Among digital SLR makers, the race towards ever-higher resolutions has slowed in recent years, but in the medium-format market, competitors are still trying to out-do each other with previously unimagined pixel counts.

Two years ago, at Photokina, both Phase One and Hasselblad announced 60-megapixel cameras, and ahead of this year’s edition of the biannual trade show, Leaf (now owned by Phase) unveiled plans to introduce an 80-megapixel digital back.

The Aptus-II 12 uses a newly designed 53.7x40.3mm full-frame CCD sensor, which Leaf claims “eliminates Moiré and more perfectly renders objects – from the texture of fine fabrics to the smooth curves of car metal”. It delivers file sizes of around 480MB, and can capture lower resolutions, such as 60 megapixels using a square aspect ratio. This lower resolution requires less processing, and so allows faster image capture, when necessary.

The back will also be available in an “R” configuration, which comes with an internal rotating sensor, which Leaf first introduced with the Aptus-II 10R earlier this year. The feature allows photographers to keep their camera upright while switching between portrait and landscape format.

Both versions of the back have a dynamic range of 12 f-stops, a sensitivity of ISO 80 up to 800, and a capture rate of 1.5 seconds per frame. The backs sport a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen and support a “wide range of camera brands”, including Phase One’s 645DF and AF systems, as well as Mamiya’s 645DF, most Hasselblad V cameras and “a selection of large-format cameras via adapters”.

“The Leaf Aptus-II 12 and Aptus-II 12R represent just another step in delivering our customers both the power and the flexibility they need,” says Leaf’s CEO Dov Kalinski. “Today’s professional photography requires great flexibility – infinite detail, rich colour and razor sharpness. These systems deliver all this.” 

Both backs are available to order now, priced at €23,995 ($31,995). UK pricing has yet to be determined.

www.leaf-photography.com