Denmark's Phase One has unveiled its "most compact digitally integrated camera to date." The 150-megapixel XC can be had with a color or black-and-white digital back, and sports an integrated – rather than interchangeable – lens. And it's very expensive.
"We’ve designed the XC Camera to be a companion camera," said the company's VP of Digitization. "With its compact size, operational simplicity, and super wide angle of view, the XC Camera can be always by your side and at the ready. You can carry the camera anywhere to capture anything at any time, recording inspiration as it strikes."
The first thing you'll notice is that the XC isn't really that compact, when compared to – say – Sony's vlogging Alphas. In fact, it measures 162 x 143 x 105 mm (6.37 x 5.6 x 4.13 in), including the ergonomic wooden hand-grip and fixed lens, and tips the scales at 1.82 kg (4 lb).
That integrated lens is Rodenstock HR Digaron-S 23-mm F5.6 glass that sports carbon fiber blades, offers shutter speeds ranging from 1/1000 to 60 minutes, and boasts an integrated electromagnetic shutter that's been durability tested to more than half a million image captures.
This feeds light to a back-illuminated CMOS sensor housed in the IQ4 150MP (color) digital back or the IQ4 150MP Achromatic (black-and-white) back. The sensor size is reported to be 53.4 x 40 mm, which is larger than most medium-format competitors, and has 14,204 x 1,0652 active pixels for a 300-DPI image measuring 120.26 x 90.19 cm (47.35 x 35.5 in). Light sensitivity goes down to ISO50 and up to ISO256,000, and users are offered 15 stops of dynamic range.
The digital backs feature a 3.2-inch touch display, USB-C and HDMI connectivity plus Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet, and have been designed for simple operation.
The second thing that the casual observer might notice is that this camera system costs more than the cute Telo Truck we covered earlier in the month or a base Polestar 4 e-SUV coupe. The suggested retail price is an astonishing US$62,490. The video below has more.
Product page: Phase One XC
