Phase One IQ250 – First Digital Back with a CMOS sensor

Earlier today Phase One announced the first  Digital Back with a CMOS sensor – the IQ250. This announcement follows an earlier announcement this week by Hasselblad about the development of the H5D-50c – a medium format camera with a 50MP CMOS sensor which should be announced officially later this year.

The new Phase One  IQ250

IQ250-Glass-black copy22

The new sensor for the IQ250 was developed by Sony and is the first medium forma (44 x 33mm) 50MP sensor based on CMOS technology (so far medium format sensors used CCD technology which has several limitations including very basic Live-view capabilities, slow shooting speed, low sensitivity).

The new IQ250 back brings some interesting new features:

  • High sensitivity  ISO100 to ISO6400 (compared to max ISO 800 for most digital backs so far).
  • 14 f-stops dynamic range
  • 50 megapixel CMOS sensor – 44 x 33mm (68% larger than a 35mm sensor).
  • Responsive Live view (20-24 fps).
  • 2GB RAM.
  • 1.2 fps (interestingly not much faster than CCD based products).
  • Shutter speed – 1/10,000-60 min.
  • 3.2 inch touch display (1.15 million dots).
  • Price: $35,000 (availability – end of January 2014).

You can find more info and specs on the Phase One website as well as a few more details in the following interview.

Unlike most current medium format cameras and backs, Phase One is pushing the new IQ250 to new audiences which include high end wedding photographers and even extreme sports photographers (at least these are the people that have tested the camera over the past few months and are shown in the videos below).

Another short video from Phase One on the new CMOS sensor of the IQ250

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvEEB7GYbY0[/youtube]

Sports photographer, Tim Kemple with the IQ250

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dww2nkN6siU[/youtube]

Justine Ungaro wedding photographer with the IQ250

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNYlVwYQKhM[/youtube]

Wedding photographer Dan O’Day’s first day with the IQ250

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_rX9lRqgRg[/youtube]

Iddo Genuth
Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.

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