UPDATE: L&P have demo units available for testing at an Open Day at the Sydney showroom today (Tuesday February 25) followed by Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. There will be hands-on demonstrations and exclusive special offers. More details here.

Following on from Hasselblad’s 50-mp CMOS camera announcement last week, Phase One has flagged the IQ250, the first CMOS-based medium format digital camera back. Until now, CCD sensor technology has been used in medium format cameras.

Like the Hasselblad, the IQ250 camera back also features a 50-megapixel (Sony-manufactured) sensor. CMOS sensors deliver better low-noise and low-light performance and Phase One claims the IQ250 has a huge dynamic range of 14-stops.

‘We are very proud to introduce the Phase One IQ250, which carries on the tradition of Phase One high-quality medium format gear,’ said Phase One CEO Henrik O. Håkonsson. ‘The wider ISO range in this new CMOS-based system, for example, illustrates our desire to continue pushing the envelope for our customers, to help them succeed in all of their unique imaging challenges.’

Phase One claims the IQ250 has the widest ISO range of any medium format camera system, spanning from 100 to 6,400. Photographers can set the exposure time anywhere between 1/10,000s to one hour.

With a sensor size of 44x33mm, the camera back offers 68 percent more image-capture area than a full-frame 35mm DSLR camera.

It can be connected via USB3 to Capture One on a PC, or displayed via Wi-Fi on iPads or iPhones running Capture Pilot. Hooray!

The price tag for the IQ250 starts at US$34,990.

No local pricing details have been revealed.