Since the beginning of digital capture and forums there have been 3 basic subjects, replayed a thousand times.
1. Medium Format is better (or not better) than 35mm.
It depends on what you shoot, but the cold hard reality is for 99.9% of all professional work, no client asks for more than 22mp. You may believe they do, tell them they need to, etc. etc. etc., but in reality if you process out and uprezz and sharpen a file properly, do expert post production and shoot a pretty picture, nobody will talk about the megapixels. Nobody.
2. Medium Format costs too much.
Who cares? Really if it costs Phase or Blad $2 or 2 million to make a camera back, they sell them for what they can get, just like everyone else in the commercial world sells everything for as much as they can to insure a profit.
Actually, my medium format backs are probably the cheapest things I own in the long run, because I probably won't replace them for a lot of years, they're not that many moving parts for anything to break and honestly I never bought them because someone made me, I bought them because I wanted to.
Also as time goes by due to low iso and the speed in which we shoot, I use them less, so they get less wear and tear, so at this point they've more than repaid the investment so I just keep them and whether anyone likes it or not I'd spend 3 grand on a 36 mpx nikon before I'd spend 5 grand fixing and old camera back.
Now if you want to talk over priced . . . go look at ipads, i phones (actually anything that is called I stuff). hard drives, software, software, software, software and software. Software.... that's where the real serious money is.
3. The Value Added Warranty is a must have or it's a waste of money.
I guess it depends on who you are, where you live, what you shoot. If I lived across the street from a dealer, only worked in a studio and they had my exact back, body and lenses in multiples in stock, I'd see the VAW as worthwhile, but anything past that it's just a fear buy.
It's like blowing the transmission in your audi. Do you want to spend 15 grand to fix a 25 grand used car, pay 4 grand a year for 4 years of coverage, or just toss the car and sign up for a new one? It's all a wash in the long run.
Personally I think the VAW us a fear buy, that is all gravy for the dealer. Since I work everywhere, use Contax and no dealer is going to have a back in my flavor or get one to me in any cost effective time frame, I'lll pass and if the thing breaks, I'll either pay to fix it, or toss it.
The best insurance is backups. Lots of backups.
Now in reality I don't get the pricing of medium format still backs when I can buy a military grade RED One for 20 grand, a semi military grade Scarlet for 14 grand and not knowing how any of this stuff is made, it sure seems to me like the cinema cameras are a lot more complicated than that little box that goes on the back of a still camera, but once again I don't know how this stuff is made and hope I never find out.
I'm sure other people will have differing opinions.
IMO
BC