Still life shoots have some of the most complex workflows in product photography, but the XF IQ4 Camera System offers a unique set of tools that supports even the most advanced needs for such applications.
Unique Features for Jewelry Shots
The XF IQ4 Camera System is the ultimate creative companion for photographers waiting to streamline their workflow and deliver the very best in image quality.
To provide the best possible professional workflow, the XF IQ4 Camera System includes Ethernet and Wireless tethering in addition to USB-C.<\/p>\n
Ethernet grants a dynamic workflow since it supports much longer cable lengths than is possible with USB cables and it is a rock-solid tethering solution.<\/p>\n
In addition, the IQ4 supports the Power over Ethernet (PoE) which can deliver sufficient power to keep the XF IQ4 Camera System running smoothly without having to change the batteries. Power over Ethernet can provide more power than a typical USB port will offer.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_1.jpg","image_position":"right"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":"
For a fast and smooth workflow experience, the IQ4 will automatically establish an IP connection over Ethernet (or WiFi) to Capture One on your computer via the built- in Bonjour feature. There is no need to configure the IP connection \u2014 you just select the IQ4 in Capture One, and you are ready to start shooting<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_2.jpg","image_position":"right"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":"
You can also use wireless tethering on the XF IQ4 without any need for cables if your workflow requires that \u2014cor you can use WiFi as a safety measure.<\/p>\n
The wireless tethering will facilitate a fast preview of the captured images in Capture One while a transfer of the full-sized raw image can happen in background.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_3.jpg","image_position":"right"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":"
Flexible Live View Simulation modes<\/h3>\n
The XF IQ4 Camera System provides a flexible and powerful Live View feature set for the professional photographer. You either use Exposure Simulation or Auto Gain for the Live View feed, depending on your needs.<\/p>\n
When you use Exposure Simulation<\/strong>, the brightness of the Live View feed will reflect the actual exposure settings (Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO values) on the IQ4 screen and Capture One\u2019s tethered live view feed. This makes it easy to adjust the settings until the correct exposure is achieved.<\/p>\n The Auto Gain<\/strong> feature on the other hand will optimize the Live View feed to show a bright and even exposure of the subject \u2014 regardless of what exposure settings you have set. This mode is desirable when you need to check critical focus or adjust the composition in the dim modeling light of a flash system.<\/p>\n For the Still Life shoot, we use the Exposure Simulation mode to check for any light pollution coming from ambient modeling light. We then use Auto Gain mode in Live View while adjusting focus, fine-tuning the light setup and for the placement of the props.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_6.png","image_position":"left"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":" One of the unique features of the XF Camera System\u2019s autofocus system is the ability to set and store a specific focus distance for each lens. This focus distance can then be recalled at your convenience.<\/p>\n The feature was used in the Still Life workflow to save a focus point set at label of the bottle. We were then able to quickly recall that exact focus plane in case the focus was moved by a mistake during light setup or placement of the props.<\/p>\n Tip: It is possible to assign a user button on the XF Camera to activate the stored HyperFocal Point directly. This is done by selecting the Rear Key > UI Setup > Control Setup and then selecting the button you want to assign it to.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_7.png","image_position":"right"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":" As a unique feature, the XF IQ4 Camera System can use a seismographic sensor to monitor the vibration level and postpone the capture until there is no vibration detected. This result in pin sharp captures every time.<\/p>\n The feature is enabled by selecting the Vibration Delay drive mode, but the built-in seismographic sensor has other great uses too.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_10.jpg","image_position":"right"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":" The Seismograph tool is a great way to monitor whether any vibrations on location may adversely affect the sharpness of your captured image. We used the tool to check whether there were any vibrations going on in the studio before starting the final captures.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_11.jpg","image_position":"right"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":" Vibration Analysis was then used to ensure that there hadn\u2019t been any excessive vibration going on during the capture. The tool can be a great way to check whether a vibration might be the cause if a capture looks slightly The HDR tool is essentially the same as the bracketing function on the camera, but with a few convenient extra features.<\/p>\n We use the feature to capture a number of exposures with 1\/3 EV step difference between. This exposure range allowed us to choose the best possible exposure for the bottle rim highlights and the liquid respectively. These were then used as separate layers in Photoshop to achieve the perfect outcome.<\/p>\n Tip: One powerful feature of using HDR tool over a standard bracketing is that the XF Camera System will record the sequence ID as metadata into the images. This means that you can easily select just the images that belong to a specific bracketing in Capture One for fast processing.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_13.png","image_position":"left"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":" The XF IQ4 Camera System has a powerful and easy-touse timelapse feature.<\/p>\n For the Still Life shoot, the feature was used to automatically take a sequences of captures while the photographer was positioning a white reflector board at different angles for each shot to light the labels on the bottle.<\/p>\n This can be of great convenience when you are working alone in the studio and don\u2019t have a free hand to fire the shutter.<\/p>\n Tip: As an advanced feature, it is possible to temporarily suppress the black frame calibration during a timelapse. This is useful when doing long exposures, because the additional time taken by the black frame calibration could end up exceeding the desired time between the captures.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_15.png","image_position":"right"}]})' href="javascript:;" class="button primary">Enhance your workflow efficiencyHyperfocal Point feature<\/h3>\n
Vibration Delay and Analysis<\/h3>\n
\nsoft.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_12.jpg","image_position":"right"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":"HDR\/Bracketing Tool<\/h3>\n
Timelapse Tool<\/h3>\n
Getting the light balance just right is important for a Still Life shot with glass involved. Once you have positioned the light modifiers correctly, you still need to tweak the intensity of the different flash units and balance their light contribution. This can be a time-consuming endeavor if you have to go to each flash generator, change their intensity, get back to the camera to take a test capture, evaluate, and repeat the steps.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, the XF Camera System can streamline this workflow a lot with the ability to wirelessly control any Profoto Air-enabled flash system.<\/p>\n
You can easily adjust the intensity of different flash groups directly from the Profoto Remote Tool on the camera. You can also turn a flash group completely off in order to evaluate the contribution from a single light source \u2013 perfect for when you need to evaluate and optimize one light without the influence of the other lights.<\/p>\n
This makes adjusting the flash much faster and more interactive, thus improving the creative flow.<\/p>\n
You access the Profoto Remote Tool by swiping on the top touch screen. The illustration on the left explains how to use the tool on the XF Camera.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_8.png","image_position":"right"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":"
Flash Analysis tool<\/h3>\n
The Flash Analysis tool is an unique tool for the XF Camera System used to visualize the flash output power, flash duration and timing within the exposure where a flash is fired.<\/p>\n
The tool can be useful in the studio when troubleshooting the flash output. If the flash intensity drops more than expected after a change, part of the flash duration might be fired outside of the exposure range. The Flash Analysis tool will let you quickly examine what went wrong and easily correct it.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Flash-Analysis-tool.jpg","image_position":"left"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_image","text":"
RAW Clipping Evaluation on IQ4<\/h3>\n
The XF IQ4 Camera System provides a truly unique feature to check directly on the IQ4 display whether any part of the image is clipped based on the RAW data in the image file.<\/p>\n
This feature is not to be confused with the typical highlight warning (shown with a red color).<\/p>\n
The RAW Clipping warning (denoted with a pink color) will alert you if any highlight information is truly gone and cannot be recovered even in a RAW converter like Capture One.<\/p>\n
Other camera systems only provide a highlight warning which cannot be used to accurately judge whether parts of the image are in fact clipped at the RAW level or not.<\/p>\n
We use the RAW Clipping warning in the Still Life shoot to check directly on the IQ4 screen whether the flash output power would burn out the highlights along the rim of the bottle. We could quickly see that we had to decrease the flash power.<\/p>\n
RAW Clipping Mask in Viewer mode is enabled by swiping in from the right of the touch screen and tapping on the icon with the exclamation mark.<\/p>\n","image":"https:\/\/www.phaseone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Still-Life-Workflow_9.jpg","image_position":"right"}]})' href="javascript:;" class="button primary">Flash control options
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