The real question being why image review is needed in the field at all when shooting landscape...
I can understand the value of wifi for the x% of IQ users shooting for clients in "studio" environment (indoors or outdoors) because it may help show them live images being shot (but a large HDMI screen sounds better when possible).
Now, it appears to me that a majority of Phaseone customers are not shooting for clients in a pro environment. Is this assumption correct? For those guys (let's call them landscape shooters for the sake of discussion) isn't perfect focusing with live view a better solution? Light can be disapearing fast, why have to go through a focus accuracy check on an ipad you have to carry around in the field? Genuine question... I would really like to understand the use case.
Cheers,
Bernard
Good question Bernard.
As a user of Phase + Technical camera for landscape work, I find the WiFi to iPad for the field to be a fascinating and likely very useful feature. This is especially true if/when it supports liveView on the iPad as is planned. (Although not in first release as Doug points out).
Unlike many, I find live view on the Phase to be extremely useful and I use it all the time. It does require some effort with ND's, but like anything, once you have a system in place, a shooting workflow, it becomes straightforward. This, combined with the Focus Mask, to me, is $$$. I feel making this available on a larger screen (and where I don't have to contort myself behind the back at times to get a clear view) will be extremely valuable to me.
The iPad mini, which has recently become my new best friend (over the iPad 3), also makes this more viable, as it fits in a jacket pocket with ease.
I ordered the upgrade from 160 to 260 due to two features alone. 1. Long Exposure, 2. Wifi to the iPad. These are what matter to ME and make it very attractive and I am pleased with what phase has done with the new backs. As always, everyone else's millage may vary depending on your use case.
Note: I use a TECHNICAL camera exclusively for Medium Format. Nothing in a DSLR range gives me the options this does which I find useful, so many of the other comparison features are not relevant to the way I want to work. I own a wide range of DSLR's from various manufacturer, but what ends up going into the field for landscapes, is the tech cam. Including right now as I type this from Iceland, about to start a shoot.
All in all, it is a good time to be a photographer.