“The tethering never dropped off, the focus was bang on, and fast, and always where I wanted it to be! Most importantly I achieved a film like quality that I haven’t really seen in Digital“
Spanning two decades, Liz Ham's work is both broad in form and appeal, comprising a signature style of humour, nostalgia and narrative.
Here she takes the Phase One XF and IQ3 60 for a test over 2 days and 90 looks!
“It has been quite a few years since I have had a good play with a Medium Format Digital camera… mostly because I finally bit the bullet and invested in a DSLR system and stopped hiring the P40+ on EVERY shoot! Also because there were always little issue I had with the old systems… How much has changed in a few years though!
The first impression I had was just how lovely it was to hold the Phase One XF, i love touchy feely things, good ergonomics, and have always felt really happy hand-holding medium format cameras. My first proper camera was the Mamiya 645, so it’s kind of like returning home for me…
On this particular shoot the brief was EPIC so I wasn’t at all sure the Phase One would handle it! The project was for the UTS fashion design honours graduate students, each year UTS produces a beautiful printed book for the graduate collection, and this years theme was ‘Process’ - I felt it would be fun to throw this incredible high end camera in the mix, and was also going to use my DSLR, and my 1960’s polaroid rangefinder. We had to execute around 90 separate shots, all of which required different settings, lighting, and general moods. Some were lit with beautiful soft flash lighting, others utilising a speed-light combined with fill flash, others were outdoors and some lit with the ambient light in my studio. 40 student designers, 90 looks, 3 models, 2 days and a crew of what felt like 20 on set!!
I quickly put away my DSLR…
Each and every person on the shoot was blown away by the beautiful quality of these Phase XF files… where I would usually struggle in a situation with super contrasty sunlight and hard shadow, the camera’s great dynamic range held it all together. I began to realise how this camera was serving us best when a close up examination of a file showed the most unbelievable detail and focus on the most minute and delicate of details, it was really doing justice to the designers and their amazing hard work.
What I always look for (and hope to achieve) in my photographs was happening so effortlessly and with none of the pesky old problems and glitches I used to experience in Digital Medium Format cameras. The tethering never dropped off, the focus was bang on, and fast, and always where I wanted it to be! Most importantly I achieved a film like quality that I haven’t really seen in Digital before…The lenses we used on the day were absolutely beautiful. I was mostly handling the camera off tripod, and sometimes in very low light, at very shallow depth of fields and not un-reasonable ISO’s - situations that would usually be a complete fail with a DSLR.
I can’t wait to use this amazing camera again soon!”
