Phase One XT

This is the camera I’m buying if I ever win the lottery.  

The IQ4 150 megapixel back, the body and one lens costs more than our Peugeot 3008. And in many ways it’s less sophisticated than my iPhone camera.  No, make that a lot of ways.  However, it’s the camera that can give you the highest quality attainable by anything other than a spy agency.  And, most importantly for me, it represents photography at its most fundamental - match the best optics possible with the best sensor possible.  No frills, pure photography.

Metering is very basic, though I’d probably use my hand-held spot meter if I had this camera.  Focusing is manual.   And the aperture is controlled though the back.  The most sophisticated controls are a bit of rise/fall and left/right shift you can do with the body.  Unfortunately, there is no no tilt like one gets with a view camera. 

The reason for the simplicity is straight-forward.  Phase One wants the highest quality image possible.  Things like autofocus and image stabilization (whether in camera or on body) only detract from that image quality.  From all accounts the XF system delivers.

Having one would be a lot of work, requiring a lot of patience, and brutal punishment for any technical errors one makes.  But oh, photography would be such a joy, bringing back that sense of craft in making an image.  Much like hauling my old 4x5 studio camera out in the field used to give me.  

Now if I could only get the right lottery numbers!