I find this whole conversation, well, funny and comical. The fact that so many people are upset with the price of a high end camera system and at the same time discuss how the quality is not that much better than what you can get with a Nikon or Sony just gives me a good laugh. If the latter is true, why do you care how much the damn thing cost?
Personally I dislike everything about 35mm DSLRs. I am not trolling the 35mm forums, bashing Nikon and Canon for their crappy lenses, the fact they really only have one type of camera design, that the 2:3 aspect ratio does not work well for commercial ad space (and is pretty bad for vertical shots anayway), no lenses that have leaf shutters, not being able to do true multiple exposures, etc.
I like using MF, I don't like the price, but I rack it up to the cost of doing business and move on. I have more important things to worry about. And in the grand scheme of things, $35K for a business purchase is not that much.
I also find it funny that there so many people on this forum who do not have a good business sense. I read the comments on the prices of components, like the sensor, and see nowhere people talking about the R&D that goes into the system and needs to be recovered. PhaseOne employees people and pays them a salary. Many of these people work countless hours designing, engineering and assembling the backs. Those hours and those salaries need to be recovered. Not to mention, finding, employing and retaining the best at what they do is, usually, expensive. Also, every business needs to take into account marketing and pay for it somehow. None of these figures are shown in the price of raw material costs alone.
