I am sure a lot of people will ring in here, But I think basically you want to stay away from the AFD pretty old now.
I have the AFDII which is pretty solid but has shutter Lag which can be a pain...
And finally the AFDIII has better shutter lag (less) supposedly and there will not be any price point as it is a Brand new model and you will not find them probably used an or Cheap.
Snook
Also be aware that the Phase One 645 is for all intents and purposes the same as the AFD III. A new Phase One body comes with up to a 3-year, 300,000 actuation warranty; at this point most AFD II's will be out of warranty and all AFDs will be out of warranty.
To add to the complication there are also two firmware versions of the AFD II and (currently) four and counting firmware versions (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.4) of the AFD III / P1 645. In particular the AFD III / P1 645 firmware versions exhibit much improved autofocus and shutter lag. On the 1.4 version of the Phase One 645 the shutter lag is very nearly gone (especially when compared to any earlier Phase One / Mamiya body).
The firmware updates are free but require you to ship to the nearest service center (return shipping is free). In the US this is the MAC Group in Elmsford NY.
The best possible option for you is to find a dealer which has several of these bodies (as an obvious plug: we do). The extent to which the shutter lag and slower-than-a-current-gen-dSLR focus bothers you will depend on what you are coming from. So if you're a 4x5 shooter then the AFD or AFD II will seem fast and snappy, but if you're a D3 shooter you probably can't tolerate anything less than an AFD III / P1 645.
A popular option is to buy an AFD III / Phase One body for your main body and then pick up a dirt-cheap AFD or AFD II for a backup.
Doug Peterson, Head of Technical Services
Capture Integration, Phase One & Canon Dealer |
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