Review: Phase One P45 Plus Medium Format Digital Back

Released way back in 2007, can this CCD digital back still add value to your medium format workflow? More and more exciting developments are being made to camera bodies. But with every improvement comes a host of features—like extreme speed or autofocus wizardry—that you might not necessarily need or ever use, depending on your style of photography. 

For many, photography is all about image quality and how the image the camera renders can accentuate their work—small nuances that fit in with a specific project. Though getting creative with adapting old lenses can be the most cost-effective way to work with your existing system, there are a few cameras out there that can yield markedly different results. Enter the Phase One P45+ H101 H.

If you aren’t already familiar with Phase One, they are renowned for their modular digital medium-format systems. Their cameras are generally used where no-compromise image quality is key—from fashion, architecture and landscapes to advertising and fine art. Although their modern bodies use traditional CMOS sensors with huge megapixel counts, their entry into digital medium format employed CCD sensors. And the P45 digital back was truly excellent.

With a 39.4-megapixel medium-format sensor for the P45 Plus and 60 megapixels for the P65 Plus, these were at the forefront of image making. However, as studio cameras, many tests proved that pushing past 400 ISO introduced digital noise, which wasn’t controlled as that of more recently-released CMOS sensors. On their release, they cost more than 30 grand. So why would a photographer today want to use one of these? To find out, let’s hear from award-winning photographer Theo Lowenstein and MPB resident photographer Ian Howorth. 

MPB: What do you shoot with now and what makes your present set-up appealing to your workflow?

IH: For a number of years my workflow has been film for personal work, shooting on a variety of formats—35mm, 645 and 6x7—across three different cameras, a Nikon FM3A, Hasselblad H1 and Mamiya 7. Due to my work being documentary, often shooting in down-and-out places, film has the ability to give me a look straight-out-of-camera that complements what I do. As I shoot quite slowly and methodically, autofocus and rapid shooting are something I can discount from the equipment I normally use.

TL: My setup is dependent on the job at hand. I work in a variety of themes, so I have a lot of tools to get the job done. My current go to is the Hasselblad H2 and the Sony A7 III. I also have a collection of 16/35mm, which tend to come in use on when medium format doesn't fit technically. I have the Nishika N8000, the Olympus and a Nikon F2A. A lot of my work is mixed media or is going to be used by a company over a longer time span. So variety is key.

MPB: What made you start looking elsewhere for a change in your present equipment?

IH: There’s a lot in the digital world that interests me for certain work, studio and low light being two that come to mind. But, generally speaking, the convenience of digital is hard to ignore. However, I don't want that to be something that I choose that contravenes the look I've become accustomed to. So it needs quite a bit of thought and plenty of testing to arrive at something I'm satisfied with.

TL: This seems like more of a philosophical question about why humans always want more. But too heavy for this! I'll just say, as a creator who is completely reliant on technology to create their art, I think many of us are doing our due diligence to stay on top of the Moore's Law onslaught of new tech.

MPB: Why did the Phase One P45 Plus system first catch your interest?

IH: I was looking into Leica M digital cameras, from their inception up until present day. And I remembered that the older M-series cameras—like the Leica M8 Black and Leica M9 Black—used old CCD sensors, much like many cameras did in the early-to-mid 2000s. And that really piqued my interest. Having been a fan of revisiting these older sensors, and how interesting their images were after becoming used to the clean look of CMOS, I began doing my research and realised that these Phase One CCD digital backs would fit my Hasselblad H1 body.

TL: When I bought my [Hasselblad] H2, I knew it had the functionality to fit a digital back. I started getting a lot of editorial work with quick turnaround times. So I thought it would be a good tool for the job.

MPB: From a handling point of view, how is it different?

IH: It’s very different. The Hasselblad H system is a joy to use, the autofocus is quite sure-footed in normal conditions, the viewfinder is bright and the exposure is very good with all shooting modes. However, adding the digital back is almost worse. The LCD screen is quite poor quality, and I'm not sure it's even good enough to use as a rough guide for exposure. The exposure latitude is quite low, as is the resolution, so it's difficult to gauge whether you’re getting your shots bang-on—and that’s certainly true in low light. Batteries also don’t last very long. Even if you charge them overnight, their ability to keep their charge isn’t as consistent as modern batteries. However, in terms of reliability, they are pretty good. I haven't had issues shooting when it's hot, or even in sub-zero temperatures. However, coming from a film background, I’m okay with just trusting my exposures if I use a light meter. But, with a CCD sensor, it’s worth noting that care is needed not to blow your highlights. Shooting at ISO 100 or 50, shadows are pretty recoverable. So, once you use this rule as a benchmark, you can figure out your exposures.

TL: It's clunky, slow and problematic. But—and this is a big ‘but’—the images can be so magical. Especially in black and white. I would say where this back shines is in the studio. It's actually quite a pleasure in that setting. Twinned with the autofocus on the H2, the Phase One P45 Plus is slower than conventional modern 35mm cameras. But the output is tremendous.

MPB: Did you have to do anything differently compared to your normal kit?

IH: As an owner of a Hasselblad H1, I understood the limitations of the Phase One P45 Plus. As this is a modular system, you think of the kit as two halves together—so it's difficult to separate the two. I guess with the H1, care is needed because of its mirror slapping and the associated blur that can create. Sometimes it’s worth using the mirror-up function so it only activates the leaf shutter. However, this will black out the viewfinder temporarily. In terms of the digital back, not really being able to go past 400 ISO, it means carrying a tripod absolutely everywhere.

TL: A lot of light. Honestly, if you look at the graphs, I wouldn't personally shoot it at more than ISO 50. Everything drops rapidly over the base ISO, and the magic of the system goes with it. This is a specialist camera, and that comes with specialist treatment. Don't expect to run-and-gun this one.

MPB: So, what about the images?

IH: The images out of the camera are stunning. Regardless of whether you use the P45 Plus or P65 Plus, the difference between the two—from my tests—is just in resolution. There is a vibe to them that I think is different to modern sensors. The technical architecture is simply very different to anything you would normally use. It’s not just the CCD technology, it’s the fact that the image is spread over the larger medium format–sized sensor—together, these two factors create images that look quite different straight from the camera. 

There is certainly more contrast, compared to—say—a Sony sensor. And I think the images have more texture, not more sharpness. It’s just a texture that is difficult to pin down. After editing, the images are stunning. They have an inherent look to them that is definitely a signature. The black-and-white conversion is amazing too. Although I was looking for a ‘look’ shooting in colour, it is the black-and-white tonality and contrast that really sold me. So that was a nice surprise.

TL: The CCD sensor has a filmic quality to it. It renders colours beautifully, especially with the 16-bit colour depth. There's really a depth to the image, which the shot ISO of any medium format CMOS sensor would otherwise seem to clean up. I personally think the images take on a special quality, especially when taken with strobe. Maybe it's the ability to reach lower ISO, but something changes when coupled with lighting.

MPB: Are the images easy to work with in post?

IH: For colour, they require a lot of editing. For black-and-white, however, I found it much easier and more simple. The images have a cool look to them, straight out of camera. For me at least, the Phase One behaves a lot like Ektachrome reversal film, so naturally quite cool. A bit of work was needed to the files I got from both the P45 and P65, so I set a baseline preset to get the files roughly in order so I could then work them to my tastes.

TL: I barely edited my strobe portraits. But any other photos without strobe needed a lot of work.

MPB: Do you think you’d spend your own money on one?

IH: It's a question I keep asking myself. For me, it would make sense as I already own the Hasselblad H1 that it would bolt straight onto. But it is still two grand for a system that can be quite slow and cumbersome to use. But the black-and-white conversion is simply stunning. So, for the right project, I would definitely consider the system as I feel it offers something very unique that could potentially elevate the work I might want to create.

TL: I actually did buy a Phase One P45 Plus. But sadly my Hasselblad H2 body broke during a cover shoot, which completely drained my confidence in the H system for professional work. I now use the Fujifilm GFX series, but I still have a very special place in my heart for the CCD sensor and its amazing rendering capabilities.

MPB: Thanks, Ian and Theo.