sell 35mm system for DMF back?

[himcheong]

Hi
i recently made the move to shoot MF and i totally love it
now i am thinking to add a digital back to my H2

so here comes the question: is it worth selling my 35mm system to get a phase one back
i was looking into a good used p20 and p25
i shoot with canon 5d mark ii digitally, does the image quality of the phase one back really justifies the cost considered they have similar resolution?
what do i lose if switch completely to DMF apart from the speed?
any insight would be great

Cheong

[evgeny]

Keep 35mm if you need speed, high usable ISO, long lenses, and in general better built-in camera screen and carry less weight.

Edit: only a few digital backs allow exposures longer than 32 seconds.

[Jack Flesher]

If you need fast AF, fast framerates, higher ISO, lenses wider than 20mm or lenses longer than 200mm on a regular basis, then no, you don't want to sell your DSLR yet...  OTOH, if you don't regularly need any of those, then you're probably good to go

[amsp]

They're very different beasts, if you can buy a DB and still keep the 5D I'd recommend you do that.

[hsmeets]

+1 vote for keeping the 5Dmk2 for all the good reasons named by previous posters.

[Streetwise]

I own both a 5dMKII and an Leaf Aptus 65 and can tell you that they are two different beasts. Having said that, there is increasing overlap between the two. For instance, where I used to put the Aptus on a CamboWide DS body for architecture, I now shoot exclusively with a TS lens on the 5d. Much faster to work with -- more shots for the client, more flexibility for experimentation and greater ISO abilities. So I just sold (ie. practically gave away) my CamboWide body in favor of the 5d. BUT, for my studio work in photographing furniture sets, the Aptus is much nicer. I can tell the subtle differences.

What is it you plan to shoot as your main thing?

Dave

[rueyloon]

Don't Do IT !

I too have 5Ds, and now 5D MK IIs

The aptus 65 is pretty much my hobby camera now.
30k down the can, I wished I didn't take that route.

Going the digital back route will only give you a 1 to 2 years advantage in the megapixel count department.
You better be sure you can make a hell lot out from that camera within that time frame.

Take from my experience.

While I had my Aptus 65, my friend just kept on shooting with his crappy 5D, which he later on upgraded to a 1Ds MK III.
He could have less shoot and still make more money due to the lower set up cost of his system. But get this, he actually
had more shoots, so he wins on both departments.

For my last sentence: Get this, only you can see the difference, not the designers, not the art directors and not the one
who is going to pay for the shoot. And for those that actually do, that minute percentage is NOT going to cover for the
investment you put into the digital back.

cheers
rgs
rueyloon

[paul_jones]

Don't Do IT !

I too have 5Ds, and now 5D MK IIs

The aptus 65 is pretty much my hobby camera now.
30k down the can, I wished I didn't take that route.

Going the digital back route will only give you a 1 to 2 years advantage in the megapixel count department.
You better be sure you can make a hell lot out from that camera within that time frame.

Take from my experience.

While I had my Aptus 65, my friend just kept on shooting with his crappy 5D, which he later on upgraded to a 1Ds MK III.
He could have less shoot and still make more money due to the lower set up cost of his system. But get this, he actually
had more shoots, so he wins on both departments.

For my last sentence: Get this, only you can see the difference, not the designers, not the art directors and not the one
who is going to pay for the shoot. And for those that actually do, that minute percentage is NOT going to cover for the
investment you put into the digital back.

cheers
rgs
rueyloon

im in the same boat as this guy.

ive owned phase and leaf both on an H1, but i still enjoy shooting with canon. I find i get a more professional job done with a can as its smooth running and fast to shoot, and when shooting people this can save your ass. quality wise, theres not a lot in it with a canon compared with a22/p25/ or p30.

the times that i think medium format blows away canon is when you are shooting something that speed isnt important, and the subject is the type that really requires the extra fine resolution. the only times recently ive needed medium format is when im shooting cars, but only when it 39mp or more (22 doesnt cut it). but its not like the car shots need all this res when they get on billboards or on magazine pages, its really for when the client sits down with you and the retoucher and they want to zoom right up to the writing on the wheel cap.

Im on the look out for a 39+ back at the moment, but i only think ill use it for 10% of my shoots. the canon is the workhorse.

paul

[HarperPhotos]

Hello,

Have to agree with you Paul. Since I have had my Nikon D3X my work flow would be 75% Nikon and 25% Mamiya/Leaf Aptus75.

Cheers

Simon

[TMARK]

While I love the files from my Aptus 54s, they aren't much different from the 5d2/1ds3 files.  I think the real difference is in the way the lenses render. I'd stick with the Canons if you can't have both.

[bcooter]

While I love the files from my Aptus 54s, they aren't much different from the 5d2/1ds3 files.  I think the real difference is in the way the lenses render. I'd stick with the Canons if you can't have both.

All I know is if I had never bought anything but a Canon, just stayed on that path and devoted my disposable income and time  in another arena I could have owned a RED with a complete Zeiss Compact Prime lens package.

Now at the time I bought my first digital back there wasn't a RED, there wasn't Zeiss mini primes, but when you step back and think about for the price of medium format buy in and learning curve you could buy a 4k motion camera, lenses and build a reel, the difference in where that puts your career vs. shooting only stills is for me a big difference.

Now today would I buy a RED, dunno because I have that weird lingering fear that the RED will become the motion camera version of a medium format camera.

I hope not, but we'll see.

But right now owning two phase backs, 4 contax cameras, three Nikons, Three Canons, one Leica, One Pansonic and three Canon Video cameras my workflow is 90% Canon (stills and motion), 5% Nikon, 3% medium format, 2% Leica.

But just to add if you really have a hankering to buy a big megapixel camera look at the world of used.  The difference between a H mount P40 and a used P30 is a lot of money.

BC

[tho_mas]

To add some minor points...
don't underestimate the shutterspeeds needed with digital MF (add this to the ISO capabilities).
it's most likely not just the purchase of a digiback...
it's also a new tripod (actually 2: one that is really good and one that is somehow portable).
tripod head. camera plates. quick release.
computer performance (?).
...
Then again ... if it's okay for you to shoot under the conditions digital MF call for, the image quality is really nice (but that's actually just relevant if you print big).

[eronald]

I'm just a hobbyist these days.

My P45+/Mamiya AFDII makes incredible images which no sDLR can get near to. But ... The camera is a piece of sh*t that cannot focus and has intolerable shutter lag, and exposure is a lottery. The back really can deliver, but this stellar quality is really only there with lots of light @ISO 100.

Executive summary: If you really, really want to do MF, cannot stop yourself from doing MF, get a Hassy, they have the closest thing to a dSLR experience. Better yet, forget the MF stuff, leave it for us hobbyists and concentrate on what you put in front of the camera.

Edmund