Mark Dubovoy articles sparked my interest. I would like to read on Digital Medium Format.
Through the years, I learned quite a lot by reading the posts and evaluations on Lula. But at times, when I consult the for sale section I am out of my wits by what is listed. I am very attracted by the Alpa Cameras.
This basically describes why Value Added Dealers exist. Your describing our profession. We are that book.
Of course that's only the first part of our responsibilities. Establishing goals, sifting through a myriad of options, determining what advantages/disadvantages you can expect at various budget levels, finding the perfect fit (or a few very good fits), finding a good deal on that gear, setting up an in-person visit or shipped rental-towards-purchase to allow evaluation, and then providing follow-up training so you get the most out of the gear, and cell-phone/screen-sharing/email customer support (real 1v1 help, not a call center) for any questions, concerns, or problems that come up.
There are several digital back manufacturers each producing many models in several platforms/mounts, that can be used with at least a dozen bodies (including the tech cams) and no less than a 100 lenses (if you include legacy and manual glass). That's not even considering the software-end in which you'll spend at least half your time.
For instance: is Alpa right for you or would
Arca or
Cambo be better suited to your needs and budget? Is the priority compactness, flexibility, precision, speed-of-work? Do you need tilt at all? Do you need tilt on wide-angles? Do you need tilt and swing at the same time?
Do you need long exposure? What ISOs do you need? Do you only shoot landscape or do you want to explore using your solution for other genres as well? How often do you shoot and in what ways? Do you carry the equipment in a backpack deep into rural areas or do you drive up to look-out points and work out of your car? Are you going to be post-processing yourself or handing off to a lab or printer? Will you be using this in conjunction with a dSLR or replacing one? What cameras have you used in the past and what did you like about them?
If you're looking for a book about all that - you're absolutely not going to find it. Things change every year and it's a speciality-sized market. But if you're preferred method of learning is to read I can tell you that we have the perfect companion for you. Each of our sales guys prefers to work in different ways; one prefers in-person visits, another prefers emails, a third prefers phone calls.
We also have several clients each year who prefer to do their evaluations by attending a workshop. For instance we were just in Death Valley supporting a GetDPI.com tech-camera workshop. At that workshop there were several kinds of backs, all of the major tech cameras, and many lenses; with loaner equipment available to the handful of attendees that either didn't have a system or wanted to evaluate an upgrade or new lens.
Doug Peterson
(e-mail Me)__________________
Head of Technical Services,
Capture IntegrationPhase One Partner of the Year
Mamiya Leaf, Leica, Arca Swiss, Cambo, Profoto, LaCie, Canon, TTI, Broncolor & More
National: 877.217.9870 | Cell: 740.707.2183
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