Phase One P45 Plus

The Phase One P45 Plus is a 2007 medium format camera built around a high-resolution CCD sensor. It is made for photographers who want maximum detail from each frame rather than speed.

That resolution suits studio, product and landscape work, where the camera can be set up carefully and its deliberate pace is not a hindrance. Anyone shooting moving subjects or working in low light will feel its limits quickly.

Owning it means handling a large body weighing 1800 grams, best suited to a strap or tripod rather than casual carry. The workflow runs on Compact Flash cards and composition through an optical pentaprism viewfinder.

At the heart of the P45 Plus is a 39 megapixel CCD sensor in medium format size. That combination delivers files with room for large prints and generous cropping, and the ISO 50 base setting rewards careful, tripod-based work in controlled light.

This is a camera for deliberate photography. The 0.67 fps shooting rate means taking one considered frame at a time, best matched to static subjects such as landscapes, products and posed portraits where focus is confirmed before the exposure.

There is no in-body stabilisation, so steady technique or support such as a tripod helps guard against camera shake at slower shutter speeds. The 1/10000s maximum shutter speed gives you headroom for wide apertures in bright conditions.

The Optics score of 66 is good, placing the camera around the middle of cameras in our database for Optics. Resolution and sensor format score well, while the slow shooting pace, the ISO ceiling of 800 and the three-point autofocus system cost points.

The P45 Plus does not record video in any mode. It is a stills camera throughout, so moving-image work needs a separate tool.

Built-in timelapse is also absent, so interval sequences cannot be set up in-camera.

The rear LCD offers no live view either, so there is no electronic preview of a scene; it serves purely for reviewing captured frames.

The feature set is sparse, and the Features score of 14 reflects that. The fixed 2.2 inch LCD carries 230,400 dots for checking shots, with no touch input, no flip mechanism and no live view, so composition happens entirely through the optical pentaprism viewfinder.

Because the screen is small and modest in resolution, critical image checks are best done on a computer afterwards. The fixed screen cannot be angled for waist-level or overhead composition.

There is no weather sealing, so dust and moisture need managing with care. Flash is handled externally, since the camera has no built-in flash.

WiFi is built in, while Bluetooth and GPS are absent.

Storage runs on a single Compact Flash slot, and the missing second slot is part of why the Storage & Battery score is a modest 51. With files this large, plan on carrying several cards and downloading regularly.

The BP-915 battery is rated for 2500 shots, a figure that earned nearly full marks in our scoring. Ratings of this kind do not promise identical endurance in every situation, so plan around your own usage.

USB charging is absent, so topping up from a laptop or power bank is not possible. That makes a charged spare battery a natural part of the kit for long days.