Random thoughts:
1. I have seen the screen from that Sinar back, in person. It's a tad better than the Phase LCD, but still a far cry from the SIZE of the Canon screen. When I look at these LCD's, to me they require both Size and Density to be effective, when you're judging subtleties of light. Maybe it's the amount of backlight coming in a window behind the subject, and you're trying to judge how much you want to fry it, or maybe you're also doing mild subtle fill, and you're trying to really see how much foamcore or strobe to add. Density alone doesn't do it for me, I need Size. 3" is the bare minimum starting place, from any brand of back.
2. And for anyone clueless enough to say, "Carry around the Polaroid back for your camera", don't even bother. Yeah, you're going to stand there in a field, or a beach, on a job, with sand or dirt blowing around, holding that exposed back, while the assistant fumbles with attaching/removing the Polaroid back? Film is dead; it's a non issue. Don't even bring it up.
3. The Phase casing is starting to feel like a 1968 Dodge Dart. I don't have any idea how much money it would take to redesign the casing to enlarge the LCD area, but I do know a 1968 Dodge Dart when I see it, standing next to a 2009 Lexus. I'm a photographer, not a product designer. At some point, you've gotta face facts and listen to customers, and pony up the money, (or just fade away).
4. With all due respect, Mr. Mancuso means well, I'm sure, but he seems to be too close to CI and/or Phase to be critically objective. It might be just fine for him to be "waiting by your favorite lab hoping for the miracle that you actually got it", but in this economy, (or any modern economy), hoping that you got it simply does not provide a solid foundation for a business model. Mr. Mancuso seems to be fine with living in his nostalgic memories, which on some level is fine, but when you're dropping $20-35k on the ass end of one camera, "hoping you got it" does not seem sufficient.
5. The inferior LCD on the Phase also requires that if you're working on an even half-complicated image, either for Test or for a Job, you're required to also drag along the Dog/Pony Laptop. Honestly, when working fast, it's a buzz kill many times, and really slows down the process -- a tripod for the laptop; the cable; etc etc. With the 1ds3, or Nikon, you actually *could* trust fill lighting, right from the LCD. That might not be a big deal to a designer in Denmark, but it is to a working photographer. When you take away the Polaroid option, you simply NEED a large, accurate LCD to do anything other than available light, and let's not bullshit each other -- How many real money jobs are shot with available light?
6. I wish Steve Hendrix well, and he's gotten massive feedback from photographers, but Phase One is shockingly slow to implement change. They are becoming the company that Cried Wolf, and people simply stopped listening.
