GEAR TALK - Shift Lenses and the Arca Swiss Rm3di

Much of 2022 was been spent ping-ponging between the Phase One XF / IQ3-100 Trichromatic kit and the Leica M11, along with some experimentation with adapted shift lenses on the Leica M's. As the shot count racked up, the Leica M11’s raw quality made the Phase One IQ3-100 Trichromatic feel somewhat redundant.

Meanwhile, with the shift lenses on the Leica M11 and Leica M10 Monochrom, I was growing increasingly frustrated with the lackluster lens performance. While toiling over the Phase One kit, the idea struck to sell the Phase One XF kit, replace it with a technical camera, and use the IQ3-100 Trichromatic that way.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW

The idea looked smart with each camera / system having a distinct role to play. With some of this now in the rearview mirror, selling the Phase One XF kit and buying a used Arca Swiss Rm3di kit were the easy parts. Then came the learning curve -

• Being a very niche topic, finding relevant information is difficult. It seems (to me) that most large format users started years ago (typically with film) and along the way, they amassed a wealth of tribal knowledge. Whereas for newbie's such as myself, to say the learning curve is steep is an understatement.
• Deciding on the Arca Swiss Rm3di was the easiest part because I always loved the look of the amber grips. From a technical standpoint, there is plenty of shift range and the built-in tilt was a no brainer. But, I know next to nothing about large format lenses, so that led to countless hours of Google'ing this and that.
• Finding used large format lenses in mint condition at reasonable prices takes time. It is a pricey and lengthly proposition to get them set up in the Arca Swiss R-Mount, so I want to get the lens picks right the first time.
• Experiencing how the Phase One digital back operates on a technical camera vs the Phase One XF, was rude awakening. Plus, all the nuances of things like Copal shutters, black frames, synchronization, tilt, etc are all part of that learning curve.

I could drone on and on about researching stuff, but the for the sake of brevity, I am going limit the next part to sensors and shutters.

BACK SIDE ILLUMINATION (BSI) SENSORS

Having used medium format digital backs since 2007, I knew about sensor cast and LCCs (Lens Cast Correction in Capture One jargon). I mistakenly thought this was a non-issue with the Phase One IQ3-100 with their CMOS sensor. Bottom line, if thinking about a technical camera, the Phase One IQ4-150 should be somewhere in the budget. Its thinner BSI sensor stack essentially takes the lens cast issue off the table.

Fortunately used IQ4-150 prices have been dropping since the Hasselblad X2D 100c announcement. The rumored Hasselblad CFV III 100c with its 100 MP BSI sensor will probably be a popular BSI choice amongst the tech cam crowd. For my kit, the IQ3-100 Trichromatic was sold and subsequently replaced with a used IQ4-150.

ELECTRONIC SHUTTER AND COPAL SHUTTERS

The great thing about the Phase One IQ3-100 for technical cameras is live view for focusing. With live view comes electronic shutter, which makes for cable free shooting (no sync cable between the lens and digital back). It is a slow process, but works more or less as advertised.

I use Copal shutters with strobes and landscapes on occasion, but loathe the "experience". The Copal shutter controls are tightly clustered together. The aperture slider is underneath the lens. The cocking lever is right there too. The shutter release cable blocks access to the levers. Setting the shutter speed is awkward. The camera blocks visibility to all the controls.

One option is to ditch the Copal shutters and "upgrade" to the fully electronic X-Shutter. Once converted, the lens operates much like a Phase One LS lens on a Phase One XF body. With a X-Shutter equipped lens, the IQ4 has all the same functionality with the Arca Swiss Rm3di as the IQ4 does with the Phase One XT except for a shutter release button on the camera body and capturing the shift values in the metadata.

Swapping to the Phase One IQ4-150 and converting lenses to X-Shutter go hand in hand. X-Shutter lenses are useless on a Phase One IQ3-100, and the IQ4-150 is shortchanged if used solely in electronic shutter mode and/or with Copal shutters. Moving to the IQ4-150 and X-Shutters have compounded into a sizable financial gamble.

WHAT COMES NEXT

A used Rodenstock 90mm f/5.6 APO-Sironar Digital was sent to Arca Swiss for conversion to the X-Shutter and Arca Swiss R-mount. This is a trial to see if I can envision using the Rm3di on a regular basis akin to a Phase One XF in manual focus mode. If that proves in the affirmative, then the Rodenstock HR Digaron-W 40mm F/4 is the next lens to be converted to the X-Shutter.