(I had posted this to GetDPI before, but it fits very well here also - so sorry for the ones who have read it already-I´ll add some more comment for this one)
Interesting thread. I have been quiet for now but here comes my analysis how I see this release:
Phase One was under pressure (as are all the other MF makers) for a new CMOS technology (lets spare out the technical details here-I want to see it from a product placement and marketing point of view). Right now the DF+ Body does not make all the users happy, but it is the base platform for the actual back portfolio. Phase One themselves have called their CCD products not ideally suited for sports or action photography, as well as for low light shots for high ISO (not to be mixed up with long exposure capability with low ISO ! I also think the Pixel Plus is giving only a second grade solution as the resolution is only a quarter of the full one, but that´s another story).
This gap had to be filled and as you can see from the presentation on the Phase website, that is what the purpose was to reach.
I don´t think this makes much sense on a tech cam, although I understand the interest of many of my colleagues for better focusing also for their tech cams.
As I have proposed here for several occasions some time ago, the only way to get to a larger (than 24x36) CMOS chip was cooperation with other companies to increase the volume, otherwise the production would have been impossible.
The common denominator for all 4 existing customers of this Sony chip is the format that Leica and Pentax are using (which draws an interesting image of the proportions per company of the projected chips).
So this chip is tailored mainly for a more compact and SLR oriented concept. Phase has used this to scale it as an extension of the existing back portfolio.
If Phase One will make this perfect, a full body with incorporation of this chip will be needed. I am nearly sure this will happen in the not so far future.
(addition: I would give the advice to Leaf/Mamiya to incorporate this technology into a Mamiya 7 body. Keep this exact formfactor, use the lenses and earn a fortune, people woud buy this like crazy. give the body a pricepoint of under 10k, that differentiates it from the back portfolio and would earn the company some easy money -and- bring up the chip numbers to enable the development of a second bigger one to replace the highres 80 Mpix sometime soon (2015 ?).
And - I would not be surprised if they have listened to their customers very carefully and are preparing a solution that will be a market leading body , maybe showing some of the concepts already used in the industrial cameras.
I welcome this policy very much and for us as HCam producers this chip is also a godsent: it opens a much greater range of available lenses of the world market, very many cover this smaller format. And 50 Mpix is enough for most of todays working tasks( though a bit small for fine art imaging).
It is the right decision, the CCD´s will hold their stake for some more years in the traditional highres range (which they do very well).
This protects the investment of existing customers, opens the market for new ones and extends the usability of the DF+ system -Plus- gives a perspective for a future devellopment.
(addition: for all those complaining about too high prices for hardware: you are comparing apples and peas here. Phase has a dealer modell which offers support and direct sales channel by high specialist trained sales personel. You have to pay for this. If someone would want to market such a complex product in a supermarket warehouse chain, he would miserably fail). Even Pentax (now Ricoh!) may have overlooked the fact that getting such a product to the Promarket is a timeconsuming and cost intense work.
What is described as a "paid" Brand reputation here, has been worked on for 18 years now. It was and is expensive and even Canon and Nikon are spending comparably much more to the prosection sold products than to consumer products. Actually is is a lesser profit for more work business. But the larger companies cross finance it from marketing budgets to tell consumers how good their standard bodies are. Phase / Mamiya-Leaf and Hasselblad can´t do this. Hasselblad tries to break this scheme with their Lunar/Stellar experiment.)
Well done Phase One. Pure logic and good strategy !
Greetings from Germany
Stefan