We didn’t think a travel compact camera could get more luxurious and extravagant than the Leica Q3, a $6,000 / £,5300, fixed-lens, 60MP full-frame beauty that in our Leica Q3 review we described as "the most enjoyable, most powerful and most expensive compact camera available". But now the Phase One XC has landed, and upped the ante, big time.
The 150MP medium format XC has a built-in ultra-wide 23mm f/5.6 lens which makes it Phase One’s first ‘travel’ camera, and compared to any of the best compact cameras it has more pixels and a bigger sensor. The other super-sized feature, though, is its price tag – it costs $62,490. That’s more than a Tesla Model 3, and begs the question: how can such an expensive camera be a reality in 2023?
