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Phase One XT: The First Modern Field Camera (and X-Shutter and new firmware)

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
I just went through your links. Many of them are not really discussing the problems of shutter vibration at all. And if they do, they are passing comments. As Darr noted, you are dealing with experienced photographers. I get your company is built on the idea of "absolute quality" and you need that with your price model. But marketing and actual applications are not the same. You have made valuable contributions at GetDPI, but, as noted above, you tend to mitigate the positive nature of those contributions by push strange ideas that are not accurate and are condescending in the face of other experience with products you are critical of.
The strange idea here is that focal plane shutters cause more vibrations than leaf shutters?

quotes from me on those threads:
Sounds like you are discovering how carefully one must use a 60 megapixel sensor when dealing with shutter speeds like 1/20th of a second with a long focal plane lens. The Hassy H body uses leaf shutter lenses (and leaf shutter lenses only) - this has advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that there is less net-motion caused by the shutter during the exposure (disadvantages would include a low maximum shutter speed, and increased weight/size/manufacturing-cost of the lens, and a tendency towards showing diffraction earlier in the f-stop range).

The DF body can use both leaf shutter lenses and focal plane lenses. When using a focal plane lens the motion of the shutter needs to be accounted for. The motion (or vibration/bounce) of the shutter is insignificant at most shutter speeds but when using a longer lens in the "danger zone" of 1/4th to 1/15th (or so) it will be a challenge. You'll want to be very careful of your tripod/head selection and increase your self timer (used after the mirror up) to be several seconds rather than 1 or 2 seconds. Carrying a high quality ND or polarizing filter can also help you jump the system down the stop needed to get out of that range.

Many many many of our landscape shooters use this lens and love it. All of them have had to learn through trial and error which tripods, which heads, and what settings will take full advantage of the P65+ 60 megapixel full-frame sensor.

By the way the "mirror-dampening" and "shutter-bounce-reduction" of the DF is already the best of any focal plane MF body I've used. I'm sure this will always be an area they work on (like every company always works on autofocus), but they cant' change physics.
You need a GREAT tripod/head combination and great technique to ensure you get full use out of the (Mamiya/Team-Phase-One) 300mm. It's absolutely possible, but camera shake, shutter bounce, focus accuracy are all pretty challenging with that lens.
I have 8000+ posts between here and LL and it's not as easy as you'd think to search for posts only from you. But the above quotes I found in a few minutes of searching are pretty clear.

The point being that it's not new for me to point out that focal plane shutters cause more vibration than leaf shutters and that, in some cases this can be problematic for image quality.

I get that I'm biased so everything I say will be scrutinized extra carefully, but this is really not a controversial statement. In fact Christopher mentioned it earlier in this very thread.

Notably, in many cases you can now (as of the last couple years) use sensor-based shutter (“ES”) on systems that normally use a focal plane shutter. In other cases you can use the leaf shutter rather than the focal plane shutter, when the camera/lens combo allows. So having a FPS does not always mean you must use it; obviously when it’s not in use it does not cause any vibration.

Yes, it is easy to sell to larger organizations with boatloads of money and no real knowledge of the photographic process
This is neither here, nor there, but the larger organizations we work with are, by far, the most technically challenging to satisfy.

For example, we made a custom film scanning rig for the Library of Congress FSA collection. There were several pages of very dense technical specifications along with specific testing methodology that would be used to evaluate them (plus another several dozen pages worth of vanilla government contract wording; don't get me started on that). Even at initial delivery I'm very confident saying we had delivered the best performing film scanner (at least within their use case). But we had to revise/improve the system twice (over the course of many months of R+D and testing) to pass every one of their tests.

Individuals often ask about sharpness, and want to see raw files, and do their own tests (these are very valid ways to test a camera and we are very glad to oblige). Large institutions usually want to systematically benchmark performance through a series of methodologically rigorous tests such as those outlined in the FADGI guidelines. That too is a valid (though very different) way of testing gear and we are also glad to oblige it.

I guess what I don't get is your response to the obvious frustration with your comments. Perhaps it is just misunderstanding. But as a representative of a company, your default position is to double down rather than to try to clear up the misunderstanding.
I may have responded with less than full generosity to Gerald. He has directly insulted me several times in this thread. But I choose to be here and given that choice it's my job to take that kind of direct and personal abuse on the chin. He indeed had some valid points which I feel I've now addressed and incorporated into my response.

In retrospect I think I was also needlessly dismissive of Narikin, and (assuming you'r reading) I apologize to you, Narikin for that.

I appreciate you calling me out on it; though, I do not think it's a consistent trend ("default position") you seem to. In general I think I respond quickly to corrections or requests for clarification. That's my goal in the very least. I acknowledge I respond to corrections and requests for clarifications far more readily when they come packaged as something other than a personal attack, which is a human failing of mine.

I do find it rather annoying when I'm given zero benefit of the doubt and instead someone jumps immediately to a "you're a dirty rotten liar" but I need to learn to suck it up, move on, and see if there is any factually accurate point underlying that fairly awful veneer.

This is one reason I don't use dealers. Every time I had a problem with something I bought, the dealer that was so nice during the purchase, suddenly changes and forgets all about the support that was offered. And when I was in charge in institutional purchases (item budgets approaching the million mark), dealer behavior was very much noted and sales were lost to those that did not measure up.
This is certainly not how DT operates.

Can you be specific: have you had this experience with DT? If you have please let me know when so I can look into the details to see if we can learn any lessons and do better in the future. If you have not had this experience with DT I would appreciate you clarifying it so we are not painted in that broad brush.
 
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dougpeterson

Workshop Member
Okay, I’ve tried to address some of the concerns voiced. I’ve been working quite long hours leading up to and after the XT launch. I’m spending the rest of the weekend focused on quality time with my daughter, and then have a couple busy days on a project that’s been deferred because of the XT. Please don’t misinterpret a lack of reply for a couple days as being ignored. You’re welcome to email me, or call our NYC or LA office with any questions. I’ll be back later in the week.
 

PedroL

Member
Forgive my jumping in, and for referring to you (Doug) in the third person.

Before I met Doug, I thought, as many of you do, that he pushed his gear too aggressively and was over-confident in his opinions.

Then I met him on a workshop, I found him an enthusiastic camera-geek who was intensely interested in helping people understand their gear so that they can get the best results possible. I was shocked (pleasantly). Since then, I see his posts through the person that I came to know. I guarantee that if you contact him with a desire to get to know any aspect of equipment that is not easily available to you, he will work on finding a way for you to learn about it.

Ok, back to the XT...





Matt


I can't help but to post a small note. Well said Matt. Thank you for positive comments. I have no interest in P1 as I am dedicated and enthusiastic Hasselblad user and dealer. I am following many photographic discussions, as I am in photography one way or another 60+ years and still loving it. Most of the time GetDPI is positive and friendly. But...
IMHO (if "H" exist in my case), all users of P1 should be grateful and thankful to have someone like Doug to turn to with any problems and questions. In pushing the limit of digital photography we have many situation, when we can use all help available.

So - Doug, keep up the good work and have a great weekend, Peter:D
 

Paul2660

Well-known member
Thanks to both DT and CI for publishing their informative blogs and info pages on the XT. Glad to see that tech is still moving forward in Tech Cameras.

Hopefully emotions will temper over time, as it seems that we do tend to move into brand specific circles. All the members on this forum have great experiences to share with particular brands and all the feedback is always appreciated.

The one thing I feel many may over look is that most of the brands of cameras being spoken about don't come to this site as members and make open comments, instead they rely on dealers of their products to carry the weight. Sure the dealers are in it to sell, but over the years I have been involved with this site (2008 and out), I have found a lot of great info shared.

Personally I still owe Doug for his help with my P45+. Interesting story, as during the problems, Doug was instrumental in getting the information I needed to have my P45+ issue resolved and he was not with the dealer I was using at the time. He was also extremely helpful with my IQ260, which was sent back to Phase for a top plate repair, and came back with pink highlights. Phase's first response to my concerns was less than stellar, stating it was due to tech camera use, even though the problem showed on DF+ or Arca.

I look forward to seeing user reports on the XT and to see if Phase makes further improvements over the next few years.

Personally for me the cost to switch is just too much.

Paul C
 

Christopher

Active member
Ok guys... I get all your opinions and I don’t agree with Doug all the time and especially on some Phase stuff we really have different approaches or opinions.

One thing however, is crystal clear all FPS will give more vibrations then most leaf Shutters. On the XF it’s super easy to see. Use the FPS and Leaf shutter with the 150/240 and once you reach certain shutter speeds will be crystal clear. After that use the ES and the difference again is clear.

I would argue that even a leaf shutter causes to much vibration and should only be used when needed.

And yes that all with a super stable tripod and a cube.
 

Geoff

Well-known member
It is unfortunate things slipped a bit sideways here, and this is regretful. I hope we get past all this. This is, after all, a community, aeven if sparks fly.

I’ve met none of the people involved in person, so please take this all in stride: yes, some of the comments got a bit rough, but we’re all sufficiently experienced veterans of the ‘net to know that the tone of a single statement can easily, and often is, misconstrued. What seems thoughtful or precise to one may be off-putting to another (possibly including this post too! ). This can start a downwards trend, first simply, and then it gains momentum..hard to stop especially when more direct jabs have been added.

It’s surprising such generally generous folks have gotten so heated here. Perhaps it’s the late nights and long hours. While Doug can push a point, he’s also been exceedingly generous on this forum. Also appreciated are the other participants, usually considerate in character.

Hopefully, we can ease off and get back on track.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Forgive my jumping in, and for referring to you (Doug) in the third person.

Before I met Doug, I thought, as many of you do, that he pushed his gear too aggressively and was over-confident in his opinions.

Then I met him on a workshop, I found him an enthusiastic camera-geek who was intensely interested in helping people understand their gear so that they can get the best results possible. I was shocked (pleasantly). Since then, I see his posts through the person that I came to know. I guarantee that if you contact him with a desire to get to know any aspect of equipment that is not easily available to you, he will work on finding a way for you to learn about it.

Ok, back to the XT...

Matt
Like Matt I’ve met Doug many times at both CI and DT. He’s a genuine guy that maybe the abstraction of web / email / chat have lost how helpful and genuine he is.

Heck, I’ve even picked up his misplaced IQ / Cambo kit in the middle of the Playa in Death Valley and probably saved his loss of $60k of gear:thumbs: Please don’t project what you read on the web to the person. Doug is super helpful, even to me who deals mostly with his ex-employer. He’s a genuinely good guy with good intentions. Oh, and sure he’s loyalty and a sales zealot for DT. If he worked for me I’d want him to be both helpful AND sales focused.I can’t fault him for that.
 

onasj

Active member
Wow, quite a change in this thread since I last read it a couple days ago.

I feel like I've come to know Doug fairly well over the past ~year through many interactions with him since before owning any MF gear. He's incredibly knowledgeable, passionate for this hobby/obsession/profession that we all share, and very generous with his time. He's answered countless questions from me by text, some in the early hours of the morning or late at night, *almost none of which are associated with a potential sale* from DT or Phase. He has been extraordinarily helpful as I've explored medium format photography. Yes, as an employee of a major Phase One dealer he stands to benefit from our interest in some of this gear. But I've never felt as though his affiliation with Phase One caused him to give me incorrect or biased data. For example, he was the first person to recommend to me that I consider Alpa tech cam gear based on our discussions of my MF wants and needs, even though DT doesn't sell Alpa gear. Indeed, Doug even provided me with blunt opinions that steered me away from certain tech cam brands that DT sells!

In my experiences, Doug has proven to be one of the most accurate and objective sources of data about MF photography I've ever encountered. Like any of us, he's not perfect. I suspect he maintains his helpfulness and objectivity in the face of personal criticisms to a greater extent than many of us. I rarely doubt his photography analyses, and I never doubt his integrity.

I hope we can return this thread to the discussion of the XT.
 

vjbelle

Well-known member
It would be a shame to ever lose the expertise of both Doug and Steve Hendrix. A lot of time goes into all of the posts which are not only loaded with lots of technical data but at times even criticism.

Have a great weekend with the family......

Victor
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I guess I’m a bit confused... did we need another tech cam solution? This isn’t really a question so much as a comment.

It would seem that many (like myself) are awaiting Phase One to enter the FF MF Mirrorless market to compete with Fuji/Hasselblad and to maybe step away from being purely tied to their digital backs. For my own usage, if it’s not economically more advantageous, I don’t get why I’d need to choose a DB over a mirrorless camera with a T/S solution from a company like Cambo when moment is desired. I’m sure this will be well received but it also seems like a step into doubling down on DB tech where I believe many are comfortable with the idea of the self contained MF body.
 

buildbot

Well-known member
I guess I’m a bit confused... did we need another tech cam solution? This isn’t really a question so much as a comment.

It would seem that many (like myself) are awaiting Phase One to enter the FF MF Mirrorless market to compete with Fuji/Hasselblad and to maybe step away from being purely tied to their digital backs. For my own usage, if it’s not economically more advantageous, I don’t get why I’d need to choose a DB over a mirrorless camera with a T/S solution from a company like Cambo when moment is desired. I’m sure this will be well received but it also seems like a step into doubling down on DB tech where I believe many are comfortable with the idea of the self contained MF body.
Or even with a digital back, something like the 907x would be really cool, with new shorter flange lenses and an adapter to the existing 645 lenses. You could even throw a shutter into the lenses, or into the back adapter, an add on like the sinarcam shutters basically.

It’s funny that phase haven’t thrown something out there, the hardest part of the camera is the back and associated insane electronic and software engineering, vs perhaps expensive and precise but relatively simple mechanical engineering for something like the 907x?

Not saying the XT isn’t a amazing for a certain crowd though :)
 

RandB

New member
Clearly Doug has been working as a 28-hour-per-day answering service on the XT. Just as clearly, no good deed goes unpunished. Stop the personal vitriol and discuss the XT please.
 

f8orbust

Active member
Clearly Doug has been working as a 28-hour-per-day answering service on the XT. Just as clearly, no good deed goes unpunished. Stop the personal vitriol and discuss the XT please.
+1

Can't everyone just agree to disagree and move on, all honour/pride/kahones etc intact.

Last thing we want is another Thierry Hagenauer incident.
 

JaapD

Member
+1, I fully support this. Doug and I have from time to time a different opinion about things and that’s perfectly valid as we all are entitled to have our own opinions.

Not to throw fuel on the fire with shutter shock discussion but if Doug would have mentioned the Pentax67 “a shutter like a garage door” as example we all would have understood his point, right? After everything that's been said about it now would be the moment to leave it as is, don't you agree?

Doug, you’re a great guy and I very much appreciate your responses and value your opinions from the perspective of product- & brand representative.

Regards,
Jaap.
 

gerald.d

Well-known member
Clearly Doug has been working as a 28-hour-per-day answering service on the XT. Just as clearly, no good deed goes unpunished. Stop the personal vitriol and discuss the XT please.
There is no vitriol here.

Go back and read, in context, in order, what was said by whom and when.

The ad hominens thrown at me for simply challenging the veracity of the claims being made were clear.

That the originally challenged claims have finally been corrected speaks volumes about the FUD and falsehoods being pedaled in his posts that I responded to.

Any more attack’s on my character and I will forensically analyze the entire exchange and publish it.

And I’m perfectly fine about how I will come out of that little exercise.
 

JaapD

Member
There is no vitriol here.

Go back and read, in context, in order, what was said by whom and when.

The ad hominens thrown at me for simply challenging the veracity of the claims being made were clear.

That the originally challenged claims have finally been corrected speaks volumes about the FUD and falsehoods being pedaled in his posts that I responded to.

Any more attack’s on my character and I will forensically analyze the entire exchange and publish it.

And I’m perfectly fine about how I will come out of that little exercise.
You want an attack on your character? Difficult because you don’t have one. Get a life an go bother someone else, nobody is interested in your opinion.

Jaap.
 

Mexecutioner

Well-known member
There is no vitriol here.

Go back and read, in context, in order, what was said by whom and when.

The ad hominens thrown at me for simply challenging the veracity of the claims being made were clear.

That the originally challenged claims have finally been corrected speaks volumes about the FUD and falsehoods being pedaled in his posts that I responded to.

Any more attack’s on my character and I will forensically analyze the entire exchange and publish it.

And I’m perfectly fine about how I will come out of that little exercise.
Hello Gerald,

I don't have the pleasure of knowing you personally, but from what I can see you have been around this forum for a while and seem pretty knowledgeable and eager to share your views.

I am fairly new to this forum and MF itself and come here to seek information, advice, a healthy exchange of ideas and to learn from people more experienced than me. Would it be too much to ask to give this feud a rest so the thread can progress and go back to discussing the XT? It is obvious that many people are getting tired if it and IMHO it is not worth it.

I had a demo of the system this past Friday and will share my thoughts as soon as I have time to write them down for those interested.

Thanks,

Rodrigo
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Cool your jets all -- the next vitriolic post will result in a ban, and Jaap you were close to just getting one here...

I am cranky and getting tired of snarky online behavior on ALL online forums. Play nice!
 
I will never own a $57,000 camera but I like to keep up with technology. However, I feel bludgeoned to death by both sides over the past couple of days and have completely lost interest in this new camera. Enjoy your arguments. I’m sure one of you is right.
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
I really miss that satisfying "Wack-ker-CHUNK" of the Pentax 67 mirror/shutter. By golly, you KNEW when you'd taken an exposure, and so did everyone in your zip code.

And the "whirrrrrrr-click" of a 1 second exposure from a mechanical Copal shutter will be gone once everything has gone electronic. :cry: These modern leaf shutter lenses just don't make the right sounds!

Matt
 
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