Phase One IQ260 Medium Format Digital Back
It looks like Phase One has started to ship the IQ260 Medium format digital backs to some customers and dealers. U.S. dealers will be receving a back for demo purposes and it also seems that some customers, mainly overseas have already received a production version of the IQ260. It’s my understanding that with Capture One version 7.1.1 and up, the new IQ2xx backs are supported for raw conversion and tethered support. The production firmware that comes with the IQ260 will support USB3 for tethered capture. This same firmware or a variant will also support USB3 tethered support for the older IQ140, 160 and 180, which is a real kudo for Phase One.
Currently I am working with the largest U.S. dealer for Phase One, Digital Transitions, based out of New York. I have had a upgrade on order from my IQ160 to a 260 since the announcement. I have owned my IQ160 since December of 2011 and it’s been a excellent digital back. I made the transition to a Arca rm3di tech camera at the same time and the two products have allowed for excellent photographic results. With the announcement of the IQ260, I was very concerned about the residua value of my 160. Phase One dropped the list price of the IQ160 by 3K U.S. the same time they announced the IQ260. Some of the extra features of the IQ260:
- Long exposures up to one hour in length
- Increase in dynamic range over the IQ160
- Wifi support for viewing captures on remote devices like ipad, iphone etc.
- Fully supported USB3 tethering
As I don’t shoot in a tethered environment, I was not too concerned about USB3, however the fact that Phase One now has USB3 working on the 260 and will have it working on the older IQ’s is good. Long exposures up to 1 hour in length which brings the 260 up to the relm of the P45+ is good for many shooters, but for my night work, I really don’t need it. It would be nice to be able to take some longer daylight exposures up to 3 to 4 minutes which the new 260 will easily allow and is beyond the exposure range of the 160 or 180. However I was much more interested in the improvements to dynamic range. This one subject has been glanced over in the press and user forums, but I feel strongly that it’s possibly one of the key improvements.
Since the announcement of the Nikon D800 family of cameras, there have been tons of comparisons between medium format digital and 35mm digital. I have owned a Nikon D800 since April of 2012 and have found it to be an excellent addition to my photographic tools. However I still prefer the look of the work I produce on the IQ160. One asset that the Nikon D800 has is it’s ability to produce very clean files in the iso ranges of 100 to 400. There is a huge improvement here from any 35mm DSLR that I have shot, and this included most of the current Canon line up and all of the Nikon line up. With the Nikon D800, you can push a file shot at iso 50 easily as much as 2.5 stops and possibly as much as 3.5 depending on the shot. You have the ability to pull up shadows from parts of the image that are basically close to black. With the higher iso ranges of 200 and 400, you don’t have as much leeway with pullup with shadows and noise, but you can still take a very clean exposure in the iso ranges of 200 and 400. So in landscape shooting situations where I need a faster shutter speed to stop motion, with the Nikon D800, I have no reservations of moving to iso 400 and shutter speeds of 1/250 and 1/500.
The current IQ160 produces very clean files at it’s base iso of 50. In fact I have often found that I can push the shadows up as much as 2 stops when working with Capture One. However in many cases it may be a better solution to push the highlights at time of exposure which gives more room to the shadows. Often as not, you can recover the highlights, something that was not so easy with the P45+. However there are times in the field where you need to be shooting at iso 200 and even 400. This occurs with windy situations when the tree movement will just be too extreme if shot at the base iso of 50. Also since I am using a tech camera, with a manual copal shutter, I don’t have the advantages of a a fully electronic shutter which allows for a wider range of exposure settings. The copal shutter is fixed at 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60th, 1/125th, 1/250th, and 1/500. You can’t get the full range that all modern DSLR’s and medium format bodies give, like 1/45th, or 1/3 of a sec. etc.
When you move the iso on the IQ160 up to 200, you will start to find some limitations of the Dalsa chip, especially when you start to limit the light with exposures like 1/30th and 1/60th of a sec. At these faster shutter speeds and at iso 200, you will start to catch considerable noise in the shadows enough that you can’t pull them up at all, and even a bit of color/saturation fall off. If you go up to iso 400, this issue gets much worse, enough that shooting at the shutter speeds of 1/30 and 1/60 become too noisy in most situations.
I am hoping to find that the IQ260 will alleviate some of these concerns, in fact these are the 3 areas I am most interested in seeing a comparison of.
2. Range of iso50 on the 260. Is it the same as the 160, or will there be a slight improvement from the 160 to 260. Hoping to see the ability to pull up shadows better on the 260, when exposing for the highlights.
3. iso 200 and 400. How do they compare to iso 200 and 400 on the IQ160. Does the 260 have better performance with iso 200 and 400 at base settings, or do you have to go to the long exposure mode base iso 140. If forced to go there, is there a loss of details at 200 and 400. There are many times where I need iso 200 to get to a shutter speed of 1/60 or 1/125th, and 400 would be even better. This is to stop wind blur on leaves when shooting water scenes. Also do color and clarity start to fall off with these new “enhanced” iso settings.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for all your posts. I find them to be very helpful and informative.
I just got done with a 3 day demo session with the 260 and I am impressed. The image quality is staggering. I found the smooth color transitions to be beautiful. I have places my order for the 260 upgrade from the P45+.
I always thought the P45+ was excellent but found the 260 to be far superior in every aspect. Sharpness, color, contrast, exposure latitude, dynamic range are all improved substantially with the 260.
I placed my order today and will have to wait patiently for 4 weeks for my new back and the 645DF+ to arrive.
I also enjoyed the wireless features, although I shoot mostly architecture so I won’t be using it that often. I have a CamRanger that I used to extend the wireless capability by a pretty good distance.
My main concern still remains with the Capture One software. Although the processing is the best I’ ve found, the software tries to do too much and remains glitches in my opinion.
Hello Dave:
Congratulations on the order for a new 260.
I moved to the 160 in late 2011 from a P45+ and really have enjoyed the difference in the sensors. The P45+ for my work was just too touchy on highlights and tended to blow them out totally if you were not careful. I quickly found I didn’t miss the 1 hour exposures I could take with the P45+ for gains in dynamic range that the 160 chip gave me.
Currently I have a 260 on order, and have told Digital Transitions to place me at the back of the list. I really want to see some side by side shots, which I hope to be able to get next week in Dallas.
My main hopes are still to see some improvements in the iso 200 and 400 ranges with the 260, either in the base settings, or the long exposures settings, (starting as iso140). Hopefully one of these two will yield cleaner files in these two iso ranges. If 50 is cleaner that would be nice, but it’s not as critical most times as 200 or 400. The trick is not losing details over nose.
I am surprised that there have not been more postings of examples from the 260, it’s been a bit quite actually.
Capture One, has it’s issues as you point out, however I feel that with vr. 7, it’s results are better than LR’s. Since I mainly shoot with a Arca tech camera, and have to use LCC’s I have not really processed out too many files in LR. Capture One does have many great tools, but for me the single greatest is the color selection tool. I also love the fact that you can now have more than 5 local adjustment layers. I don’t know much room all the local adjustment files take up, but it’s still a great feature.
Let me know when you get your 260 and how you like the DF+.
Sincerely
Paul Caldwell
I got to play with a IQ260/DF+ over the weekend. As the day went on I switched over to a IQ140/DF, just to get an understanding of the differences. I’m still stumbling around the UI of CaptureOne, but as a Canon shooter, I am amazed at the files and the level of detail.
Hello Joe:
Yes the level of detail is a bit addictive. Especially with the 260/160/P65+.
I was able to shoot with a 260 last week for about 5 hours. I was impressed but as I own the 160, I had hoped for a bit more DR room that what I found.
In the shots I took, I found iso 50 pretty much the same with 200 and 400 getting the edge over the 160, but only in the Long Exposure noise mode.
1st pass I found color of the 260 easier to work with than the 160 and the 160 has always pleased me in the past. 260 seems to write a bit faster which is also a nice feature.
I did not try out the wi-fi, but from what I have read about it, the feature is a nice one and with the latest firmware the speed from the camera to device is much faster. The ipad mini is
what I would be using if I continue on this upgrade path.
I also got to use a DF+ and for sure the AF is much much faster and more accurate than the older DF bodies. However still limited to 3 focus points which is really not that great especially since they are all
grouped together. I feel that a new totally new body is a ways away maybe a year to 1.5 years. The cost to upgrade to the DF+ from my DF is 4K, way way too much for what you get. I am also not in need of the
leaf shutter schneider glass as I mainly use a tech camera for my wides.
I have spent way too much time analyzing the images from the 260 and 160 and for now I give the 260 a bit of an edge in normal exposure ranges. The ability to use the 260 in exposures longer than 30 seconds at iso 50 (maybe) and for sure at iso 140
is a major feature but I am still not sure I can justify the upgrade cost of 14K (with the balance of my value add)
If you use the Phase One backs, Capture One is the best solution. I never have worked the files in LR even though I use LR for everything else. With the tech camera the LCC shot is critical and LR just can’t really work that too well and the workflow is a bit
strange. As you point out vr 7 of Capture One was a big jump in image quality, even for older files from my P45+.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and good luck on your final decision.
Paul Caldwell