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Phase One’s New A Series Medium Format Cameras Remove the Mirror

Chris Gampat
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11/13/2014
3 Mins read

Last Updated on 11/14/2014 by Chris Gampat

a-series-250

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. STAY TUNED FOR MORE!

Update: Phase One has issued a letter about the camera system. Check below

Though they’re not exactly what you would think of as a mirrorless medium format camera (unlike the Mamiya 7 II), Phase One is releasing the Phase One A series of cameras–and it’s a pretty close solution to what you’d typically think aboutt. They seem close to what Hasselblad did years ago with some of their cameras by eliminating the mirror and pentaprism–except that this is a digital version. Because it is digital, it’s using a live viewing screen and another screen on top that lets you shoot from the hip the same way that many medium format users used to do.

We will keep you updated on more. But so far, we’re getting this info from Digital Transitions.

More info is after the jump.


 

Screen Shot 2014-11-13 at 8.36.18 AM

 

It seems like Phase One is calling these the Alpa series, and they all have a Alpa 12 TC unit but use different medium format backs and the same Rodenstock Alpar 35mm f4 lens.

But that’s all that we have a the moment. We will keep updating as time progresses.

Update: Here is Phase One’s letter about the system

While product teams have been hard at work preparing the new A-series camera systems for market, Phase One and ALPA are happy to see such interest based on the early news shared by some of our U.S. partners. We regret any confusion, including the fact that the photo was of an internal prototype and not the finished product, but official images and more details will soon be on the way.

These new products are the first step in a long-term strategic & cooperative alliance between Phase One and ALPA that was announced at Photokina. Developing premium products for the world’s most demanding fine art photographers is our focus, and the A-series by Phase One and ALPA is taking the first steps in a creative new direction to integrate some of the highest performing and proven products — across lenses, bodies, digital backs and software — to make them easier and even more fun to use.

Below are the key highlights:
1 — As noted, the A-series will be available in three versions: A250, A260 and A280 with 50MP, 60MP and 80MP respectively.
2 — Each system will be individually configured with pre-loaded lens calibrations for Rodenstock ALPA 23mm, 35mm and 70mm lenses, making it easy to shoot great looking images out of the box.
3 — Factory shimmed system marked with A-series badges on both body and back.
4 — All systems will come with the required accessories — including some new elements made specifically for this system, e.g. flexible lens shades, iPhone holder and new release cable.
5 — A 5-year warranty on the system.
6 — A special note on wifi: Phase One IQ250 camera systems have recently started supporting liveview over wi-fi using Capture Pilot 1.7 (which is already available for download to all IQ250 users). Liveview over wi-fi will also be a cool new feature for the CMOS based A250 using an upcoming 1.8 release.

Thanks for the patience. In December we will share even more details on the new systems including the new factory lens calibration feature, accessories, detailed tech specs, product images, pricing and even better, they will begin shipping!

back camera medium format mirrorless phase one Phase One A Series
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.