Hello All,
I have been using the Phase One XF camera for about a half of a year. I have been quite happy with it and with the latest firmware update, it is even better. I commend Phase One and "Mamiya" for this ground-up design. Not an easy task even with the long history of camera building. More importantly, I want to commend Lau Norgaard for his role in making this what it is. They really nailed it in my opinion.
This brings me to the new V-Grip. I have been waiting for one to be developed and available because I wanted to buy one. I had an opportunity to handle one recently and while the build quality is impeccable and made to withstand anything you can throw at it, I believe there is a somewhat large design oversight. As a long time Canon 1 Series user, I have always enjoyed that Canon places the vertical controls in nearly the exact same orientation as the horizontal controls. Even their large jog dial is specifically located to be the same distance from the thumb regardless of orientation of the camera and the photographer's grip. In essence, with your eyes closed, you can go from horizontal to vertical grip and all of the controls are exactly where you expect them.
Enter the Phase One XF Vertical Grip...
Although the "open-air" design breaks trends, and is actually quite nice and affords a solid grip for a relatively heavy camera, the problem is where the rear adjustment wheel and back button are located. I have found that many pros use the back button focus technique, myself included. I adopted that way of shooting nearly 10 years ago and never looked back. Many advantages and really no disadvantages as far as I am concerned. When you grab the XF grip, the right edge of your thumb naturally falls against the left edge of the grip to overcome the eccentric weight of the XF. That positions your thumb over the empty portion of the grip that bridges over to the XF body. The back button is awkwardly located to the right of this, on the back of the large part of the grip. Similarly, the rear adjustment wheel is too far to the right from where the thumb rests.
As a picture is worth a thousand words, I have included one below. You can see where the button and wheel are currently located and then where I am suggesting they be relocated in a redesign. I am very aware of the tooling expenses for something like this, but having tried the grip, the button position seems to be a non-starter, at least for me. If you look at the relationship of the XF's back button to the grip, you will see it is where I am suggesting on the V-grip. Also, if you look at the left extent of the adjustment wheel on the XF, it is further to the left than on the V-grip.
My goal here is not to flame Phase One. Quite the opposite. I am hoping this suggestion is read by the right decision makers there. As I said, I really like the XF. It seems like the natural progression/eclipse of the DF with hints of the RZ67 lineage mixed in. All in all a really beautifully designed piece of gear. Because of the button position on the grip, however, I decided against it's purchase.
So, Phase One, please consider a redesign. Then, you'll have a customer for the grip right here!
Ken
