That's a good question and I will enquire.
For everyone sorry for the long post.
David,
Take this is the best possible way.
I have to admit I'm a little confused about medium format. Leaf has about 4 names for the same back, Phase seems to be going to the Dalsa route, leaving Kodak behind but now that they have Leaf and Mamiya it takes a play book to know what a dl22 is over a Mamiya ZD2, vs a Leaf 5 and Hasselblad seems to have come leaps and bounds since the Imacon days, but there are things I don't really understand about the Hasselblad system.
If I could get all three of the medium format players into an interview room I'd asked a series of questions, but since you are in the room, here goes. Don't worry, I'm not going to mention lcd's and higher iso because I think at this stage we all know that medium format is what it is so the questions I'm asking are exactly what I would need to know if I decided to change camera systems.
1. What is the Hasselblad file format? Are there two, or three and if so why? I hear fff and 3fr thrown around, even dng, but if you shoot to a cf card what is the format and is it the same format as if you tether? Are any of these formats good in 3rd party processors?
2. What is the plan for Hasselblad in regards to sensors? Are you following phase and going to dalsa, are you continuing with Kodak, is there that much of a difference?
3. What computers can run a new Hasselblad camera tethered? I hear about graphic cards updates, but I'm curious because I carry a lot of computers from the latest one piece intel macbook pros, the the 2.16 version, previous generation 24" white imacs and 8 core intel towers.
I use the Imacs in studio, the intel books on a tripod in studio and on location, the tower to process after a shoot, so what are the requirements to run clean, fast and stable with Phocus? Does moving to Hasselblad require brand new computers?
4. What is the raw file size of a Hasselblad file? This may seem trivial but for a lot of us file size is becoming overburdening. Every project at the end of every day we have the raw files on three drives. Once completed, sorted and renamed, we make a master set of files, then test and copy those files
to two backup drives (one going to two of our studios, one going straight to the retoucher). A small job can grow to a terabyte with backups so the smaller in the better.
I know I asked this in a previous question, but if Hasselblad has different file formats how do you view, edit rename and archive the files? If (and once again I'm not clear on what the hasselblad file format is) but do you have to store the hasselblad files in two different formats for safety and compatibility going forward?
With the Phase, Canons and Nikons I do my early sort and renaming in I-view (now Expression media) because it's fast and it allows a manual drag and drop of files. In other words if I shoot two cameras of the same scene I can just drag my selects next to each other rename and they are ready to archive?
Can I do this with Phocus, can the Hasselblad raws work in Expression media, photo mechanic, lightroom?
5. Raw file size again. Is there a way to compress the raw files without loss of quality? This may seem like a trivial question but we shoot thousands of images per job, make sometimes a dozen web galleries per project, the retouching of dozens to hundreds of images in layered form get huge and even though drive space is somewhat gone down in price, file sizes have outpaced the drive costs, so anything that makes the file format smaller is greatly welcomed.
6. Learning curve. This is a big one. I like many others have zero free time, my crew less. I know these systems take time to learn, but is Phocus intuitive like Lightroom, is it easy and robust to tether like eos utility? If I give a copy of Phocus to my retoucher can she get up to speed on processing in minutes hours, days? Can I make my color settings in the Hasselblad raw file and it carry on to her machine without reseting everything, like a side car file or a sessions folder and most importantly since 95% of all retouchers want a raw file, even if I ship a processed Tiff, and since 95% of retouchers process in CS3 or 4, does the Hasselblad file work in those programs?
7. Backups. OK, I'm probably too careful, but I don't think I've ever gone out on set without two of almost everything. I have two digital backs, 4 canons two nikons and multiple lenses. I know I can rent H lenses almost anywhere, but lets say I moved to a H3dII or H4d, can I rent one in most studios, most major markets in case mine goes down.
8. Tech service. For small things such as software, I know most good dealers can give me the information, but really tricky stuff, or if equipment goes down, is there a direct to factory line that I can call for troubleshooting and fast repair? Canon has CPS that turns stuff around in a day or two and Leaf of America use to have in Rick A. great turnaround time, (though the camera went in too often), but at least there was a person that actually returned calls, had direct factory access and didn't have to set up a repair case that they forwarded to the factory and then had to wait for the reply then give me the reply.
In other words in I owned an H4d can I call someone and get an answer that moment and if it's hardware related can I get a quick turnaround of repairs, even if I'm willing to pay extra?
9. In camera jpegs. This sounds like a small thing, but I've found in camera jpegs to be invaluable for our workflow. We shoot a lot of images, have fast turnaround times and a properly shot in camera jpeg can be thrown into lightroom for quick adjustments and web galleries saving hours, sometimes days and when you are producing images for fpo at about 1200 pixels across working a jpeg is a lot faster than waiting for previews to build in the raw files and software. Is there a plan for Hasselblad to produce jpegs out of camera?
10. this is the big one. Why would I put down my Phase backs, Canons and go with Hasselblad? What are the clear advantages? In the last few years all of our productions have become larger with higher expectations. The last project we shot was perfect for medium format because it was in studio, we used as much quantity of light we desired, but the catch was this was a project with so much production so many models that even 1 hour of overtime is the costs of a new 1ds3. In prelight, we set up the Phase backs on one computer station, we hooked up the 1ds3's to another station and started lighting.
With the Phase I had a glitch in v4 so we moved to v 3 and it ran ok, but was obviously slower than the Canons. With the Canons I plugged in the usb cord and started shooting and side by side on identical 24" monitors nobody in the room could see that much of a difference in the files and formats and one of the 4 AD's in the room preferred the 1ds3 previews because they were smoother and in his words more film like that the previews in Phase Version 3. (he was right).
OK, I know in post production there's sometimes is a difference and given my way I'd probably shoot with medium format but given the fact I had about twenty seconds to make the decision I went with the 1ds3's.
I'm not pushing Canon, I'm not pushing any brand, but do this............ put yourself in the photographer's shoes for a moment. I can go with a system that is slower, takes a dedicated tech to stand by and tether, requires later jpeg processing from slow to build previews for editing in proprietary software or I can take any I phone savvy assistant and in 30 minutes get him/her up to speed using eos utility.
For this last project we shot over 10,000 frames all tethered to eos utility and had one crash because the cf card was pulled during a buffer. 1 crash!
Can I get this sort of reliability from your system?
11. Film looks. I want this stuff to look like film. I want beautiful skin tones, pull down menus and plug ins like alien skin where I can pick nc100, fuji ultra, or polaroid. I know we're going to work an image in post later on, but I do want my client to see the closest look at time of capture as possible.
Will your software do this, are there third party plug ins?
12. The used car lot. OK, let's be realistic these cameras costs the price of cars and like cars they depreciate quickly. I'm not an e-bay guy, don't see the point of hustling equipment to make an extra $500. When the time comes for me to make a change I want to sell my older cameras quickly, safely, legally and cleanly. With the Canons I just box them up and hand them to my dealer who sells them on consignment at a good price. They usually sell in about two weeks. I keep doing my job which is shooting the dealer does there's which is selling cameras and life goes on.
Why not a clearing house or consignment store for medium format. If I decided today to forego my two Phase backs and the Contax' and go with your system, what is the plan, how do I do this without taking a huge bath?
Why not sell these things like cars, where you have the used camera lot, maybe with a camerafax report on use, repairs, shot count. Why not make it easy for me or others to switch systems without becoming a e-bay power ranger or seller or whatever they are called?
Just a thought.
13. How we work. OK I know you guys know a lot of photographers and everybody shoots and works differently, but how about coming on set for pre production and a casting session of 800 models. How bout coming to the digital techs hotel room to correct, process, sort and rename 2,000 files a day, starting at 8pm?
Then follow the job along with me as we go from client review of images, comp mark ups, retouching notes, retouching galleries all the way to final delivery. You just can't get a grasp on what we do until you pull those twenty hour days with many 6 figures on the line.
Maybe you've done this and if so I stand corrected.
14. Transparency. Nothing sends a customer more loopy than to have a dealer or tech rep say, "uh centerfold, we've seen no centerfold" only to see a firmware release three weeks later saying "the centerfold is now fixed". I've gone this route with the manufacturers tech disavowing centerfold, over heating, overshooting, green previews half black frames, only to get a different response and a fix a year later. Is hasselblad up front about issues, do you get in front of the story or react months later with a partial fix, or even worse never fix that camera, just fix it on the next upgrade? In my view medium format has lost a lot of credibility by not being transparent and getting in front of the issues.
In summary I hope you take this with the best on intentions. I'm not dissing blad or medium format in general I'm just genuinely asking how your system works and plans for the future.
If you ask me what camera I want it's probably something like a big 1ds3, or a digital Pentax 6x7. I want a switch on the back to go from 4:3 to 2:3 to square format and the image crops are reflected in the software. I want real film like looks that are on a pull down menu, I want software that is dead ass simple, dead ass stable, intuitive and I want to be sure I can afford or have backups of everything.
I want to upgrade without haggling over price, I want to know the company will be around when needed, from support to repairs and I don't want to see silly add on warranties unless they are completely useful. I want the numbers up front, including upgrades and I want that GM 60 day return warranty.
In other words I don't want to walk out of the dealer with buyer's remorse.
I don't want to feel like I just bought a $50,000 Ford by the time I get air conditioning and floor mats I want the service and support of a $50,000 Lexus.
Is Hasselblad a Lexus?
Thx.
BC
