2) Did you serious rather consider a MFDB, such as P1 or Leaf? It is likely to blow your socks off - at low ISO. Aint nothing like your D3X or prior ZD (speaking low ISO)...
Anders,
Allow me to ask, what experience do you have with a D3x? It is much better than the Mamiya ZD that seems to be our common reference on this topic. How clean and sharp the D3x files are is pretty amazing coming from the ZD. The shadows are especially impressive, pull pull pull... no noise whatsoever in areas that look black when opening the files.
As far as back goes, the many files that I have seen from Phase and Hassy have never really impressed me that much (they might not have been shot optimally). I do not like the way micro detail become painterly. I much prefer the way my D3x files with correct sharpening look at 100% on screen. They do have a real photographic quality to them. I have less experience with Leaf files that are said to be better.
But the main problem really is with the cameras supporting the backs.
- My Mamiya experiences have convinced me that they don't have the potential to handle the demands of high level digital, very nice people though,
- AFi seemed tempting but is now dead,
- H3 is a body whose ergonomics I really dislike (vertical shooting is impossible without wrist injuries), with heavy lenses, some of them no that impressive (I used to shoot with a H1 and was real disapointed by the 35 mm for instance).
In the end the only useful option is a Cambo wide and digitar lenses with the back on, but this is impossible to focus critically in the field
without life view and the actual information contained in one of my D3x files correctly focused will be real close to that of a loosely focused back anyway.
Besides, I am not even going on all the annoying things like:
- overall lack of quality generating many issues (including alignement issues impacting image quality)
- poor long exposure image quality (Dalsa sensors)
- color casts
- lack of DoF
- lack of battery life in cold weather,
- slowness of operation
- poor screens
- lack of image stabilitization
- poor high ISO
- lack of efficient flash system
- limited lenses range (does't go very wide, doesn't go very long) - my Nikon lenses go from 14mm to 300mm and are all tack sharp from corner to corner (leaving aside the 80-400 that is not that impressive), MF set up would go at best from 20 to 200 mm in 35 mm equivalence,
- ...
All that is
without looking at the difference in price.
In the end I am much better off with stitching with the D3x when I want really good image quality in flexible image aspect ratio (stitching is the only option here anyway) and using my Ebony/Mamiya when I want to have fun.
The only way I could start looking at these back seriously is when they will feature in back live view. Until then I will spend my extra $ in second hand high end audio and my useful $ in extending the Nikon system with more panoramic options.
Cheers,
Bernard
