As I alluded to in the first post that started this thread, I think Rollei's popularity in the United States is a false way of gauging their overall health. There are many products that do well in the combined global market that don't do quite as well in the U.S., but that doesn't mean the manufacturer is struggling. My belief is that since Rollei does quite well in other regions, there should be no fear of their future compared to the other surviving MF players. Add to that the outstanding nature of the product, and I think it's a solid choice. That 16MP Phase One bundle is a screaming deal, too--although I'm salivating at what Rollei might unveil at Photokina this fall since partnerships seem to be driving the MF digital market right now.
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rollei is actually very solid, they are in good shape...they are a very small company (very small compared to the fame of their brand) and actually the MF cameras are now Franke&Heidecke and the rest (lenses, digicams,..) is rollei (i believe)....i don't think that they can come out with big surprises, but they have been a very steady leader in MF innovation for decades (integrated winders and meters and AF)
the rollei/phase partnership ended because phase made rollei buy a certain number of backs, becuase phase had to make the backs to fit the rollei, rollei (being a small company) did not really like the fact that they had to buy so many in advance, but it gave rollei the chance to cut the price to make this such a deal (even better now)...because of the rollei backside, the phase backs cannot be rotated (they tried to fit a phase P25 into the rollei 645 back but it did not work, phase would have had to re-design the whole housing...)
which is where sinar and the emotion comes in...rollei contacted sinar, they said no problem (their backs already work with the rollei) they buy the backs as they go along (which is why the deal is not so great) but there is a straight upgrade path...if you buy the emotion 22? you can upgrade to the 75 for the difference in price...
the P20/6008af bundle shoots 45-50! frames a minute at 16bit 50-400asa (800 half size) and can be used as a point&shoot (completely automatic with 3 metering modes and AF) at a price comparable to the "canonkiller" mamiya DSLR which cannot compete with the rollei...for the expansive system please refer to ebay and several dealers....
i really don't know why people are afraid...there must be more rolleis out there then mamiyas...they have been selling at a premium for decades and i never really heard stories (other then some technical problems with some early 6000s, i guess you can never get rid of a reputation...) of a bad product...and not to badmouth hasselblad, but my experience (and my experience as an assistant to many bigger and smaller photographers in NY) has been everything but good...thank god for the wide hasselblad rental service, because the equipment would fail, something would always fail, most of the people i worked for (not too many actually shot hasselblad, it was mostly RZ) had to have 2 complete set-ups, because one was always at the shop...a photographer compared it to ferrari, a great, fun but not dependable car(although i never saw the fun in hasselblad)....i never saw anything mamiya fail, never...and a story like the hasselblad zoom (at what...$7000?) falling apart? actually does not surprise me...but people are afraid of what might happen to rollei...nobody says that about leica...
look at the latest news: now canon and nikon do not build film cameras anymore...this does not kill leica, the contrary...kodak and fuji cut down on film production, no problem...labs switching to more digital services, great...there will always be a market for the 4x5 or 8x10 guy out there, a very specialized niche with great little niche products (probably a little more expensive)...leica will be there, voigtlander will be there, sinar will be there, rollei will be there....hasselblad will be there as well...the same guys who invented the whole thing and kept it going...becuase the people who build it and buy it don't look at the bottom line, otherwise they would have gotten out a looooong time ago, i don't think there was ever a moment when someone said, i want to get rich, i will make cameras using only the best materials and mechanics...