You must be High to pay for the new Hy6

[George Kara]

OK

I confess to being a Rollei enthusiast. I love my 6008af. It really is the porsche of MF.

I have been waiting to hear more about the hy6 since it is extremely similar to the 6008af which is wonderful.

OH MY G*D. $ 32,500 MSRP for the 33MP version!!! Thats $ 1,000 USD per megapixel.
The e54 version at 22MP is $ 30,500. Thats $ 1,386 per megapixel. I guess we are going backwards on cost to the dawn of digital cameras.

Canon is strongly rumored to be putting a 22+ MP version of the 1ds. I suspect the price will be similar to the prior 1ds which was around 8.5K. The Canons are great kits and I cant see how anyone could justify the 3x cost differntial.

They must be hoping for alot of the doctor type clients with money to blow to keep afloat with sales on this one.

What the hell are these people smoking????

I bought my 6008af new for about $ 3,400. That was less than 2 years ago. I have seen kits with the 16MP back for under 10K but thought that was over priced.

[Gordon Moat]

It is all relative to what uses such a system might be put. Compare the prices to a Creo (Kodak) EverSmart brand new, and they might not seem out of line. Then compare to Hasselblad (Shriro) H system prices, and they are close. Compare further to ALPA 12 prices with a digital back, and maybe still not so surprising.

I seriously doubt anyone other than a professional photographer would be buying a Rollei/Sinar/Leaf Hy6 system. Perhaps a few well off enthusiasts might, but I doubt such a group was even considered amongst potential users.

No matter what Canon does with a 1Ds Mark III, the reality is that these medium format systems will still perform better than any D-SLR using 35mm sized lenses. Most of the MFDBs on the market have a greater bit depth, and use larger pixel cell site sizes that are effectively more sensitive to photons. They also tend to have some form of cooling on the imaging chips, which greatly helps in controlling noise. Comparing simply on MegaPixels would miss these differences.

I suppose a better question might be who would justify or need such capability. Recall that the 11 MP MFDBs on the market a few years ago were also near $30k prices, despite that used versions can be found for nearer 1/5 that price, or less.

On the basis of cost analisys justifications, other options would be a lease plan, or renting such a system when (if) needed. Reasonably one could expect about 36 months of usage, or under $1000 per month. If someone is doing enough work to justify billing out that much (incorporated into creative fees or location fees), then it might not be as crazy as the price might seem to suggest. However, I doubt I would ever buy one of these systems, though I might be tempted to rent one in the future.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[Eric Leppanen]

I vaguely recall seeing Phase One being quoted as saying that roughly 20% of their P45 backs go to wealthy amateurs, although I can't swear to it. I have encountered several P45 users -- all amateurs -- doing landscape work in the field over the last year (the latest one used a P45 on a Hasselblad H2), so they are out there. They all used MF digital because LF was not feasible (too heavy/slow/bulky; a couple of the folks I met had bad backs), and Canon/Nikon DSLR's did not provide enough image quality. Given the choice of coughing up the big bucks or seriously compromising their hobby, they chose to cough up the big bucks. A full top-of-the-line MF digital setup will run about $50K (back, camera and lenses), and there are folks out there who are paying that (not many, it is true). And the Hy6 price structure seems to be competitive with Hasselblad and the third-party digital back suppliers.

A 22MP Canon product will still be in a different league, as that sensor will be limited by pixel size, bit depth, and 35mm form factor lens resolution (particularly wide angle).

[Brian Ellis]

It's all relative. Tell 99% of the world what you paid for your Rollei AF and you'd get the same reaction as your reaction to the digital version. I'm actually surprised and disappointed at Rollei, the price here seems to be in line with similar products from other companies. Back in my medium format days everything I used to see from Rollei was about triple the cost of comparable products from other companies (Hasselblad excepted).

[Gene McCluney]

While I can't justify a medium-format digital camera for my business, those that do purchase them certainly figure on using them heavily and do get a good return on investment, if in a high-volume commercial studio situation. These high-end medium format DSLR's are really aimed at top working high volume commercial/fashion/catalog photographers. You have to be shooting for pay every day to make one of these work for you.

[Frank Petronio]

It looks nice compared to the Hasselblad, I am glad there is competition.

When I shot catalogs and tabel-top product back in the day, the annual film and processing bill for a moderately busy single shooter would easily justify this camera.

[Steven Barall]

I agree fully with Frank. The price is right in line with Hasselblad and think of all the Rollei lenses out there that you can use. With the H3 you are locked into the several lenses that Hasselblad makes or rather that Fuji makes for Hasselblad.

I got to hold the camera and get the sales pitch at Photo Expo in NY from an elderly German gentleman who someone told me was The Guy from Rollei and it's very impressive and he was very proud of it.

The important thing, as Frank points out, is the competition. Competition is a pain in the ass for the manufacturers but a great thing for the users. If Hasselblad introduces more lenses and features for the H3 it will be because people are going out and buying the Rollei.

[Gordon Moat]

I have seen a couple reviews starting to call the H3D a 4x4.5 camera. Compare that to this Hy6 that allows 6x4.5 or 6x6. I believe that Sinar and Leaf will only sell a digital bundle version, though Franke & Heidecke will probably have a body only for sale this year. That would be another option, buying a body, then renting a digital back as needed, and shooting film the rest of the time.

Just wanted to add that the Leaf version is called the AFi. More about that here:

http://www.leafamerica.com/press/pre...p-leaf_afi.asp

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[Ben R]

There is almost no competition in cameras at the moment for MF, Hasselblad realised this and their prices are in line, very very high. Rollei now only has to match them to compete. Have you seen some of the prices for those lenses? Utterly crazy, but with Pentax, Contax and Bronica out of the game and Mamiya hanging on by its fingertips the two big boys can realistically do what they want.

[kjsphotography]

If you wait a few years 2 or 3 you might be able to pick it up for $10...

With the depreciation of these digital cameras it is worse than buying a new car.

Ok, maybe not $10 but you get the picture...