Digital Camera Review

La Hulpe, Belgium, 9 September, 2008 – Leaf, developer of the world’s most advanced medium format digital camera solutions, today announced an entirely new family of medium format cameras and camera backs that enhance flexibility and usability for professional photographers. In addition to offering unequalled image quality with up to 56 megapixel resolution, the new line‐up delivers many new features. These include a 56 millimeter wide ‘True Wide Frame’ sensor, Leaf Verto internal sensor rotation for easily changing orientation and Leaf SensorFlex technology which lets photographers pre‐select image size and capture speed. The new line‐up totals six new products: the Leaf AFi‐II 6, 7 and 10 digital camera systems and the Leaf Aptus‐II 6, 7 and 10 digital camera backs. The new products will be showcased at Photokina 2008 in Cologne between 23 and 28 September.

Image quality, flexibility and ease of use
The new product line from Leaf is characterized by new features and advances in image quality, flexibility, ease of use and workflow efficiency that are a direct result of Leaf’s longterm relationships with professional photographers around the world. “By working closely with professional photographers and digital technician in their studios and on location, Leaf has been able to deliver solutions that make their work easier, faster and more efficient,” said Dov Kalinski, general manager of Leaf. “We’ve put a lot of thought and a lot of new technology into the Leaf AFi‐II and Leaf Aptus‐II lines and Leaf photographers are very enthusiastic about the new features that they’ve requested.”

True Wide Frame sensor
Leaf has developed the exclusive new 56×36 millimeter, 56 megapixel True Wide Frame sensor in cooperation with DALSA Corporation, who specialize in digital imaging components. As the world’s widest medium format sensor and the first to provide a 56mm wide capture area, it is designed to fit perfectly into the 6×6 frame of the Leaf AFi‐II 10 camera. The same 56mm wide True Wide Frame sensor is also available in the Leaf Aptus‐II 10 camera back.

Leaf Verto
Leaf Verto is another feature that was inspired by feedback from professional photographers. With the Leaf Verto internal sensor rotation dial on the side and bottom of the AFi‐II 7 and 10, photographers can easily switch orientation without removing the back, adjusting the tripod mount or twisting their wrists. When the sensor turns, the orientation indicator in the viewfinder also adjusts to indicate the current orientation.

Leaf SensorFlex
Leaf SensorFlex in the Leaf AFi‐II 10 and Leaf Aptus‐II 10 gives photographers a choice: either use the entire high‐resolution sensor, or select from pre‐defined formats that use only part of the sensor while maintaining full image quality. With SensorFlex, the Leaf AFi‐II 10 and Aptus‐II 10 offer even faster capture and processing speeds with file sizes appropriate for different types of jobs.

Leaf’s new bright LCD touch screen
In addition to offering the largest LCD display at 6×7cm (3.5 inch diameter) and the only touch screen in the medium format market, Leaf has also made the easy‐to‐use display on all Leaf AFi‐II and Leaf Aptus‐II touch screens much easier to see. With a dramatic increase in brightness, the photographer can easily see the display even under challenging lighting conditions.

90° Tilting LCD display
The Leaf AFi‐II 7 and 10 are the first medium format cameras to sport a 90° tilting touch screen LCD display. No matter which of the three interchangeable viewfinders photographers use with the Leaf AFi‐II (45°, 90° or waist level), the tilting touch screen lets them glance at the preview image and histogram and easily adjust settings while staying  position for the next shot.

Remote image preview on wireless devices
The new Leaf Capture Remote for iPhone app turns wireless devices, such as the iPhone or iPod Touch, into remote image viewers. While you are shooting tethered using Leaf Capture software, a client or creative director can quickly and conveniently view selected medium resolution files of your images from any Wi‐Fi network.

Image quality leader
The new Leaf AFi‐II camera systems and Leaf Aptus‐II camera backs boast a 12 f‐stop dynamic range, 50‐800 ISO range and 16‐bit color images. These and other technologies designed into the new line of products from Leaf ensure professional photographers the highest image quality ever.

Compatibility and expandability
The Leaf AFi‐II imaging module, with its 56mm wide sensor and Leaf Verto internal sensor rotation technology, is a valuable enhancement for any 4×5 or 8 x10 field or studio camera. Using a Graflok adaptor, the Leaf AFi‐II imaging module brings the best of digital image capture and capabilities to large format camera. Also available is a new RZ adaptor for the Leaf AFi‐II imaging module to help breathe new life into ‘old favorite’ cameras and lenses.

Leaf Capture version 11.2
Leaf has also introduced a new version of its capture software, Leaf Capture version 11.2, which is the fastest tethered workflow application for commercial shooting today. On top of dramatically improved performance, Leaf Capture version 11.2 boasts new features including Live View for a color live video preview while shooting tethered; adjustable histogram; a Moiré Removing Tool to remove Moiré directly from the RAW file; and side‐byside comparison of shots with synchronized pan and zoom functionality. Through Leaf Capture, photographers and digital technicians can also fully control camera functions from a Mac or PC, including aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, dynamic exposure metering, mirror control and flash synchronization when tethered using a FireWire 800 interface.

Pricing and availability
Pricing for the new Leaf product line will range from $20,995 to $39,995. The new Leaf AFi‐II 6 and 7 and the Leaf Aptus‐II 6 and 7 are slated to start delivery by Photokina 2008. The new Leaf AFi‐II 10 will be available for demonstration at Photokina and is expected to start shipping by the end of 2008. Leaf plans to start shipping the Aptus‐II 10 by Q1 2009. Leaf Capture 11.2 will be available by the end of September, 2008.

Tags: afi, leaf
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The P 65+ and P 40+ digital backs feature Sensor+ breakthrough innovation for unprecedented versatility in photography.

Choose 15 / 10 megapixel captures for faster workflow and higher sensitivity or 60.5 / 40 megapixel captures for extreme details. . By adding pixels together on the CCD chip, larger pixels are created for increased sensitivity and smaller files. Sensor+ is unique by maintaining full sensor area and image quality while scaling.

Your benefits from Sensor+

*  No lens factor. True wide angle performance
*  No crop. Full frame captures at 100% or 25% resolution
*  4 times higher sensitivity in Sensor+ capture mode

XPose+ technology

P 45+, P 30+ and P 25+ all feature exclusive Phase One XPose+ technology. XPose+ enables noise free exposures up to one hour, unlocking a world of creative options.

Your benefits from XPose+

• One hour extreme exposures
• Limitless for interior, architecture and landscape
• photography
• Unique look and techniques, such as light painting
• Noise free images

Specs:

– a two battery charger, able to charge both batteries simultaniously, with an LCD showing actual percentage of charge
– two 2500 mAh batteries for the P65+ back
– a set of 6 alkaline batteries for the camera
– a second battery holder and set of 6 batteries for the camera
– a 4GB Sandisk Extreme IV CF card
– a 1GB memory stick containing camera and back manuals in PDF format
– a folding heavy plastic quickstart guide
– a selection of cables for tethered shooting as well as for connecting to a technical camera
– Capture One 4.6 software for both Mac and Windows (Be sure to register and visit the Phase One site for the most recent software update.)
– a lens adaptor allowing Hasselblad V series focal plane shutter lenses to be mounted on the camera

Tags: P65+, Phase One
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September, 2009: With the release of the new H4D-60, the first H4D camera and most recent addition to the Hasselblad H System, Hasselblad marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of medium format DSLRs. The H4D-60 will feature True Focus with APL (Absolute Position Lock), making auto-focus substantially easier and more accurate for photography professionals.

As part of the celebration honoring the first manned lunar landing and the first lunar photography, camera manufacturer Hasselblad is announcing another first, the launch of the H4D camera series. The first model in the new series is the H4D-60, featuring a 60 Megapixel medium format sensor.

“We are thrilled to be able to announce the introduction of the H4D,” says Christian Poulsen, CEO of Hasselblad. “This step represents the natural evolution of our H System and of our photographic strategy in general. As part of our efforts to inspire 35mm photographers to step up to the quality found in high-end DSLRs, the H4D series is built upon the successful H3D platform and features our revolutionary True Focus technology. The H4D also comes bundled with our new Phocus 2.0 imaging software.”

True Focus and Absolute Position Lock
“True Focus helps solve one of the most lingering challenges that faces serious photographers today,” he continues, “true, accurate focusing throughout the image field. Without multi-point auto-focus a typical auto-focus camera can only correctly measure focus on a subject that is in the center of the image. When a photographer wants to focus on a subject outside the center area, they have to lock focus on the subject and then re-compose the image. In short distances especially, this re-composing causes focus error, as the plane of focus sharpness follows the camera’s movement, perpendicular to the axis of the lens.”

The traditional solution for most DSLRs has been to equip the camera with a multi-point AF sensor. These sensors allow the photographer to fix an off-center focus point on an off-center subject, which is then focused correctly. Such multi-point AF solutions are often tedious and inflexible to work with, however, and do not really solve the problem, claims Poulsen.

“Photographers have grown accustomed to using auto-focus systems in their day to day work and we see increasingly higher numbers of focus points advertised in each new wave of AF products. The term ‘multi-point auto-focus’ is a bit misleading, however, for cameras with sensors larger than APS,” claims Poulsen. “Due to the physics of an SLR-camera, the off-center focus points that are offered are all clustered relatively close to the center of the image. To set focus outside of this center area, the photographer is still forced to focus first, and then shift the camera to reframe, with the resulting loss of focus as a result.

To overcome this problem, Hasselblad has used modern yaw rate sensor technology to measure angular velocity in an innovative way. The result is the new Absolute Position Lock (APL) processor, which forms the foundation of Hasselblad’s True Focus feature. The APL processor accurately logs camera movement during any re-composing, then uses these exact measurements to calculate the necessary focus adjustment, and issues the proper commands to the lens’s focus motor so it can compensate. The APL processor computes the advanced positional algorithms and carries out the required focus corrections at such rapid speed that no shutter lag occurs. The H4D’s firmware then further perfects the focus using the precise data retrieval system found on all HC/HCD lenses.

“This technology takes AF to an entirely new level, correcting for the vertical and horizontal focus-shift that results from the rotation of the camera around an axis close to camera,” says Poulsen, “In simple terms, True Focus allows the photographer to concentrate on their composition, to focus on their creativity, while True Focus takes care of the other, more mechanical focus.”

True Focus on the H4D can be set to work at a half press of the camera release button, or via any user button programmed to AF-drive when the camera is in manual focus mode. This, the first release of True Focus, only corrects the horizontal and vertical positioning of the camera, and does not correct for any focus-shift which results from larger lateral movements of the camera during recomposing. The True Focus technology and APL (both patent pending) mark a significant milestone for Hasselblad’s high-end DSLR strategy and represent the result of many years of development work.

Faster Software, Shorter Learning Curve
The new user interface in Phocus 2.0 drastically reduces the learning curve for high-end imaging. The average photographer will be up to speed in less than 15 minutes, claims Hasselblad CEO Christian Poulsen. Functionality has not been lowered, however, with Phocus 2.0 matching or bettering the speed, functions, and usability found in Lightroom, Aperture, and Capture One.

“We’ve increased speed, increased functionality, and dramatically increased the speed at which photographers can learn to use this advanced software,” says Poulsen. “In less than 5 minutes an amateur photographer can learn to work with our images. In less than 10 minutes, learn how to setup for production of high-res files for Photoshop. In less than 20 minutes learn how to shoot tethered as a professional studio photographer. The new version of Phocus is just another step in our efforts to make complex functionality simple to use, allowing photographers to focus on their shooting.”

This philosophy lies behind a range of the features found in the H4D, including Hasselblad Natural Color Solution (HNCS), which achieves consistent color reproduction using a single color profile, and digital lens correction (DAC) which perfects each image captured through the HC/HCD lenses, by removing any trace of distortion, vignetting or chromatic aberrations. It was also the key motivation for what will surely be the most attractive feature in the new H4D, Hasselblad True Focus, explains Poulsen.

The Hasselblad H4D-60 will be available for delivery in January 2010 at a price of 28,995 €.
The Hasselblad H4D-50 will replace the H3DII-50. Delivery of the H4D-50 will begin in Q1, 2010 at a price of 19,995 €. H3DII-50 cameras purchased between now and Q1, 2010 will be upgraded to the H4D-50 free of charge. A program is also being announced for owners of H3D-31 and H3D-39 cameras to step up onto the H4D platform.

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Tags: h4d, H4D-60, Hasselblad
Categories: Hasselblad // Add Comment »

Featuring Kodak’s 50 Mpixel 36×48mm sensor, which measures, twice the physical size of the largest 35mm DSLR sensors, the H3DII-50 camera system has been specially designed to meet the most exacting demands of high-end commercial photographers who require the ultimate in both image quality and performance.

The H3DI-50 camera system has been especially designed to meet the demands of the high-end commercial photographer who demands both flexibility and ultimate image quality. The H3DI-50 includes:
• highest image resolution from 50Mpixel sensor
• the freedom to choose between eye-level and waist-level viewfinders
• the choice of combining point-and–shoot and tilt/shift to solve creative commercial challenges
• the ability to combine working tethered and un-tethered to get the most of your camera system both on location and in the studio
• the option of processing your images in Hasselblad’s Phocus imaging toolbox, or working with your raw images directly in Apple’s Aperture.

Ultimate DSLR Advantage
- Integrated 50 Mpix capture units with 3” display
- Ultra-Focus: integral optimization of digital lens performance
- Hasselblad Natural Color Solution
- Integrated CCD cooling sink for lower noise
- Direct ISO/WB control
- Thumbwheel control of digital menus
- GPS accessory option
- Full Digital APO Correction for improved image sharpness and detail

Ultimate Flexibility
- Market’s most versatile lens program
- Choice of eye-level or waist-level viewfinders
- Field FW upgrade of H3D camera
- Choice of media: CF card – Image Bank II
- Easy sensor cleaning
- View camera option
- Un-tethered and tethered operation
- Hasselblad 3FR raw – or DNG export

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Tags: H3DII-50, Hasselblad
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Called “Daguerreotype,” it is a wooden sliding box camera produced by the Paris company Susse Freres in 1839.

Discovered as part of an inheritance in Germany, the antique piece will allow photography enthusiasts rewrite history. Westlicht, a private photo gallery and auction house in Vienna, plans to auction off this piece of history on May 26. Believed to be the world’s oldest commercially manufactured camera, Westlicht said the Vienna camera has never been restored.

The camera belongs to a US-based scholar and was inherited from his father, a technical photography professor at Munich University. The starting bid is $132,000, but the final price for the 168-year-old gadget is expected to be way past a million euros ($1,329,000).

Technical Specifications
- 1 gazillion Megapixels
- 1 Tripod
- 1 Black curtain
- 1 Free top hat with every camera sold (probably)
- 1 Lens cap
- No Zoom
- No Autofocus
- No Red-eye
- No Image stabilization
- No Noise reduction
- No GPS EXIF information
- No Battery
- No Carrying Case

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Tags: camera, Daguerreotype, expensive, world
Categories: Old Camera // Add Comment »