Mamiya DL33 (33 meg) on the market

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

Yes a 33meg camera for under $20K
http://www.imaginginfo.com/web/online/News/-Mamiya-DL28-Spawns-Bigger-Brother--Mamiya-DL33/3$4978

Heard that the 28 was a good camera so this should be better, Kodak's LEAF group doing the electronics on it. (Kodak and Mamyia have been working together for over 10 years)

[aerosolcheese]

Mamiya seems to be in bed with everyone these days. First they intro their own ZD, then they partner up with Phase One, and now Leaf.

[jeffkohn]

This is just a bundling deal, I guess Leaf had to scramble to do something after Sinar went under. I think the MF market is in serious trouble, Sinar won't be the last to fail; these companies are going to have to offer some real innovation to survive, especially at the prices they're charging.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

This is just a bundling deal, I guess Leaf had to scramble to do something after Sinar went under. I think the MF market is in serious trouble, Sinar won't be the last to fail; these companies are going to have to offer some real innovation to survive, especially at the prices they're charging.

Jeff,

I just this minute coppied this from the Sinar web page. They appear to be alive and well.

17.03.2009
Information about Franke & Heidecke
The news report of the 2nd of March 2009 that announced the fact that the firm of Franke & Heidecke, headquartered in the city of Braunschweig in Germany, has applied for the status of insolvency motivates us to make the following statement:

This information about Franke & Heidecke affects us as Sinar AG with respect to our medium-format camera Model Hy6. Beyond that detail, the aforementioned information has absolutely no effect on the core business of Sinar AG and its well established professional, analog and digital view camera solutions for studio-, architectural-, industrial- and landscape photography.

The management of Sinar AG has contacted the insolvency administrators of Franke & Heidecke already. We hereby firmly declare that we continue to stand by our renowned Service for all the products of our company. We are convinced to fulfill all our commitments. We will keep you informed about the ongoing status regarding the firm of Franke & Heidecke.

[jeffkohn]

So how exactly does it affect the Hy6? I think that camera was the primary platform for Leaf digital backs wasn't it? Hence the partnering with Mamiya...

[PeteQ]

I attended an event and had a chance to play with the Phase One/Mamiya 645AFD series camera. If you are a studio person and need the ability to make huge enlargements then perhaps it is worth considering. I spoke with several commercial guys and they are pleased with this system. These guys are shooting still life stuff with 45 megapixel backs. Me, I just don't see it, but it is their bread and butter so who am I to argue.

I am planning to rent a system for an upcoming shoot and see how it goes. I know my magazine art directors love the bigger 5DMk2 files so if that means they choose me more often then it is a factor. With Uncle Bob running around with Mk3's and D3's the new differentiator may well be a MF digital camera. But with iso topping out around 800 it is certainly not for most wedding or low light folks, but if you do posed work where you can control your light and need this kind of file size it is interesting.

But they have some serious hurdles to overcome. Price point needs to come down a bit more since you are looking at a new line of glass as well as the camera system so it gets pricey real quick. And I was not wild about the af points and a few other things that I am used to with the way I shoot. But in a studio setting the files are pretty spectacular! I was very impressed with what I saw on the screen and the test prints they had.

Remember the days of the $13,000 1.3 megapixel camera? We are getting pretty spoiled with high frame rates and clean iso 1600. I mean really, how many people routinely shot iso 800 much less 16/3200 until 5 years ago.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

So how exactly does it affect the Hy6? I think that camera was the primary platform for Leaf digital backs wasn't it? Hence the partnering with Mamiya...

I have no idea. "Sinar went under" doesn't seem to be true.

[johnastovall]

About half the pixels of the Phase One/Mamiya 645 65+ with its full frame 645 sensor.

There is also a sidebar there on Leaf:

"Regardless of any rumours in the industry, the F&H manufacturing plant is operating normally and will continue to operate while F&H works with their creditors to reach agreement on the best way forward. While this process advances, production of Leaf AFi parts and components continues. To further ensure that F&H continues operating efficiently, an interim administrator has been appointed to evaluate the F&H business. What this means is that we will continue delivering Leaf AFi-II camera systems, lenses and accessories."

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

I actually think the price is great, compared to around $40K 2 years ago for the Blad of the same file size.

Really this camera isn't being marketed as a "wedding" camera but more as a studio or if in the field either a great landscape or highly lit field shot camera. (really most large format film that is used for landscape is under 200 ISO so why push the ISO to a high rate for a select number of users and mess up it's best qualities for the rest).

As to new glass, the platform has been around for several years so there are a lot of people with that glass already.

Now If I can grab a $50K lotto scratch off ticket I know where the $$ can go to after paying off the tax man.

[srwatters]

I just purchased a Hasselblad H2 and a couple of lenses. I'm looking for an entry level back at this time. Surprising that the used market is healthy and the prices aren't bad compared to original. I'm looking at a P25 or P30. It will be interesting having the D3 for low light and speed and the MF digital for resolution.