Comparing Fuji, Canon, Sony, Hasselblad and PhaseOne

After my friend Joa and I published a video last year, comparing Canon 5DsR to Hasselblad X1D and PhaseOne IQ250, and attracting more than 70k viewers, we began planning an even more comprehensive test, including even more cameras and also using the newly acquired 85mm f/1.2 II for Canon.

Our model Emma

For this comparison we decided to stay indoors, not only because it’s warmer but also because we could use consistent lighting: all photos in this test were lit by a Profoto Pro-8a pack. For each camera we also photographed Emma with a colorchecker and a graycard. You will find download links for all the RAW files at the bottom of this post.

Camera equipment

1. Canon 5DsR with a 85mm f/1.2 mk II
2. Fuji XT2 with a 56mm f/1.2
3. Hasselblad X1D with a 90mm XCD
4. PhaseOne IQ250 with a 110mm Schneider-Kreuznach f/2.8
5. PhaseOne IQ3-100 with the same 110mm Schneider-Kreuznach lens
6. Sony A7R with a 85mm f/1.8

A behind-the-scenes video, showing the cameras and lenses used, and our model Emma.

RAW conversion

Each photo was taken in RAW format and processed in Capture One v10, except for the Hasselblad files which were processed in Phocus. The only adjustment was the color temperature, according to the gray card photo (which was taken for each camera).

Or so we thought…

Whilst reviewing the photos we noticed a slight difference in light transmission between the lenses: for instance, in the second scene we shot at f/8 but some lenses (Canon and Fuji) produced slightly darker exposures (equivalent to f/9). Obviously, if an image is darker the colors are more saturated, so we decided to show the results with and without compensation.

You can download all the RAW files and the photos of the gray card and Color checker using the Dropbox link at the bottom of this article.

Unadjusted images

The following chart show what each camera captured, without RAW adjustments to compensate for the abovementioned exposure difference:

Scene 1 – unadjusted images (click to enlarge)

Scene 2 – unadjusted images (click to enlarge)

Adjusted images

Shown next are the same images, now adjusted for the small differences in light transmission. Both the Canon and Fuji lenses apparently have a different T-value than the other lenses, so we decided to adjust them +1/3 stop to make them roughly the same. It can be debated whether one should had taken the photos at +1/3 instead, but we discovered this difference in exposure the day after so it was not a possibility.

Scene 1 – adjusted images (click to enlarge)

Scene 2 – adjusted images (click to enlarge)

Download links

This Dropbox folder contain all the pertinent RAW files from each scene and each camera, accompanied by a shot of the Colorchecker and gray card.