Phase One announces new tilt lens for its XT camera system
posted Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 9:00 AM EDT
Phase One has a trio of announcements, headlined by a new lens for its XT camera system. The Copenhagen-based company has announced an XT-Rodenstock 40mm tilt lens for the XT IQ4, a new X-Shutter compatible with the Rodenstock 138mm F6.5, and an update to the Cascable AB app for iOS.
Let's look first at the new tilt lens, the XT-Rodenstock HR Digaron-W 4.0/40mm Tilt. The lens is designed to deliver an increased depth of field for landscape applications. The lens includes a simple and distinctive tilt design to adjust the focal plane, joining existing X and Y-axis adjustments on the XT camera.
Phase One promises that, like other XT-Rodenstock lenses, the new 40mm Tilt delivers "outstanding sharpness" and "unbeatable image quality." Drew Altdoerffer, VP of Portfolio Management – Digitization, said of the new lens it is "A new essential lens for dedicated landscape photographers. It is an important addition to our XT lens series, the tilt design allows for fine focal plane control, maximizing depth of field and complementing the shift of the XT camera for exceptional image quality and composition control."
The XT-Rodenstock HR Digaron-W 40mm F4 Tilt lens is available for order now ahead of expected delivery in September. The lens is $11,990.
Phase One also announced that the Phase One X-Shutter is now available for the Rodenstock HR Digaron 138mm F6.5. The unique, specialized lens was previously not available with a physical shutter. The newly-integrated X-Shutter means that Phase One IQ4 owners can control the shutter speed and aperture of the lens directly from their IQ4 digital back. The lens can be purchased and equipped with the X-Shutter through several lens suppliers.
Rounding out today's news is an update for Cascable AB on iOS. The update will arrive in the coming weeks and provide performance improvements and better mobile integration for the IQ4. Phase One says that special attention has been given to "enhance image quality workflows, achieve faster live view frame rates, improve Wi-Fi connectivity, and access images stored directly on the IQ4." You can now view images saved to the IQ4 and selectively transfer them to your iOS device. The storage access feature should save time for IQ4 users.
In case you missed it, we reviewed the Phase One XT camera and the Phase One IQ4 150MP Achromatic digital back earlier this year.