$100,000+ 112 MP B&W Camera? Yes Please!
Zeke, from Spectral Instruments, builds some amazing cameras for space and scientific uses. I’ve always heard about these cameras and have wondered what it would be like to shoot with one in a studio or on location. Evidently Zeke has been wondering about that as well and is wondering if there is enough public interest in having them build one of these cameras for use on the ground instead of in space. I was shocked when he added my name to people he’d like to see use one if they build it. Yes please! There’s large format photography then there’s MASSIVE format photography. If you’re keen to see one of these cameras put into use by several different photographers let him know in the comments below!
Oh, if Zeke looks familiar to you maybe you’ll remember this shot I made of him in Dubai…
He’s a trooper. We were shooting at a marble factory and he fully immersed himself into the location. It was the kind of place I doubt we could take the $100,000 camera.
Cheers,
Zack
Gary Kurtz said on May 18, 2012
Absolutely!
Mike Flynn said on May 18, 2012
I would love to see this happen. You create some awesome black and white images anyway so I would be interested to see what you could do with this monster of a camera.
FritzTheWonderMutt said on May 18, 2012
Hack, I’d pay just to watch someone else use that camera!
Jonah said on May 18, 2012
Absolutely make this happen. Would love to see that in action (and having you Zack as one of the photographers behind the lens is a must).
Bob K said on May 18, 2012
Already wrote to Zeke. Can’t imagine a better person to write about the experience. Not even McNally.
Frustrating thing about a lot of mega-tech photography is that it’s often in the hands of people who spend more time creating the technology than doing photography. Be nice to see it in the hands of a working pro who’s handed a set of capabilities and sets out to explore them. And yeah, if his eyes light up the the mention of the idea, all the better.
BTW, Zeke, I though your video was pretty cool, too.
Simon Lynch said on May 18, 2012
I don’t know.
Beside the geek factor and the increased pixel count, what more would this camera offer?
These are usually designed with less-noise-in-dark-places mentality. why would it be useful in studio?
Maybe I’m just ignorant, but I don’t see it….
But the images they bring from space… now THAT’S something!
Javier said on May 18, 2012
You’re going to need a bigger sensor brush.
Matt B. said on May 18, 2012
I would love to see what you guys could do with this camera. If the body is 100k, who much would the lens be? What would be the focal length of a “portrait” lens on a sensor that size?
Christopher said on May 18, 2012
Sensor envy.
Donna Luker said on May 18, 2012
Yes! Hell yes! Zack & also Heisler.
James Davidson said on May 18, 2012
I thought he looked familiar, but all I could think of was Independence day. http://application.denofgeek.com/pics/film/scifi.conspiracies/06.jpg
Roland said on May 18, 2012
awesome looking bit of kit. they should make this the mandatory camera for the shoot out at the dubai GPP
Mike said on May 18, 2012
Interesting how he picked only people that are big in social media rather. Surprised Chase Jarvis and Jasmine Star weren’t throw in. What about people like Albert Watson, Patrick Demarchelier, Peter Lindbergh, Mark Seliger, Nick Knight, Mark Rolston, etc.
Zack said on May 18, 2012
He did ask for people to send in recommendations Mike, you know, so you could email him these. I would second all of your choices and add Mary Ellen Mark, John Keatley, Dan Winters, and my buddy Cary Norton. My number one pick though would be Paolo Roversi with Winters being a damn close second.
Cheers,
Zack
Eric said on May 18, 2012
yes, please.
Joe said on May 18, 2012
This camera actually makes Leica’s new 18mp B&W camera (M-Monochrom, $8,000/body) seem like a bargain.
Speaking of bargains, Hasselblad is evidently dropping its prices – by a lot. The day when we can buy a high-end digital MF kit for $10,000 or less is not far off.
http://photorumors.com/2012/05/18/hasselblad-cameras-price-reduction/
Scott said on May 18, 2012
i would love to see this technology put to use in types of photography that we encounter every day. specifically i’d like to see it used for large format portraiture.
jeremy said on May 19, 2012
nice! I think it would be amazing to see!!!
pixelmixture said on May 20, 2012
that would be great … a lot of film chambers are bigger than that but that would be cool
D. Travis North said on May 21, 2012
I would love to see what one could do with such a camera. Go Zeke and Zack!
Lucas said on May 22, 2012
That would be awesome! I would love to see you, G. Heisler and D. Burnett doing some work with this camera.
Dave said on May 25, 2012
Not just no, but HELL NO. My GAS is bad enough on a Hassleblad 500cm. Don’t show me a camera I could never afford to buy!
DMo said on May 26, 2012
Absolutely! Seeing how it handles moody, low-light candid portraiture applications would be very interesting. But then, it’d be cool just to the practicality of using something like that in a real shoot. I agree that Zack would be a great person to have write about the experience. Totally down to earth, a much need reprieve from all the techno conversations out there.
Jon Mold said on May 26, 2012
Got to make this happen!
Dan Doran said on May 27, 2012
Ughhh, drool, drool… Hope ya get it Zack, we need to live vicariously through you.
Eric Lagacé said on May 31, 2012
Yes, make it happen! I would love to see portraits shot using that super high-tech and super high definition camera! Street photography would be a bit more conspicuous I would guess, but that would be a cool experiment and an amazing marketing stunt for sure. Spectral Instruments, are you listening?
Neil Kemp said on June 4, 2012
Hi Zack. If I can convince them to let you use the camera, can I get a try. Only kidding, hope you get it. Would love to see what you can do with it.
Nathan Padilla Bowen said on June 4, 2012
Zack,
Congratulations on everything that is happening with your career and goals. Being singled out for this kind of project is a public testament to your success.
FYI for those who asked, you can do the math pretty easy. If 100mm is your normal portrait length on a 35mm film/sensor/image plane, then 300mm is approximately the same normal on a 96 mm image plane. You should be able to put that sensor on a modified view camera and get the job done. The DOF would be more like a 4×5. The sensor itself is just under 4″ x 4″, similar in size to 4×5 film.
Oh yeah, +1 for Paolo Roversi
Aziz said on June 17, 2012
WOW that sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to see what you can get out of it!
Eric Uys said on July 18, 2012
Is this were we sign up and jump up and down yelling pick me pick me??
Dan said on September 4, 2012
yes please! Would love to see the detail and DR from that! but more than anything, the looks from people as you use it
Jen said on April 28, 2013
Wouldn’t a >100 MP camera be limited by the capacities of the lens? It’s always been my understanding that once you hit the 100 MP mark, basically the quality of the lens starts to become the limiting factor.
Zack said on April 29, 2013
@Jen – I’m sure the folks who make these cameras have some pretty impressive glass to bolt on to them. I doubt they’re using kit lenses.
Cheers,
Zack