There have been a number of references on the internet to the exceptional reliability of the Phase One digital backs and the unreliability of the Hasselblad cameras/digital backs. Unfortunately, I have first hand experience with the latter. I would appreciate hearing from others about how reliable their P45/P65 backs have been in extended, real world shooting in the field. The new Phase camera is too new to have a track record, but what has been the general reliability of the Mamiya AFD III on which it is based?
Thanks for any input.
it might appear to some that i like bashing phase/mamiya. so for a change something nice and positive:
i worked with mamiya cameras for about 12 years. the mamiya 7 is a great camera, no complaints at all.
the afd used to be a good reliable workhorse, never had any problem with it. it never saw a repair shop and my spare body is still kind of a virgin. the lenses used to be reasonable priced and are pretty ok when it comes to quality. my afd III is fine too, except a slight front focus problem that is still not solved properly. the often mentioned shutter lag is not a real problem in my opinion.
what i criticise about mamiya/phase are the misleading statements that have been done over and over. but that's another story and another thread. technically there are no complaints.
since i'm using a leaf back i can't say much regarding the quality of phase backs.
