May be that next Leica S comes with an upscaled CMOS sensor based on the M (240) design?
Be careful what you wish for.
Personally I think medium format has a place, but it's time they stopped talking about megapixels because that ship has sailed. I know high pixel numbers sell the unknowing, but to me the advantage of medium format is the ccd sensor and the ability to really work a file deep.
I will repeat this, I believe with all my soul that a ccd file is superior to a cmos file given proper exposure and crafted light. I think it's superior in video and stills and I'd take an m9 or m8 over a Leica 240 in a heartbeat, I believe the 40mpx Hasselblad shoots an amazing file for skintones and nothing shoots a prettier look that my old p30+ and m8 with profoto flash.
I dunno, maybe it doesn't matter anymore.
i only buy print magazines when I fly and I've flown a lot lately. Today just bought a the GQ with George Clooney on the cover and Dec. Vogue with Kate Moss.
I don't believe technical quality is as important as the art, but both those cover images honestly look like they were shot with cell phones and tried to oversharpen with focus. I'll admit you can't take a bad photo of Kate Moss, so that's a given and I guess George Clooney on white sells, but regardless of creative brief, lighting or the on camera talent, both images are shameful in technique.
So to me, the thing that medium format needs to do is show great imagery and get their cameras , backs and lenses in the hands of people that are working at the sharp end and show the results, without the fanbodyism.
I own some older phase backs and still use them, I have personal mixed reviews of the companies marketing . . . but . . .
I don't understand why Phase and all medium format take so much heat.
Honestly,Phase makes the strongest piece of digital equipment I've ever owned and my backs which have been in every condition imaginable have never gone in for repair.
With the software improvements they are more viable today than they were when I bought them.
I can't say that about any piece of equipment in the digital world of photo equipment.
I also know some of the "rumors" of why Phase didn't make a back for the HY6 and it came down to smart business. The Mamiya deal was affordable, the HY6 was more risk, required more initial money and by the time it became more of an option, the commercial world went into crash mode, so the working professional had to change how they worked and be careful on what they bought.
Tell me which direction you would go?
Here's what gets me about this whole conversation. When the Hy6 was introduced it wasn't clean sheet, still based on the Rollei 6008 and didn't have a wide autofocus lens, had some issues with prisms digital back designs and of all the people that keep saying it's the best camera ever, I'd love to see the metrics of who bought, who didn't.
Leica, I love the look of their cameras, would love to have a reason to buy a S series, but it didn't tether when announced it also has a limited lens set and the lenses are stratospheric in costs.
Also Leica has been involved with so many third party people nobody can keep up. The back for the R9 had imacon software, the M8 was aligned with Phase one, the S series, I dunno I think it comes with a copy of lightroom now I guess Sinar software.
But back to the HY6, Leaf still makes a back for it, the software is c-1 which is pretty much the tethering gold standard so what keeps anyone from buying into it today?
In regards to cmos, I guess it's coming in medium format, but unless I see something better than the cmos in the m240 or for that matter any cmos camera, I'll wait.
P.S. (sorry for the disjointed post but I've been on a plane for a lot of hours).
IMO
BC