Phase One Teases Update for its XT Medium-Format Camera System

Phase One has teased an update to its XT camera system, a field camera-inspired medium format body that melds the feeling of classic film photography with modern hardware and software. The company plans to release an update to the XT camera, but it doesn’t appear to be sensor-based. From what little can be gleaned from Phase One’s teaser video, the standout difference is the silver knob that can be seen above the camera lens. The Rodenstock HR lenses available for the Phase One XT already have shift by as much as 12mm up, down, left, and right. But the ability to tilt is notably absent unless you go with a third-party lens from Cambo with integrated tilt functionality. If the teaser video is showing off new tilt functionality, it’s probably safe to assume that, like the shift data, the tilt data would get saved to the image file for referencing later if needed.

Originally announced in 2019, the XT Camera System was called the smallest digitally integrated film camera ever made. Like most of Phase One’s medium format camera systems, the body and the back — which holds the sensor, computer that powers it, and the touchscreen that operates it — are separate and allow photographers to pair different color or black and white sensors for their specific needs. The digital back that pairs with the XT body can be any of the IQ4 digital backs built on the Infinity Platform: the IQ4 150MP, the IQ4 150MP Achromatic, or the IQ4 100MP Trichromatic.

There may be more to the announcement as well, but if so, it doesn’t appear to be visible in the short teaser. Phase One says the ‘exciting news’ will drop ‘next week.’


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