It seems like any medium format digital purchase is incredibly risky at the moment. After the news of the last year and from Photokina who knows what other shock announcements are possible?
-Kodak may decide MF sensors isn't a business with a future
-The new Hy6 may never reach production
-Even worse the Hy6 may be launched but then discontinued (in one or all of its guises) if it fails to reach viable sales levels, leaving owners high and dry.
-Phase One may get absorbed within Mamiya.
-As above, but Mamiya then goes bump and takes Phase One down with them.
-Canon's deeper R&D pockets may trump the MF quality advantage in the 35mm arena, finishing off the entire MF market.
-Pentax or Mamiya may uncercut MF digital prices to such an extent that Hasselblad and Sinar/Rollei/Leaf bail out.
If I sat down and scratched my head I'm sure I could come up with many more doomsday scenarios that would leave a photographer holding an expensive white elephant. Given all this uncertainty what's the smart photographer's strategy for digital medium format?
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I agree with you, Gary.
The MF and the BF digital market is an old system, more of 15 years old, but never has matured, the first leaf DB, created in 1992, and the othes like sinar and but late, the hass and phase, they have maintained always an ascending price. I believe that all our doubts would go if a MFDB be to sold for 6000$, instead of for 30000$.
I believe also that the MF-makers take advantage of the photographers that we see us inevitably forced to acquire these equipment, by the evident one each time more, shortage of film of some types and, to the demands of our clients.
I believe, already firmly, that the MF-makers have a secret pact, and that is the same hand the one that moves Hass, Leaf, sinar... and that splits of that pact is the sale price, if not because the prices are identical among all the manufacturers by the same number of pixels, or product line? because Leaf (subsidiary of Kodak) buy to dalsa, and theoretically their competence Hass, purchase To Kodak their CMOS? .....
I think, that the strategy, was to eliminate the competence in MF, that already has been obtained, obtaining a total egemony in the market, being distributed to the owners between alone two options, they are the same, alone one that with a different color.
But I think that should not be the photographer who pay that immaturity, the not to have obtained a functional, low cost product, by the one that do not we have that be alert of an investment that can be lost, to remain obsolete, or to be stop manufacturing. Our work, or hobby, is something very serious, and of they are taking advantage of us and of our needs.
