For the price of a Jaguar F-Type, you can own the modular XF IQ4 Camera System that hits 151 megapixels
With more and more DSLRs, and even mirrorless cameras, boasting sensors around the 50MP mark, some photographers have remarked on the “approaching medium format” quality of modern 35mm-equivalents.
Well, Phase One has just drawn a line in the sand with its announcement of three new IQ4 medium format Camera Systems – two of which boast gargantuan 150MP sensors, along with gargantuan price tags.
Its price tag might be eye-watering, but Phase One's IQ4 sets the standard by which image quality is measured.
The XF IQ4 150MP Achromatic delivers 151 megapixels at a price of $54,990 (£42,614), with the slightly cheaper XF IQ4 150MP offering 151 megapixels for $51,990 USD (£40,290), while the XF IQ4 100MP Trichromatic gives you a comparatively conservative 100 megapixels for $47,990 (£37,189).
If you’re keeping track, that works out at about $344 (£267) per MP.
The new Camera Systems enable you to make the most of those gorgeous, blue-ring, Schneider Kreuznach lenses.
On top of the raw horsepower, though, the new Camera Systems also boast ‘Capture One Inside’. Essentially, the core of the Capture One editing software has been integrated directly into the new IQ4 models, which are built on the new and expandable Infinity Platform.
With the core of Capture One now integrated into the system, photographers have unprecedented ability to edit images in-camera.
This enables a new degree of in-camera editing that was previously only possible using Capture One on a computer. On top of improved processing, live view and frame rates, the IQ4 also features Wireless, USB-C and ethernet tethering – it’s now possible to directly interface with all manner of hard drives, NAS storage and network solutions.
Whether you’d rather own a Jaguar F-Type for the same money, or even a dozen fully kitted Nikon Z7s, is another matter. There’s no arguing, though, that the IQ4 is the new king in terms of megapixel muscle and is the premier professional tool.
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James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes.
