I got a chance to attend a PhaseOne seminar tonight for the CaptureOne 5 Launch, as well as the 645DF and Schneider LS lens launch. Learned some very interesting stuff.
PhaseOne is partnering with Schneider for lenses. There's apparently 11 new lenses in the pipeline with the 3 LS lenses being first and 3 T/S lenses coming next year, possibly including a 28 (17mm equivalent). Mamiya is apparently doing the manufacturing for the new lenses to Schneider design and QC. Apparently PhaseOne likes the Hartblei T/S mechanism but was not as impressed by curvature of field problems on the 45 so the new T/S's will have the Hartblei mechanism.
The Schneider 80/2.8 LS is a truly stunning lens. Handles very nicely, AF's reasonably fast, EXTREMELY sharp. We were shown some 100% crops from an unprocessed P65+ file and that lens wide open at f2.8 that were unbelievable. Leica seriously has its work cut out for them if PhaseOne and Schneider release more lenses of this caliber. Kinda funky shutter sound when the Lens Shutter fires, sounds a little like the G1.
The 645DF is a nice improvement over the AFDIII. They concentrated on small things, tweaking ergonomics mostly. It shows once you pick it up, but isn't really visible otherwise. Improved grip, nicer buttons, much nicer AF system. Most notably is reduced shutter lag, it's a perceptible difference. The way it handles L/S's is very nice, you get seamless switching from LS to Focal Plane at 1/800 (1/1600 with a P40+ or P65+ back). No need for a LS/FP control on the back. A vertical grip is on the way, it takes two PO LiIon batteries and powers a PO back as well as the camera. I was damn near drooling once I got to try the 28/4.5 as well.
As to CaptureOne 5, it's looking like a big upgrade for Pro users, but regular CaptureOne doesn't get the really interesting bits like the Focus Mask (shows in-focus areas) or the Skin Tone tool (which is damned brilliant and does much more than skin tones if you're willing to make some presets). The lens correction tools are also much nicer and a single lens profile can be applied at any working aperture as it functions only as a baseline. The new NR is also pretty darn spiffy, far more effective than ACR's.
Looks like they'll be getting my money for CaptureOne Pro.
The Schneider partnership news is a few months old now and yes, it's very good news for some. Of course Rollei 6000, Hy6 and AFi users are already enjoying a full range of Schneider lenses
Does this mean that Mamiya will continue to market their own lenses, as well, updating them to the "D" variants when and where it happens? I realize that might not have been part of the PhaseOne topic last night, but I thought I'd ask.
It's interesting to see how this market is sort of settling out - and seemingly those with capital are in charge of the system, those with their respective expertise are channeled into servicing the overall camera system. At least, that what it seems like to me.
foto-z wrote:
The Schneider partnership news is a few months old now and yes, it's very good news for some. Of course Rollei 6000, Hy6 and AFi users are already enjoying a full range of Schneider lenses
The partnership news is a couple months old, but it was only stated in terms of the 3 LS lenses, not a full lineup. And of course Mamiya/PhaseOne users have the advantage of a system which is not orphaned, as the Rollei-based systems sadly are (Hopefully F&H will indeed get resurrected as some news is indicating as a possibility).
sirimiri wrote:
Does this mean that Mamiya will continue to market their own lenses, as well, updating them to the "D" variants when and where it happens? I realize that might not have been part of the PhaseOne topic last night, but I thought I'd ask.
The impression I got was the Scnheider optics would replace many of the Mamiya lenses. Mamiya would remain involved as the manufacturer. It was strongly implied that PhaseOne had some sort of ownership in Mamiya's parent company. Mamiya seems headed towards becoming the value side of the line, with PhaseOne as the premium brand. Note PhaseOne is discontinuing its 16, 18 and 22MP backs, while Mamiya just introduced a new 22MP back at a significant discount compared to the equivalent PhaseOne.
Phase One doesn't have ownership in Mamiya's parent company, as far as I know, but in Mamiya itself. I don't know exactly what the deal they struck was though. The rest is also as I perceive it. Leaf has also become a Phase bargain-brand.
carstenw wrote:
Phase One doesn't have ownership in Mamiya's parent company, as far as I know, but in Mamiya itself. I don't know exactly what the deal they struck was though. The rest is also as I perceive it. Leaf has also become a Phase bargain-brand.
What I suspect we'll see is Mamiya on the low end and PhaseOne/Schneider on the high end for cameras/lenses and Mamiya then Leaf then PhaseOne for backs.
The press release cites New York, hence I'd assume it will also be on sale in the US?
Lastly, what does this mean for MAC Group? I know it can be a "loaded" topic, MAC being the Mamiya distributor in the US, but...isn't it sort of dual channel, to have PhaseOne and MAC offering similar products?
The press release cites New York, hence I'd assume it will also be on sale in the US?
Lastly, what does this mean for MAC Group? I know it can be a "loaded" topic, MAC being the Mamiya distributor in the US, but...isn't it sort of dual channel, to have PhaseOne and MAC offering similar products?
PhaseOne got about half the Leaf assets and engineering group.
As to MAC vs PhaseOne, that's the same as anywhere there's a proper Mamiya distributor. Here in Canada it's Vistek (Mamiya) vs B3KDigital (PhaseOne) although that relation is very cordial. I'd expect to see PhaseOne look to consolidate distributorship where possible and leave things alone elsewhere. The reality is that the only real competition is in the body or body/lens kits. Since the real money is in the backs and lenses I doubt either side is worrying too much about selling the same body, and lens sales are likely to follow back sales since the latter is the largest investment.
