A few of the very early versions of the ZD back had the purple problem. Those were repaired/replaced. The issue was resolved and subsequent backs did not have that problem.
Above is absolutely correct. At time it was reported that certain batches had the 'purple worms' issue which had been encountered and reported by Frank Doorhof. That was limited to certain batches of ZD backs only. It was reportedly reported by Mamiya as corrected and fixed, gone and NO MORE.
On other hand, what should be recognized clear was that the 'purple worms' issue was very limited. Instead that what I brought fourth at the time can be labelled as 'purple artifacts' and which was what I posted in thread on 'Mamiya ZD has problem' here at LuLa at the time, and which appeared to to be true for
ALL ZD backs and
ALL ZD cameras at the time (and for sure those backs and cameras that my agent tested; all of them had same issue). Technically I was told by someone in industry without naming a name, that the hardware and firmware was not properly implemented into ZD. It is unknown what has been corrected if anything in the backs since then (one could speculate in cost issue), because Mamiya unfortunate have stayed quiet and not come frank to inform. Thus I would advise to be cautious of old series ZD backs.
What can be said are two things:
1. It is possible (but I do not know if so) that raw converters such as latest Capture One assist to tune down the purple artifact problem, and thus confirmation should be referred to new users (but do look with critical eye for purple and purple artifacts in darker regions). Back around 2007 when I used ZD the purple artifacts even showed in blacks when photographing a color chart under office lighting at ISO 50 (thus this could be something to test for, but do use critical eyes)...
2. Leaf Aptus 22 backs with same identical sensor from Dalsa (same sensor as ZD) did not have same problem. They are available used.
Myself I went with Leaf Aptus 65 which was cheaper than Aptus 22 at the time, but a newer generation sensor (44x33 instead of 48x36 but more MP
). No single problem at all with this one. Complete solid, thank you Leaf!
Indeed the ZD could produce high quality images, but restricted under certain conditions at the time, which were uniform strong light. As for that it is hungry for light, I would assume that part remains.
In the end you are the one to judge risk of quality vs. risk of cost. There are options of used/refurbished backs from Leaf and Phase One with which there can also be provided good support if you speak to an agent.
Myself I know where I put the $, and I will put it again on a Leaf
. It all bottoms down to risk, support and personal choice.
To clarify: All of above is meant to inform of sheer facts. Nothing else.
Regards
Anders
