If a touch screen and 80MP are on your list of 'must haves' then perhaps I could agree. Although you should really compliment Leaf for that technology, not Phase One.
If on the other hand in your Camera system you would prefer...
• 11 High performance lenses – all with lens shutter and in-built AF motors
• Fully automatic digital lens corrections for all H lenses – no manual lens selection. Uses actual capture conditions reported automatically by the lens
• Instant manual focus override – no need for manual switching of focus mode
• HTS 1.5 Tilt/Shift converter with 5 lenses including automatic digital lens correction
• CF lens adapter for Carl Zeiss C/CF lenses with full lens shutter operation
• Digital lens correction for all Carl Zeiss lenses
• Advanced auto-focus system including gyro based True Focus
• Interchangeable viewfinders
• Larger and brighter viewfinder image
• Excellent ergonomics
• Camera mirror-up mode, for zero vibration captures. Mirror remains UP between captures.
• 4 User programmable buttons, for short-cuts to the most used functions
• 7 user profiles storing complete camera set-up, for fast and safe access to different modes of operation
• Convenient single battery solution – only one battery type and charger required
• DC Power Grip, for powering the camera from mains power
• Full camera remote control via Phocus and Phocus Mobile for iPad and iPhone. Remote camera control includes focussing via control of the AF motor
• Fully user upgradeable camera firmware for viewfinder, camera and lenses. No need to return to the service centre
• GPS accessory
• Multi-shot functionality option
• IAA – Instant Approval Architecture for manual or automatic classification of images in the camera
• Rollei- and Schneider electronic shutter control for View Camera use
• Single color profile delivering outstanding colors – no need for profile selection depending on the subject.
Then my opinion differs somewhat.
David
Just a few rejoinders to this extensive list so it doesn't seem so, oh, I don't know, one sided?
Phase One Camera Options* Over 17 current and active lenses to choose from Mamiya and Schneider with 4 of them in Leaf Shutter, all of which were introduced in the past
2 years. How many leaf Shutter lenses has Hasselblad introduced in this period?
* Fastest flash sync (up to 1/1600th) and shutter speed (1/4000th) of any medium format system.
* Automatic lens corrections for Hasselblad H lenses, Hasselblad V lenses, Contax lenses, and Phase/Mamiya lenses. Also, the ability to manually
override these controls and customize them. I didn't realize that anyone would see the ability to customize your lens corrections as a negative.
* Lens corrections offered:
--- Hasselblad Lens Corrections: Chromatic Aberration, Distortion, Vignetting (positive only). All automatic (no manual override).
--- Phase One Lens Corrections: Chromatic Aberration, Distortion, Vignetting (positive and negative), Purple Fringing, Light Falloff (positive and
negative), Edge Sharpening Mask, Automatic and Manual Control.
* Hasselblad Lens Adapter that accepts not just CF lenses but also FE lenses.
* Yes, a DC Power Option
* Vertical Grip with built-in wireless sync and on battery type and charger required.
* In Camera approval system
* One button on/off (with IQ series)
* Single color profile for outstanding color reproduction….with the option of using and creating additional profiles.
* Largest square sensor option (40mm) and highest resolution (60MP - 80MP) for the Hasselblad V Series cameras.
* Ability to go on almost any medium or large format camera with a range of products from 31MP - 80MP.
Phase One Significant Unmatched Historical Technology Landmarks * First firewire-based digital back with high quality single shot capture (back in the late 1990's).
* Only digital backs produced capable of performing long exposure times that can run up to an hour or longer (despite competitors having access to the same exact sensor).
* Only digital backs with Sensor Plus technology, allowing one to choose (currently) 80MP or 20MP captures and adjust sensitivity and capture rates,
while still recording data over the entire sensor area with no crop.
* Highest resolution display screen of any professional still camera, and includes iPhone/iPad-oriented interface technology.
* Only digital back with a USB option (that can use USB 2 in the field with a MacBook Air, for example, or USB 3 with a MBP or Mac Pro with a USB 3
Interface Card).
* Utilizes Capture One software, which is
by far, the best quality software offered for any digital back, and has been for over a decade.
* There will be more to come.
Phase One consistently maintains a 2 year digital back sensor and technology lead over Hasselblad. I appreciate the Phase One DF camera for what it is, and I also appreciate the Hasselblad H system for what it is. Heck, we still have clients who steadfastly order Phase One and Leaf/Mamiya backs on Contax 645 cameras, and yes, I appreciate that camera as well. Many of our clients still order upgrades for their H1 and H2 cameras. Minus a few limitations, they don't have to choose between Phase One and Hasselblad digital backs. They can maintain their H cameras and continue to advance with Phase One digital backs.
Considering what Phase One had to work with, I think they have done an excellent job of improving the Mamiya 645 platform, especially by developing the relationship with Schneider as a high quality optical partner. While the Hy6 camera may have been a tempting project, I feel that from a long term growth and developmental standpoint, the choice of Mamiya as a partner will provide superior benefits over time. With Leaf as a division and the formal relationship with Schneider, for all we know the next Phase One cameras may prove to be a more desirable platform than even the Hy6/AFi. New camera designs take time and money, and as has been noted, 2 new cameras are in development. But for now, there are still many positives for many types of photography with the 645 DF camera, and if its limitations are in the way, a Hasselblad H1/H2 camera can still allow you to go forward with Phase One.
I would also note that Phase One has been a profitable company, even in the wake of this economic period of the past several years. And in addition, within that period, they have acquired complete or controlling interests in 3 major technology companies (Leaf, Mamiya, and Expressions Media). Clearly, Phase One is a strong company and growing.
By the way, David, Leaf had nothing to do with the IQ Series screen technology, which is really not "touch screen" at all, at least not in the way that the Leaf Aptus is "touch screen". You don't actually have to touch it. Instead, it operates via a magnetic field, similar to the way an iPhone or iPad work. I feel the technology and interface of the IQ series is quite significant and will - to many - make other products feel clunky and slow. In terms of seamless operability, the IQ series will work much like we have become accustomed to with modern devices, rather than the inexorable buttons and menus of previous capture systems.
Steve Hendrix
