How would you go about...

[Emilmedia]

So I'm closing in on my first buy. Buying a H3Dii-39 with a lense for 6000 euros.

Its eather that, or saving up for a p65+ DF kit and that would cost me about 15-17 000 euro. I would have to save up for probably another year.

I guess its all about personal preference. But if you were in my situation. What would you do? (and no, i'm not buying a D800, i'm going for the MF-look)

[Ed Foster, Jr.]

So I'm closing in on my first buy. Buying a H3Dii-39 with a lense for 6000 euros.

Its eather that, or saving up for a p65+ DF kit and that would cost me about 15-17 000 euro. I would have to save up for probably another year.

I guess its all about personal preference. But if you were in my situation. What would you do? (and no, i'm not buying a D800, i'm going for the MF-look)

Emil,
Go for it! Personally, I am 100% delighted with my H4D and especially the lenses for some of the work that I do. I enjoy the Nikon D800 very much also for other types of work, but I am one who believes in the quality advantage of Hasselblad's H series. I have no comment on the Phase products, either positive or negative, but look at it this way: for that price, if you are not 100% pleased you can sell it for at or near what you have in it and move on. It does not appear you have anything to lose.

One word of caution, though, I hope you are purchasing through a reputable dealer or a seller you know and have the opportunity to test it before committing to the purchase.

Good luck and enjoy your new Hasselblad.

Ed

[Steve Hendrix]

So I'm closing in on my first buy. Buying a H3Dii-39 with a lense for 6000 euros.

Its eather that, or saving up for a p65+ DF kit and that would cost me about 15-17 000 euro. I would have to save up for probably another year.

I guess its all about personal preference. But if you were in my situation. What would you do? (and no, i'm not buying a D800, i'm going for the MF-look)

I don't see any downside to the H3DII-39 at that price. In the event you move in a different direction in a year or two, you're not going to be out much.

If you can buy it from a verifiable source who will inspect it, research the serial number and repair history, and support you, do so. If not, tread carefully and protect yourself (best as you're able).

Good luck! If you really like medium format, you'll be a happy user.


Steve Hendrix
Capture Integration

[FredBGG]

Good move.
Good choice of sensor as it is a larger sensor despite being "only" 39MP. The larger the sensor the more of the MF look you get
especially considering that 645 is the smaller end of medium format.
36.7 x 49.0 mm vs 33 x 44 mm makes a difference. Better viewing, shallower depth of field and more optical resolution captured.
Good price on a complete camera. If you either upgrade or decide that MFD
is not for you you should be able to sell it at a similar price. Buying new MF gear would
result in quite a loss. Entry level MF gear loses a lot of value on the used market.

Phase One IQ140 sold for $12,000 just over a year old on ebay while it costs $21,990 and is a latest generation back.

The Camera you are getting will pretty much take the same picture as a $25,990 IQ 140 kit.

Being that you are buying used proceed with some caution. If it's ebay check for good feedback and return policy.
You could also consider sending it in to Hasselblad for a checkup and tuning. They have fast turnaround.
Have the camera sent to you. If it looks nice send it off to Hasselblad for a checkup. You should be able to do this in the 15 day return policy
window. Give Hasselblad a call before going ahead and check how quickly they can take a look at it for you.
You could also have the seller send it to Hasselblad directly, but you would have to commit to the price of a checkup
without seeing the camera first.

Instead of saving up for a more expensive Phase a year from now use that money to add lenses when you have the money and start shooting MFD now.
More lenses will make a much bigger impact on your images than a few more megapixels and a different LCD screen.

You could also use the saved money to add an 8x10 film camera...

 

[NickyTaylorphoto]

Can I just throw a spanner in the works as I have recently just gone through the same thing decided what to buy as my first MF camera?

And people here were so helpful.

May I suggest the Pentax 645D, which is a new camera than the H3DII-39 But not only that it also, has the same sensor as the newer H4D-40 inside (Kodak KAF-40000)

Not only that the Pentax 645D is weather sealed which the hassy is not.

Also when it comes to buying lenses its a dream as the older medium format film lenses all work on the new digital body so you can get A+ grade lenses for $300 as they are now classed as redundant lenses (in a sence)

Anyways that is just my 2 cent worth I don’t want to try and be too technical as I have not earnt the honor of that title here yet.

Hope this helps somewhat to show you other options worth looking at out there.

[FredBGG]

Can I just throw a spanner in the works as I have recently just gone through the same thing decided what to buy as my first MF camera?

And people here were so helpful.

May I suggest the Pentax 645D, which is a new camera than the H3DII-39 But not only that it also, has the same sensor as the newer H4D-40 inside (Kodak KAF-40000)

Not only that the Pentax 645D is weather sealed which the hassy is not.

Also when it comes to buying lenses its a dream as the older medium format film lenses all work on the new digital body so you can get A+ grade lenses for $300 as they are now classed as redundant lenses (in a sence)

Anyways that is just my 2 cent worth I don’t want to try and be too technical as I have not earnt the honor of that title here yet.

Hope this helps somewhat to show you other options worth looking at out there.

The Pentax 645D is a good option too. Hard to find used ones.
It has many pluses compared to other MFD cameras.

I would say that the only drawback for Emile is the smaller sensor. One of the reasons he wants the MFD is for the slightly different look of the larger sensor and the type of depth of fields that comes with it. Makes a fair bit of difference for shallow depth of field portraits. 33x44 sensor would be quite close to the 24x36 sensors he already has.
If he's going bigger 36.7 x 49.0 is a better step up. He's also a good candidate for a 100mm 2.2 lens.

[Emilmedia]

Tanks for your opinions, i think I'll be really happy with it! I don't want to go with leaf, Pentax or Leica cause they ate smaller brands for MFD. And don't really have good sport or variety of used gear. I bet they are great cameras tho.

Who knows, in a year or two the iq160 will be cheap enough.