PHASE ONE P45

Digital backs are versatile pieces of gear. You can change cameras and keep shooting with the same digital back when you have the correct mounting plate. It was in 2012 when I acquired an Arca Swiss ML2 with a P45 for studio work. I would be shooting an ALPA Max with the P45 within a year. The P45 is a 39mp CCD digital back. It has a sensor size of 37 x 49mm. Today, it is a backup to my Hasselblad CFV II 50c CMOS back. There are differences between these sensors. I prefer the P45’s color, but it lacks live view. The CFV II 50c has a fabulous live view, better low light performance, and 50mp, but a 33 x 44mm sensor size. The 33 x 44mm cropped angle of view compared to the 37 x 49mm is what I dislike the most. I am glad to have both.

Download Phase One’s Manual for P Series: HERE

Beginning in 2021, I dedicated my color landscape photography to the P45 sometime during the pandemic. Reasons why include: (1) my preference for the color palette of the P45, (2) the preferred aspect ratio of the P45’s sensor, and (3) the age of the P45 and its monetary value is less than the CFV II 50c, thus less of a loss if the damage is incurred during outdoor use. But #1 is the color.

The P45 was not getting enough use as a backup to the CFV II, and I prefer its color over the CMOS if I choose. I have been doing tests with the P45 and my Pano kit and will complete tests shortly with my preferred Pano landscape kit, the Cambo Wide 65 (CW). I usually shoot black and white films with a 6×12 magazine, but now I will try the P45 and CW together. The CW can not use the more inexpensive digital plates as their plane of focus is altered; the digital plate is placed on top of the graflok plate, thus making it thicker and causing the plane of focus not to be with the CW’s plane of focus.

The CW is a helical lens camera calibrated for infinity at the film plane. The inexpensive digital back adapter plates cannot reach infinity with the P45 or the CFV II (I tried). But when I use my Linhof graflok digital plate made for the CFV II plane of focus is achieved because the Linhof graflok plate is made for focusing at the film plane. I have a digital plate made for the P45 that is a true graflok film plane focusing adapter coming shortly. I hope the P45 and my CW will be my answer for color stitching in the landscape. I prefer the CW because it’s a simple camera with a lens I like, and I can shoot 4×5″ film while shooting digital with little effort. I love simple cameras.

ALPA PHASE ONE WAKE-UP CABLE

ALPA PHASE ONE WAKE-UP CABLE

This specialized cable is designed specifically for cameras equipped with mechanical shutters and Phase One digital backs. It features an 8-pin Phase One back connector, a PC connector for the lens, and a plunger for waking up the back when needed. I rely on these cables whenever I’m shooting with the P45 digital back.