I’ve been shooting medium format for quite some time, but it was rare to shoot with a bigger system outside of the studio. I’d been eager to test a medium format system like the XF 50MP Camera System and compare the usability to my DSLR. So when Red Bull surfer Casper Steinfath called me up and asked if I wanted to join him for a session in Cold Hawaii, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to get my hands on an XF 50MP system and give it a try.
I had been shooting Phase One DF+ in the past, but was given the opportunity to test the new XF 50MP Camera System through my local partner. The 50MP CMOS system gave me the ISO flexibility I would need for the cloudy days and handheld shooting. The subject matter having an element of action, hand holding and fast shutter speeds would be a firm requirement.
First, the XF Camera System was a completely different experience than the older DF+. I was a bit weary about taking out a system I had never used before and I unfortunately had little time to test it. My past experience with medium format always seemed to exaggerate the challenges in my workflow. However the XF Camera System was very intuitive and just worked straight out of the box. My last worry was then shooting handheld only having daylight to rely on, but the auto focus of this system is really a leg up on the competition, it was fast and precise, and I had no problem with getting my images sharp, regardless of the subject or action.
As you can see, we were actually quite lucky with the weather and got a beautiful mixture of sun and cloud formations as a perfect backdrop for the days shoot, a rarity here in Denmark! Because of the unexpected sun, however, I got a chance to put the amazing dynamic range of the system to the test and shoot some backlit shots that I would probably never had even attempted with my DSLR. I was beyond pleased with the result. The amount of detail, the amount of information captured in the highlights and shadows, it was all unlike anything I had seen before.
In general, the system performed beyond my expectation. I shot for the whole day without worrying about batteries and got the results I was hoping for. And, at the end of the day, the files are so flexible in Capture One Pro I was able to push and push and push until I got exactly what I wanted. No sacrifice, no regrets, just sharp detail rich images from a good days shoot. Not bad for a quick and easy test.
Andreas Houmann
I am a Danish portrait and fashion photographer working out of Copenhagen. My portraits have the individual in focus, but with the same simple expressions as my fashion and landscape images. I work with different portrait and art projects, and my photographic expression is constantly evolving. These projects provide ample room for my creative ideas.
