The IQ 180 Prototype test
On the 28th January 2011 I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to test a prototype of the Phase One IQ180. Chris Ireland of Direct Digital Imaging brought the latest development to my studio and we set about putting it through its paces. Now, I have used the P65+ since it’s launch and have been consistently astounded by it’s image quality so wasn’t really expecting to be totally blown away with the IQ180 but after little more than five minutes I realised this was indeed a massive step forward. All of my work relies on the finest of detail and this was certainly a step forward but what really impressed me was the much more ‘organic’ nature of the image which blew me away.
For the test I organised a before and after haircut scenario. This was for a few reasons. Firstly, portraits are a great subject for testing ultimate sharpness as eye lashes, skin detail and hair are all amazing subjects to truly test sharpness and definition. Adding the haircut element added a further dimension to this test. Once I had spent a while perfecting my lighting I set about shooting off a number of captures in quick succession. The speed with which the images came through to the laptop was amazing, a notable improvement over the P65+. Once the images rendered up I used the focusing tool to check the fine focus and I have to say, I was utterly blown away by what I was seeing. I was expecting it to be good but I literally could not believe what I was seeing. Everyone in the studio emerged from their desks to come and see what all the fuss was about! What a piece of kit!
Away from my main obsession, sharpness, the new design was robust and the all new exterior look was instantly appealing. Whilst being larger than the P65+ it weighed less. The familiarity of the functions were all there on the back with ‘i phone like’ touch screen variant also, that was very user friendly. The larger screen on the back was also impressive, the focusing tool on this was amazing too which I knew would excel when shooting un-tethered on location, constantly satisfying my need to know that captures are nipping sharp.
In the end, I was so impressed, I ordered a new IQ180 to replace my P65+, no hesitation. After months of waiting for it’s arrival it eventually landed on May 31st 2011, one off the very first production model’s in the UK !
Alex Telfer
