A few weeks ago Phase One contacted me to write about and test there newest blue ring lenses.

I always work  with state of the art and on the edge optical and technological  possibilities. And I’m always looking for the very best, yet versatile and practical solutions.

All my work is commissioned work for a variety of clients in the building sector from all over the world.

I approach a project in two different ways : as a story teller and as a visual artist. This demands different approaches to architecture and to photography .

As a story teller I use photography to translate, to describe architecture. Which results in carefully composed overall shots made with wide angle lenses, on a technical camera.

As a visual artist I use architecture to make compositions with details that refer to the conceptual idea behind a building. Sometimes it becomes an abstract synthesis. For that purpose I also use tele- and standard lenses.

The IQ system provides me the best and most versatile platform. I use my IQ3 100 mp back with  it’s excellent live view and amazing electronic shutter on my technical camera.  And I mount the same back in a few seconds on my FX camera to shoot details with fixed lenses.

And now with the blue ring series  those fixed lenses have improved tremendously and are fully up to standard with the high quality demands on resolution and sharpness of the IQ3 100mp.

The 35 mm, 45 mm and 55 mm wide angle blue ring lenses are crispy sharp from corner to corner.

As a test I shot a whole indoor reportage of a modest house with the wide angle blue ring lenses, using Capture One’s lens profiles and the perspective correction. I was surprised to see how fast and absolutely accurate I could work with them.

I also used the 150mm and 240 mm tele lenses. In some cases with the 2 x tele converter. Pure gems. I expected the tele converter to bring the quality down as it often does on DSLR camera’s. It didn’t at all. The image stayed perfectly sharp on the focal point.

Phase One now also provides a foldable waste view finder. Very nice to work with as it allows me to experiment with very low points of view without conpromising on ergonomy features of the camera. And without having to go flat on my belly in the dirt.

There is no rival to this system. It is the absolutely best for me and my customers !