Medium Format News: Reviews and troubles

Rejected title for this post: "As the medium format world turns" :) But let's get serious, medium-serious to be more precise :)

Luminous Landscape has just posted a comprehensive field report of the Phase One P65+ 60-megapixel digital back, used in conjunction of course with the Phase One 645AF camera and assorted lenses.

This is a very comprehensive write-up and if you are not familiar with the Medium Format world, this can also serve as a good introduction. As always, we won't spoil their findings and conclusions, And medium format purists will be thrilled that there are no mentions of the Canon G10 this time :-)

Meanwhile, back in Ansel Adams land, another photographer has posted his account with the P65+. Ken Doo of Ken Doo Photography was part of the Capture Integration - GetDPI meetup in Carmel, and he posted his findings and sample pictures taken with the P65+. Please note that the samples are only available at blog-view size.

On the trouble side of things, Leaf has issued an official statement on the financial troubles of F&H in Germany. PDN Pulse has more details, including the full statement.

Phase One price check
If you read the reviews above, you already know that these cameras are in the capital-investment range, they do cost a lot. A quick price-check at Calumet Photo shows the Phase One 645, the P65+ digital back, and the 80mm for $42,000. To put it in perspective, that's like buying fifteen Canon 5D Mark II cameras :-)