I find the reference to "dentists" offensive. The inference is that these are wealthy individuals who buy expensive toys and who otherwise have no talent or purpose.
My experience as a teacher and as someone that leads field workshops which are often attended by these wealthy individuals is that a great many of them (not all, but most) are very fine photographers. Several regularly sell their work, have gallery shows, and strong reputations.
Having money and, yes, being a dentist, is not mutually exclusive with talent. In fact there are as many wealthy people with 5D MKII's, and D3x's I assure you.
Michael
Michael - your LL business strategy/model is a perfect model for camera companies in MF land to look at and learn from. The great majority of users are in it for the FUN. The so called 'pro market' is a very tiny percentage of the real market. One of Phase One's competitive advantages has been the fact that many of its dealer's understanding that the well heeled buyer is not a bad investment proposition. Compared to the typical working pro - the well heeled buyer is lower cost to service and is more likely to pay up - because it is about fun. Your own site and sales benefits from tapping into peopel's predisposiiton to having FUN. you dont shove an elitist attitude down people's throats.
If one looks at the economics of the game - leaving aside current economic turmoil - the people who actually 'buy' MF capability are not working pros but the working pro client base and their expectaitons. It seems that the client is spending less and asking for more - and the working pro has tried to shove this economic structural dynamic back to the manufacturers. the manufacturers in focussing too much on tiny ( not even small) businesses have dug a hole for themselves...too funny if it wasnt so sad. How many times have some of thre best shooters on here remarkered tha their clients cant see a difference between a MF back and a DSLR? What else is there to knwo for that end of the market?
btw - looking through most posted stuff in this forum - it seems that Pro shooting for mazines etc has become a side line to illustrators. A working photographer has to understand where all this is leading..a MF manufacturer must understand that their ability to help a working pro really differentiate themselves through using their hardware and software - is pretty much ..gone.
Meanwhile your enthusiast sees a digi back much like they see film. Their preferences are for ease of use and size of chip. Give me a 6x6 chip or move towards that and I will pay ( again) - give me another 10 megapixels - well thats a harder sell that would largely be about bragging rights. The well heeled dude is keeping powder dry for a serious paradigm shift and bragging rights associated with that - now what colour might that be? -
The manufacturer's failure to understand the changing landscape and to continue to compete on ever narrower grounds in an ever declining end user market is a self induced death sentence.
