Medium Format Camera News

Phase One pushed its rustically modern A-series medium format camera system into the stratosphere yesterday with a new 100-megapixel model. Called the A-series IQ3 100MP, Phase One worked in collaboration with Alpa to create this new camera system.  

Since this is my first foray into camera reviews, I’ll start with a little background info. I am an automotive photographer on staff at two of Shutterbug’s sister publications, Motor Trend and Automobile. Prior to Motor Trend I managed Silvio’s Photoworks in SoCal, and before that I was a manager at the equipment and studio checkout at Brooks Institute of Photography, where I got my BFA. I have used everything from 4x5s to my iPhone, old or new, film or digital. And ever since my dad first handed me his Pentax K1000 in fifth grade, my lens has been aimed at cars.

For those of you who have never worked in medium format, trust me, there is a difference you can see and feel. It’s no wonder that photographers such as Douglas Sonders choose a medium format camera system over a DSLR for the bulk of their work. And in Sonders’s case, his workhorse camera system is Phase One.

One of the better deals we saw at the recent PhotoPlus Expo show in New York City was a massive price drop on the Pentax 645Z medium format camera and on a complete 645Z “Starter Kit” that included three high quality lenses, accessories and an extended warranty. And now here’s the good news: the deal, which cuts $1,500 off the price of the 51-megapixel 645Z, has been extended, making digital medium format slightly more accessible to the masses.

Phase One just rolled out a major update to its XF Medium Format Camera System, which was only introduced last June. The Copenhagen, Demnark-based company also announced three new Schneider Kreuznach leaf shutter lenses to add to the arsenal.

Leica announced this morning that its long-awaited Leica S (Typ 007) medium format camera will start shipping globally next month. It’s unclear, however, when exactly the 37.5-megapixel camera will go on sale here in the United States. In a press announcement this morning, the company said only that the Leica S (Typ 007) will start “rolling out in U.S. stores throughout the fall.”

Hasselblad has just launched the A5D, the company's newest medium format camera system for aerial photography. Designed to deliver high image quality and reliability, the Hasselblad A5D is available in three sensor sizes: 40, 50 and 60 megapixels. The sensor options include the CCD-based A5D-40 and A5D-60, and a CMOS- based A5D-50.