Topic: P30 vs P30+ (Read 12873 times)

cheetah · « **on:** July 12, 2007, 02:56:22 am »

Entering into the world of digital medium format, I am considering acquiring a P30+ with a H2. But I am just proposed a P 30 with a discount price. What is the true difference between P30 and P30+? I heard that the difference is obvious when you shoot at 400 or 800 Iso? Is worth paying the extra price for the new version (I can do it , I just prefer not waste it if it is not really necessary)

What's you exeperience?

Thank you in advance,

william · « **Reply #1 on:** July 12, 2007, 08:22:50 am »

Whether it's worth the difference depends on how big the difference is (and how much money you have). So how large a price differential are we talking about?

Quote

Entering into the world of digital medium format, I am considering acquiring a P30+ with a H2. But I am just proposed a P 30 with a discount price. What is the true difference between P30 and P30+? I heard that the difference is obvious when you shoot at 400 or 800 Iso? Is worth paying the extra price for the new version (I can do it , I just prefer not waste it if it is not really necessary)

What's you exeperience?

Thank you in advance,
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cheetah · « **Reply #2 on:** July 12, 2007, 01:46:59 pm »

I haven't got the final price for the P30 yet so I cannot answer with precision yet. I would therefore be interested to know if some people have experience with both backs and can mention a true difference (in quality, money not taken into account at this stage). So, can anyone help?

Don Libby · « **Reply #3 on:** July 12, 2007, 04:21:54 pm »

You might also want to consider how much/type of usage the older P30 had. What type of warranty will you get, etc. Sometimes the less expensive costs more in the long run. Just my 2 cents.

I've been working with my loaner P30 now for about 60 days and have to say that I'm very pleased.

don

etrump · « **Reply #4 on:** July 12, 2007, 09:33:09 pm »

I just put a deposit on a p30+ and Chris at http://www.captureintegration.com told me it was basically:

1. a higher stop of ISO
2. faster shooting (how fast was not clear)
3. long exposure upgraded from 30 minutes to 1 hour
4. clearer/brighter screen. He did say that in direct sunlight the old screen was easier to read.
5. newly designed battery charger.
6. live view but as I understand it is only for tethered shooting.

Could be more, but that was reason enough for a hardware junky like me.

observer · « **Reply #5 on:** July 13, 2007, 05:24:35 am »

i was told by my dealer that the colors were more accurate on the p30+, which to me personally would be the most important factor. i have a p30, the p30+ was not an option financially. the difference in the store i went was about 9000euro (at least 10.000$!!). i did get a testmodel btw. applying lightroom afterwards is essential imo as the colors are sometimes quite far off. all the tones are there, but you really have to tweak them to get them just right. that does take some time to do. all in all i'm happy with the p30, though the quality of the screen is quite terrible. hope this helps some.

Randal32 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 13, 2007, 08:52:20 am »

Shooting speed and LCD is why I went with the p30+ (have the p30, waiting on the +)

The LCD screen on the p30 is laughable. Even though i shoot tethered mostly, I want to have the option to shoot without a computer, and i don't feel comfortable doing that with the p30.

cheetah · « **Reply #7 on:** July 13, 2007, 01:32:53 pm »

thanks for these helpfull comments!

Don Libby · « **Reply #8 on:** July 13, 2007, 04:29:13 pm »

I too had heard of the poor LCD on the non Plus backs. I was able to actually “test drive” a P30 while shooting with a friend in Page and agree with the poor quality. I since the ordered a P30+ and have been shooting with a P30 loaner for about 60 days. Several things to remember about the loaner is that it came from the factory, it has live preview which as a landscape photographer I don’t need. The most important feature about this loaner is the screen quality. During the time at Page we couldn’t get anywhere near an good view of the screen unless you found a cave, same thing with my canon 1Ds II I was shooting. The Kodak Pro 645 was only slightly better. The loaner which I believe is a hybrid (between a P30 and P30+) is totally different. I used that in Moab in bright daylight and was able to (nearly) clearly see the screen to do gut checks on the image as well as histogram. So here I sit very patiently awaiting my new plus back.

I firmly believe with very limited use of a P30 (not my loaner) the Plus is and will be much better. I also think that as Phase gets the older backs in and they are refurbished we’ll see better screens on the older backs. Again just my 2 cents worth.

don

william · « **Reply #9 on:** July 13, 2007, 04:36:00 pm »

My experience (having had the P30 for about 6 months and now the P30+ for about a month) is that noise has been reduced at higher ISOs, the screen is better, and it does shoot marginally faster. I haven't noticed any substantial differences in color rendition, but that's OK as I found the colors on the original P30 to be quite nice. I don't shoot product or color critical work, though; for portraits, landscapes and the like, the color is subjective anyway. The original P30 met my subjective color rendition criteria, as does the P30+.

Shooting speed with the P30 never bothered me, so that hasn't been a big change. Having a useable ISO 400 and a useable screen IS a big difference.

Oh, and Live View is totally irrelevant to me, so that wasn't a consideration.

I obviously thought these differences were worth getting the P30+ since I got it. But the price difference at the time wasn't that big; maybe $2000? If we're talking about a much larger price difference, I don't know if I would go for the Plus or not.

I will be using the P30+ this weekend for some pretty intensive outdoor shooting at a variety of ISOs, so I'll have more impressions then.

Don Libby · « **Reply #10 on:** July 13, 2007, 04:53:37 pm »

William, was the P30 you were shooting with a loaner of did you but it new then upgraded later?

cheetah · « **Reply #11 on:** July 13, 2007, 05:46:19 pm »

William,

that would be great to read you after your week-end!

thanks

william · « **Reply #12 on:** July 13, 2007, 07:30:30 pm »

In the fall, I paid the "P30+" price. That means that I paid the full price of the P30+ but since it would be several months until it was available, Phase "loaned" you a P30 in the meantime. When the P30+ became available, they shipped it to me and I sent the P30 back to them. So in essence I "bought" the P30+ but didn't actually get it until many months later. The benefit of doing it that way was that you got the P30+ at a cheaper price than waiting until it was released and buying it new at that point. Kind of an "early bird special."

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William, was the P30 you were shooting with a loaner of did you but it new then upgraded later?
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Author Topic: P30 vs P30+ (Read 12873 times)