XC40 official

[Paul Spinnler]

The marketing video. They are alive and kicking. Good to see.

Marketing e-mails have been sent out.

Some points:
1.) One truly needs an EVF port / accessory for this solution to truly shine practically; hand-holding it and shooting with it is tedious w/o EVF
2.) 54x40 for next-gen (e.g. 275 MPX and large-format look) would tip the scale for a lot of on the fence people - hope they re-think the 247 choice
3.) 20k for a lens with fixed mount is an "elite" price point I'd say

The marketing materials contain the error (?) saying it is a Digaron-S lens, but the 40 HR is a Digaron-W design - so maybe it is on purpose or the lens has been somehow modified to have a smaller IC. The 40 is ofc a lot better than the 23 HR which is just too wide as a general purpose walkaround lens.

The concept is cool, but one really wants to put the eye into an eye cup for this to be a complete experience.

In broad sunlight framing and composing with the live view freehand becomes tricky in my experience.

There you go – IQ5 is basically 247 / 3:2 / EVF port coupled with the XC lenses P1's concept of mirrorless.

Next roadmap stops:
+ IQ5 247 / 3:2
+ XT XL

 

[mristuccia]

It reminds me of the 907x concept.
No IBIS and no EVF as well I suppose.

And no autofocus, plus a fixed lens? Wow, they are even braver than Hasselblad is.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

I think the issue is there's no budget for anything from the investors and the product manager has to cobble together new products with limited means.

They essentially take off-the-shelf products and stick them together and ask a price where every single one is profitable.

Cambo does the one-off machining development for a new low R&D product like this one and then they sell it for 20k. As long as there are aficionados into this they are fine.

The ad was done by the product manager himself ... goes to show how cost focused management is.

No one even noticed that a Digaron-S 40 does not exist ...

IBIS will never come - best we can hope for is an EVF accessory which works with the IQ5 via an EVF port or wirelessly – which would be great to be honest.

 

[JaimeRivera]

Regarding the EVF ordeal, the OQ4 supports hdmi out, why not just get an external viewfinder and use it as that.



https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1527845-REG

 

[ThdeDude]

Wonder whether the 23mm and 40mm front elements of the XC23 and XC40, respectively, are readily interchangeable?

XC60 next?

P.S. Meant XC50 using the 50mm HR Digaron-W 50mm. The lightweight Digaron-S 60mm might have been a better choice but is since years discontinued.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Regarding the EVF ordeal, the OQ4 supports hdmi out, why not just get an external viewfinder and use it as that.



https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1527845-REG

It doesnt work at all for that purpose.

I've been down that path with the top line Zacuto EVF. You need external battery which you need to lug around; then you need a complex contraption so it all fits on top and it is way too big and heavy.

And the live view in the EVF is shit because you can't easily zoom to 100% to check focus where you need to - the whole HDMI implementaiton in the IQ4 is not done well with cumbersome menu dives needed to set it up and no easy way to go around in the viewfinder to find the focus point.

Forget it.

 

[cunim]

Oh come on. The guy is hand holding that camera. Lens and any fancy back are wasted.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Wonder whether the 23mm and 40mm front elements of the XC23 and XC40, respectively, are readily interchangeable?

XC60 next?

Well following in the steps of tomorrow's Q3 43, it could be XC70; the 60 Digaron-S would be better, but isn't produced anymore - I would have also preferred them to use the Digaron-S 35 if they do one-trick-pony lenses as it covers FF and is very compact and sharper than the 40 HR-W with no movements.

But kudos, where kudos is due - the XC40 is what the XC23 should have been from the getgo.

A 28mm equivalent, it is the most flexibile solution for a walkaround camera. It is a very useful focal length on the IQ4, so this lens package DOES make sense and I do believe the XC40 is a cool lens to get if you have the money.

It also has barely vignetting and you are using the sweet spot of the lens, so IQ-wise there's probably not much that can touch the edge-to-edge image file quality coming out of an IQ4/5 XC40 combo.

Once they release the EVF its really cool.

 

[mristuccia]

Call me crazy but I'm actually thinking of simply putting a detachable/retractable magnifier glass onto my 907x's display.
I'll experiment on how to anchor it to the two strap lugs. That would be enough for me, just when the sun light/angle is too strong.

I have this right now for experimenting on such idea:



That's my poor-man solution

 

[Paul Spinnler]

It should work, although the problem is more how do you focus critically when hand holding? For that you need to update the firmware to have a manual focus zoom to 100 percent feature like in the SL cameras … the problem Infound with the external Zacuto was that I could not easily zoom to the area I wanted to check focus critically while hand holding it.

250 megapixels is so much resolution that you need a way to quickly zoom in and a sort of joystick to be able to navigate to the right spot to zoom to

 

[mristuccia]

It should work, although the problem is more how do you focus critically when hand holding? For that you need to update the firmware to have a manual focus zoom to 100 percent feature like in the SL cameras … the problem Infound with the external Zacuto was that I could not easily zoom to the area I wanted to check focus critically while hand holding it.

250 megapixels is so much resolution that you need a way to quickly zoom in and a sort of joystick to be able to navigate to the right spot to zoom to

I have a 100% zoom action configured on the joystick's push button on the grip. So, I wouldn't even have to take my eye off the finder.

 

[anyone]

Call me crazy but I'm actually thinking of simply putting a detachable/retractable magnifier glass onto my 907x's display.
I'll experiment on how to anchor it to the two strap lugs. That would be enough for me, just when the sun light/angle is too strong.

I have this right now for experimenting on such idea:

View attachment 216274

That's my poor-man solution

Use the hoodman loupe!

 

[Epstar83]

Call me crazy but I'm actually thinking of simply putting a detachable/retractable magnifier glass onto my 907x's display.
I'll experiment on how to anchor it to the two strap lugs. That would be enough for me, just when the sun light/angle is too strong.

I have this right now for experimenting on such idea:

View attachment 216274

That's my poor-man solution

I'm using a Hoodman loupe with my 907X and it works nicely. Albeit I mostly usie it that way on a tripod if it's bright outside. In dim light it is not really needed.

 

[Paul2660]

Regarding the EVF ordeal, the OQ4 supports hdmi out, why not just get an external viewfinder and use it as that.



https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1527845-REG

Because you can’t do anything with the HDMI out. You can’t move around the image to check focus or anything. You are zoomed into the center of the file period. It still amazes me P1 did not resolve this with a firmware update so a user could attach a Atomos style external monitor to view the live view. All the crap waiting for C1 mobile etc for 3 years. And it’s still not very good.
Paul

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Because you can’t do anything with the HDMI out. You can move around the image to check focus or anything. You are zoomed into the center of the file period. It still amazes me P1 did not resolve this with a firmware update so a user could attach a Atomos style external monitor to view the live view. All the crap waiting for C1 mobile etc for 3 years. And it’s still not very good.
Paul

Yes the attention to detail is 0 - its like the division gets 0 R&D capacity from the mothership, all is diverted to areas making more money, so to say.

The firmware implementation of HDMI is basically just for macro guys using a big TV to check the scene when sitting in a cosy studio but it is totally not practical.

Also the interface doesnt change to an EVF like mode - its a totally abandoned part of the firmware.

The HDMI port is there, but it is useless, essentially.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

So what do you guys think? Is it enticing?

 

[MGrayson]

40 with no movements isn’t wide enough. 28 would be my choice. Also not in the market for an MFDB

 

[mristuccia]

Use the hoodman loupe!

Nope, but thanks.
The hoodman is not foldable and it costs way too much for its purpose.
The one I indicated is tack sharp and can fold in. Used a lot with the CFV-50c + live view for fine focusing when needed.

 

[glaiben]

I plop a regular 35mm Schneider loupe onto the surface of the CFV100C rear screen presently to check focus and tame a bit of the sun. Not elegant, but it works OK. I'd love to have something that attaches as Marco describes. I use the touch screen primarily, so the ability to fold out of the way without obstructing the buttons, and a robust method of attachment, would be ideal.

It looks like the XC40 is designed for young eyes who can handhold a body steady 18" in front of them. On occasion, I use a Opti-Visor; it works pretty well also to keep glare out and allow magnification. Plus, this 68 year old man avoids the problem of attracting young girls in the field whilst wearing it along with cargo shorts. <g>

 

[wattsy]

So what do you guys think? Is it enticing?

Yes. It looks like a more solid and higher spec alternative to my 907x which I use most of the time in manual focus mode. Although I oscillate between 28mm and 45mm XCD lenses I would be very happy to settle on a single Rodenstock 40mm lens (which with the larger Phase chip would give me a nice in-between field of view). However, the XC40 is not something I can afford and I suspect I might regret the extra weight of the XC40 (roughly twice that of my 907x with 45P) when carrying the camera out in the field.