Medium format digital enters the CMOS era

I've been shooting the Pentax 645D medium format digital camera system since late 2010 when it first became available in Canada. (It came out in Japan earlier that year.) I've really enjoyed using the system very much during the past 3+ years. It has been very suited to my personal way of working and most of the subject material and circumstances I work with. With it, I've produced some amazing images; I've been able to create images of much higher resolution and/or quality (especially for larger print purposes) than I could do with my Canon 35mm gear with a similar level of capture & processing effort. E.J. recently wrote a long article where he compared the Phase IQ260 against his current Nikon D800E. His purposes are similar to my own, and his conclusion that medium format gives him a better result is even more true for me, coming as I was from my older Canon 5D Mk II.
http://www.naturescapes.net/articles/op ... um-format/

Like any system, the 645D has not been perfect. (Likewise the other MF vendors weren't producing perfect cameras either; E.J. details some of the trade-offs he found in evaluating the Phase IQ260 in the above article.) The 645D was Pentax's first foray into MF digital, following an interruption in any kind of MF system after they shut down production of their long-running and well-respected 645 and 67 film camera lines. Other MF players like Hasselblad and Phase had more refined MF digital systems than Pentax, offering some benefits in areas where Pentax was weaker. But Pentax had its own strengths, including being affordable (at least in terms of all other MF systems ), having most of the functionality and ergonomics of a well-designed DSLR, and being very convenient yet rugged in heavy field use.

One of the biggest weakness of all MF digital systems has been their reliance on CCD sensors, made by Kodak, Dalsa and others. The use of CCD typically meant higher cost, limited range of ISO, no Live View, slow read-out speed, and various other downsides. Of course CCD's also have their benefits too, but coming from Canon DSLR equipment I really missed Live View and, to a lesser extent, the wider ISO range and frame rate.

The past couple of weeks, all of the main MF vendors (except Leica, so far) have been making a series of announcements that show that MF digital is entering a new era -- that of the high resolution CMOS sensor. Hasselblad had the first announcement I saw, but their new H5D-50c is not shipping yet. The next announcement came from Phase, and they have a more important "first" because their new IQ250 camera is actually available now. Just today, Ricoh has jumped on the band-wagon, announcing that they'll be showing a new "reference camera" 645D based on a CMOS sensor. They've stated no specs other than marketing statements like "super-high-resolution", "high-speed response", and the camera having a "tilt-type LCD monitor". Rumours indicate this might actually be a mirrorless MF camera, a sort of Sony a7R on steroids, but so far there's no confirmation of that. Either way, presumably the new Pentax sensor will be similar, or even the same, as the one used by Hassy and Phase. Also presumably, the new Pentax system will be dramatically cheaper than any of the others.

For those who felt MF might be falling behind the imaging performance or shooting convenience curve of the top-line 35mm cameras like the Nikon D800/E or Sony a7R, the new Hassy, Phase and presumably Pentax MF cameras sport a CMOS sensor giving 50MP resolution at a claimed dynamic range of 14-bits, and including Live View and probably some other benefits of modern sensor design. These new cameras are powered by similar (or the same) Sony-made medium format (ish) sized sensor. At 44x33mm it's actually smaller than full frame 645 which would be 60x45mm. But it's larger than a 36x24mm full frame sensor in the 35mm world, the best of which these days are also being manufactured by Sony.

Even with these new sensors, I suspect MF digital is still going to be of interest to a relatively thin slice of the total set of photographers. But I'm personally very interested to get my hands on a new Pentax CMOS-equipped 645D camera and see what it's capable of. 35mm imaging quality has been driving forward the past couple of years after a period of doldrums, enabled almost single-handedly by Sony sensors offering an amazing combination of resolution and dynamic range. I'm really interested to see what kind of development path may become possible in MF with Sony bringing its weight to bear there as well...

The Sony EXMOR technology in that camera will be stunning. The question that a lot of people are waiting to be answered if it gives that same level of 3D feel as the medium format CCD sensors do. Have you figured out yet what the pixel pitch is on the new Pentax? Mirrorless with leaf shutter lenses would be the way to go from the standpoint of stability but somehow I find that one hard to believe.

If it's the same CMOS sensor across all 3 of the new Hassy, Phase and Pentax cameras, I believe the pixel pitch should be 5.3µ.

The 3D-like dimensionality is one of the things that people most claim is a reason why MF cameras should NOT abandon CCD and go over to CMOS. Personally I don't know that I buy it, at least not as some kind of inherent property of CCD sensors. If there is such a visible effect (and I don't deny my 645D files have amazing dimension compared to my old Canon 5D Mk II files), I suspect it's more to do with a combination of things like colour filter array, microlenses, lack of AA filter, sensor DR, noise structure and perhaps something to do with how the sensor data is read out & processed by the in-camera pipeline. Except for the latter, most of these factors would (or could) be the same on CCD and CMOS. But we'll have to see...

I do agree that if the Sony EXMOR sensor qualities we see in 35mm cameras scale up at least as well on these new MF cameras, they are going to be cracking good... even though they're not yet at full 645 frame size. Hopefully that will come next.

Pentax has some 645 leaf shutter lenses, but not a lot of them. A mirrorless 645D with in-body stabilization and electronic first curtain would have been killer, but somehow I doubt that one too.

Well, Ricoh has already posted a couple of initial product shots for the new Pentax 645D along with their official press release. It's definitely not a mirrorless model. Looks like the form factor is very similar to the first model, with some differences mainly for functionality like the pop-out tilt LCD. And some incremental button & control changes. Looks like the camera may indeed do video as a side effect of the CMOS / Live View sensor. The first camera shot shows what appear to be pinholes in the housing above the M-UP control, presumably for mic and speaker.

Keeping the form factor largely intact suits me fine because the 645D is a variation of the long-proven 645 film body, and I've found it very good to use.

http://news.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/rim_inf ... 04695.html

That means the pixel size is a bit larger than the D800 so it should have at least as good dynamic range and probably a bit better and slightly lower noise.

Actually when I looked at the Phase One files, I came to the conclusion that the 3D like qualities are simply because you are recording more fine details in things far away from the camera, like detailed individual blades of grass that are a hundred feet or more from the camera with good acuity and also that those cameras don't have AA filters. I agree that it isn't inherent to the CCD.

Electronic first curtain would be great too. But I'm guessing the electronics will be derived from the K3 like your current camera's were derived from the K5.

Any idea on price yet?

No hint of the price yet for the new 645D, anywhere that I've seen. This info literally just popped out a few hours ago with no telegraphing or leaks from Ricoh. I'm going to make some serious phone calls tomorrow but there probably isn't any info until the reference models are shown starting Feb. 13 - 16 at the CP+ show, at the earliest. Ricoh is saying "spring 2014" for market launch, so pricing should come out soon.

Looking at the past track record, the first 645D was released right around the $10K price point in North America, which was a bargain at the time. Since then, we have the high resolution D800E and a7R on the market adding some downward price pressure assuming Ricoh wants to attract some high-end 35mm DSLR owners as well as steal some market out from under the other MF vendors. So I can't see the new 645D coming in any higher than $10K, and perhaps lower. The new CMOS sensor should be a lower cost part than the old CCD was, and Ricoh may be factoring in a new economic model with this camera body as part of a revitalized 645D product line including some relatively spendy new premium lenses. And I expect there will be continued R&D and component sharing with the 35mm cameras, as there was on the original 645D, to keep body development costs down.

Even at $10K the 645D II would still be a bargain compared to the pricing of the Hassy and Phase models. Though the full camera systems are less directly comparable than just the sensors alone, of course...

Yeah I found out abut it a couple hours before your post from DPReview. the PhaseOne cameras are already shipping so it looks like the development time is pretty fast, likely Sony provided a DALSA/Kodak compatible output making camera development easy. No I guess it's Leica's turn to announce an S2 with that sensor.

Been following this entire discussion about the new CMOS MF backs on LuLa. Having bought an  IQ180 and 645D+ unit from Phase One just a few months ago, I can't say I am not miffed, but that is technology for you.

There will always be a newer and better product around the corner, but that does not make what you have obsolete. It is the old argument about the M9 vs the M240 and whether the 'look' of the CCD was better than the CMOS. Having used both, I actually preferred the latter, but again it may simply have been the extra resolution.

What I would really like to see is the high resolution of the IQ180 along with greatly improved high ISO capability in a package that allows for AF servo or at least a much better AF than what's available now. Nobody is going to use an MF camera for BIF, but the whole process is so slow at present that it really is not useful as a wildlife camera. And yet when it does catch the focus on a moving subject the images are in a league of their own. 

Mirrorless and electronic first curtain would simply be the icing on a wonderful cake. 

It will happen, only a matter of time.

Pradeep

Here is info from dp review on Phase One's new digital back that I believe incorporates this new sensor:

Phase One has announced the 'world's first CMOS-based digital camera back' - the 50MP IQ250. It uses a 44x33mm sensor, which is 68% larger in area than 35mm full frame, and equates to a 1.3x crop of the standard 645 format. Until now medium format backs have invariably used CCD sensors, and the adoption of CMOS promises much improved image quality when shooting at high ISOs in particular.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2014/01/24 ... title_0_37

Price for the back is $35,000.

Joe Smith

E.J. Peiker wrote:Yeah I found out abut it a couple hours before your post from DPReview.  the PhaseOne cameras are already shipping so it looks like the development time is pretty fast, likely Sony provided a DALSA/Kodak compatible output making camera development easy.  No I guess it's Leica's turn to announce an S2 with that sensor.

An S2 with that sensor would probably be fantastic. Their lenses are almost flawless from what I've read and the few samples that I have seen. They also feel fantastic and very valuable. Unfortunately very expensive and only one zoom so far.
That sensor with 3 high quality zoom lenses from 25-300mm (crop would probably 0.6 or so, not sure) would be a landscape photographers dream. Price aside, of course

At the moment the S2 doesn't seem very interesting when you look at the camera alone. You get much more from a D800 (better  AF, frame rate, etc) and almost the same resolution with better high ISO capabilities. And the D800 costs about 15% of the S2.

Markus

Primus wrote:Been following this entire discussion about the new CMOS MF backs on LuLa. Having bought an  IQ180 and 645D+ unit from Phase One just a few months ago, I can't say I am not miffed, but that is technology for you.

I wouldn't be upset about that, you are getting almost twice the resolution and a full 645 frame as opposed to a 50mp cropped frame.  If you truly wuld rather have the new 50mp back, you might contact them and see what they can do for you on a trade.

Oh No, EJ, I am not upset that they launched a new product, just that if both options were available 3 months ago, I may have gone for this one. A trade will almost certainly cost me a lot of money.

I would rather wait for them to come out with a high resolution CMOS back which is bound to happen. The new camera that has been 'promised' would hopefully be better than the Pentax launch.

Pradeep

Some commentary about the colour rendition of the new Sony CMOS sensor, in a new article by Doug Peterson at Luminous Landscape:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essay ... ized.shtml

Interesting to see the upstream involvement that Sony pulled in when they were designing the sensor in the first place. Phase obviously also had to design much of the rest of the camera system from scratch a few years ago, heading in the direction of bringing in CMOS, Live View and so on. I think it's interesting to consider that Pentax (and Leica, for that matter) would have had in-house expertise in much of that technology base already, coming from their use of CMOS is 35mm cameras like the K3 and its relatively well-regarded predecessors. The dedicated digital MF companies have had to rearchitect more of the camera system, I suspect, to bring a CMOS sensor into the equation.

Royce, the 645DF+ has virtually no involvement in any of that. It's all handled by the back. The 645DF+ is nothing more than a shell with a mirror, meter, shutter and very rudimentary AF system. Everything else is handed off to the back. That camera is not a design from scratch at all, it is simply a rebranding with some modification of the Mariya 645D. Now if you had replaced the word camera, with digital back I would agree

I'm fully aware of that. I'm talking about the real brain of the operation, the electronics within the Phase back; so my use of "system" is in the sense that you & I use it in our day jobs. The camera shell is a low(ish) tech piece of kit that's essentially unchanged since film days, and has virtually nothing to do with anything that makes the Phase digital MF system what it is. I don't consider the 645DF+ the camera, with the exception of housing the shutter button and the lens mount... There's nothing to redesign in the shell itself because it does virtually nothing in the first place.