Tag Archives: IQ3 100MP

Color, IQ, Processing, Sensors

Phase One IQ3 100MP Trichromatic vs Standard Back Linear Color, Part III

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Over the last two posts we’ve been exploring some of the differences introduced by tweaks to the Color Filter Array of the Phase One IQ3 100MP Trichromatic Digital Back versus its original incarnation, the Standard Back.  Refer to those for the background.  In this article we will delve into some of these differences quantitatively[1].

Let’s start with the compromise color matrices we derived from David Chew’s captures of a ColorChecher 24 in the shade of a sunny November morning in Ohio[2].   These are the matrices necessary to convert white balanced raw data to the perceptual CIE XYZ color space, where it is said there should be one-to-one correspondence with colors as perceived by humans, and therefore where most measurements are performed.  They are optimized for each back in the current conditions but they are not perfect, the reason for the word ‘compromise’ in their name:

Figure 1. Optimized Linear Compromise Color Matrices for the Phase One IQ3 100 MP Standard and Trichromatic Backs under approximately D65 light.

Continue reading Phase One IQ3 100MP Trichromatic vs Standard Back Linear Color, Part III →

Color, Formats, IQ, Sensors

Phase One IQ3 100MP Trichromatic vs Standard Back Linear Color, Part I

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It is always interesting when innovative companies push the envelope of the state-of-the-art of a single component in their systems because a lot can be learned from before and after comparisons.   I was therefore excited when Phase One introduced a Trichromatic version of their Medium Format IQ3 100MP Digital Back last September because it could allows us to isolate the effects of tweaks to their Bayer Color Filter Array, assuming all else stays the same.

Figure 1. IQ3 100MP Trichromatic (left) vs the rest (right), from PhaseOne.com.   Units are not specified but one would assume that the vertical axis is relative spectral sensitivity and the horizontal axis represents wavelength.

Thanks to two virtually identical captures by David Chew at getDPI, and Erik Kaffehr’s intelligent questions at DPR, in the following articles I will explore the effect on linear color of the new Trichromatic CFA (TC) vs the old one on the Standard Back (SB).  In the process we will discover that – within the limits of my tests, procedures and understanding[1] – the Standard Back produces apparently more ‘accurate’ color while the Trichromatic produces better looking matrices, potentially resulting in ‘purer’ signals. Continue reading Phase One IQ3 100MP Trichromatic vs Standard Back Linear Color, Part I →

IQ, Optics, Sharpness, Spatial Resolution

Taking the Sharpness Model for a Spin – II

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This post  will continue looking at the spatial frequency response measured by MTF Mapper off slanted edges in DPReview.com raw captures and relative fits by the ‘sharpness’ model discussed in the last few articles.  The model takes the physical parameters of the digital camera and lens as inputs and produces theoretical directional system MTF curves comparable to measured data.  As we will see the model seems to be able to simulate these systems well – at least within this limited set of parameters.

The following fits refer to the green channel of a number of interchangeable lens digital camera systems with different lenses, pixel sizes and formats – from the current Medium Format 100MP champ to the 1/2.3″ 18MP sensor size also sometimes found in the best smartphones.  Here is the roster with the cameras as set up:

Table 1. The cameras and lenses under test.

Continue reading Taking the Sharpness Model for a Spin – II →