the Phase One IQ260 is the only game in town...
That's a real shame.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
So, lets see. A color 60MP back costs $30,000. So the monochrome back only costs $10,000 because it is missing two of the colors! Where do I sign up?
 

alajuela

Active member
Wow - Two questions.
One-- the Wifi am I correct in thinking that you could be on the beach with just your tech camera, and an iPad and get live view and review directly on the ipad. That would make focusing so great, instead of just always figuring shooting at infinity. I like wide angle close up shots. You would now have a great view finder :)


Two any word on ISO improvement or live view along with increase in DR?

Phil
 

alajuela

Active member
Couldn't the iPhone be mounted on your tech camera as well?

If my assumption is correct and validated by the experts :lecture: - I would think you could, but I bet ya - they come out with a mini ipad holder you can put in the hot shoe - similar to to iphone holder - maybe don't even need the wide angle lens for the holder like the iphone.

Phil
 

jagsiva

Active member
But I thought medium format was dead and D800 the new king :deadhorse:

Peter
Frankly the 260 is the back. I would look no further myself
Guy, I must disagree respectfully on this one.....I think the 260 Achro is the back that is a really a head-turner here. Don't get me wrong, the IQ260 is sure to be a great upgrade from the P65+ and even the IQ160. Far more so than the IQ280 from an IQ180.

We know lots of guys have been hanging on to their P45+ backs waiting for a no-crop long-exposure back for a while, and I think subtle tonal differences between the IQ180 and 160 will be equalized or bettered by the 260...

...but, a bayer-less full-frame MFDB!!!! Yes, I wish they based it on the new 60MP sensor with the long exposure times (the IQ260 Achromat sounds like it is the same sensor as the P65+/IQ160), but surely there is nothing like it except the P45+ based Achromat+ which cost quite a penny as well.

I think my order is going in tomorrow although the wait may be long.

After I got out of Leica upon deciding that I'd rather give gobs of money to a company like Phase that at least are appreciative of receiving it vs. L that believe it is their god given right to take it from you, I was afraid every time I saw images out of the MM that I may have to swallow my pride and buy one and a couple of lenses, but hallelujah!! Here comes P1 to the rescue.

I cannot wait to try the new Rodies and Shneiders on this back. I suspect the resolution will be close to my 180 without the filter. BTW, I have never shot the Leica S, but even the best M glass that costs as much as the best tech lenses, and you wait months for, don't come close to what the newer Rodie and SK lenses offer, not by a long shot. I also much prefer the neutral, accurate and sharp images I get from them vs the super saturated, contrasty images that most called the "Leica look" -- sure to get challenged on this one, but heck, I had to get into a second bottle of Malbec to decide on the new purchase :)

I did not realize this announcement would come so soon, so I have a coastal optics 60mm along with a full-spectrum D800 coming in later this week. While this will be good for IR (B&W and false colour), I think the Achro back will be in a different league.

Not sure upgrading the IQ180 to the IQ280 would be a worthwhile for my work, the marginal DR would be nice, but WIFI and carrying around and iPad is not worth the coin.

Also, looking at how aggressively they have priced upgraded from the pre IQ series, someone has done some market analysis. It is unlikely that a current IQ user is going to switch, while someone sitting on a 4-6 year back, certainly needs some incentive. A used P65+ may have sold for 15K on a private sale, add 17.5 and for just over 32K you're back in with the best back in the business! This is certainly great play for Phase, and hats off to Phase for doing it!
 

mmbma

Active member
I am exactly in this boat. It was almost a no brainer for me to upgrade the P65+ to the IQ280. Like you said the all in would be only 32k. If I didn't like the back I could sell it at above 32k for sure. The hard decision was whether to go for 260 or 280. My gut feeling tells me that the 260 will be much more in demand than the 280 but for 3.5k difference (and without the need for long expo), I opted for the elepant gun.

Guy, I must disagree respectfully on this one.....I think the 260 Achro is the back that is a really a head-turner here. Don't get me wrong, the IQ260 is sure to be a great upgrade from the P65+ and even the IQ160. Far more so than the IQ280 from an IQ180.

We know lots of guys have been hanging on to their P45+ backs waiting for a no-crop long-exposure back for a while, and I think subtle tonal differences between the IQ180 and 160 will be equalized or bettered by the 260...

...but, a bayer-less full-frame MFDB!!!! Yes, I wish they based it on the new 60MP sensor with the long exposure times (the IQ260 Achromat sounds like it is the same sensor as the P65+/IQ160), but surely there is nothing like it except the P45+ based Achromat+ which cost quite a penny as well.

I think my order is going in tomorrow although the wait may be long.

After I got out of Leica upon deciding that I'd rather give gobs of money to a company like Phase that at least are appreciative of receiving it vs. L that believe it is their god given right to take it from you, I was afraid every time I saw images out of the MM that I may have to swallow my pride and buy one and a couple of lenses, but hallelujah!! Here comes P1 to the rescue.

I cannot wait to try the new Rodies and Shneiders on this back. I suspect the resolution will be close to my 180 without the filter. BTW, I have never shot the Leica S, but even the best M glass that costs as much as the best tech lenses, and you wait months for, don't come close to what the newer Rodie and SK lenses offer, not by a long shot. I also much prefer the neutral, accurate and sharp images I get from them vs the super saturated, contrasty images that most called the "Leica look" -- sure to get challenged on this one, but heck, I had to get into a second bottle of Malbec to decide on the new purchase :)

I did not realize this announcement would come so soon, so I have a coastal optics 60mm along with a full-spectrum D800 coming in later this week. While this will be good for IR (B&W and false colour), I think the Achro back will be in a different league.

Not sure upgrading the IQ180 to the IQ280 would be a worthwhile for my work, the marginal DR would be nice, but WIFI and carrying around and iPad is not worth the coin.

Also, looking at how aggressively they have priced upgraded from the pre IQ series, someone has done some market analysis. It is unlikely that a current IQ user is going to switch, while someone sitting on a 4-6 year back, certainly needs some incentive. A used P65+ may have sold for 15K on a private sale, add 17.5 and for just over 32K you're back in with the best back in the business! This is certainly great play for Phase, and hats off to Phase for doing it!
 

rupho

New member
I am surprised that nobody feels cautious regarding implementation of wifi.
USB tethering is still not working after 2 years.
Even life view took a while to implement.
I wait and see if its actually working before an upgrade is in order .

I would also like to understand how they actually transfer such a large file to an iPad or will it be more like the Canon transmitters that keep the RAW on the card and transmit just a jpegs that's residing next to the jpeg.
That seems more doable in terms of transfer speeds.
Does anybody know how this is going to work.

One other issue for the 260 with long exposures will certainly be battery life especially if you have to shoot the black frame.
Will batteries last that long?

But certainly a welcome upgrade .
 
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