Hi Paul. Thanks for the reply, I'll try and clarify a bit. I am a commercial photographer mostly shooting for catalogues, brochures, editorial and advertising. I am sometimes asked to shoot in high resolution when a client requires images to be printed on posters at bus stops or bill-boards so I hire cameras for the job. Most of the time 21MP is plenty. I see the benefits of Medium Format apart from resolution being the colour depth, clarity of images (from a big sensor and high quality lens) and higher dynamic range. There is also the impression that a client gets if they see a high end camera - if a client see's serious equipment they feel reassured that they are getting value for money. Pictures may be 90% photographer and 10% gear but the average person often doesn't realise that.
However... I'm not asking whether I should buy a new camera; I am holding out until it makes the most financial sense to upgrade. I am just wondering if the MF camera makers can survive when their market share is constantly being eaten away at by high end DSLRs.
While 21MP is indeed "plenty" for billboards, client impressions count. If a 'blad gets you one client and your rates are good, it'll pay for itself. Long-term, there is no way the MF manufacturers will survive. The economics of sensor manufacturing almost guarantee their demise. None of them were doing well *before* the move to digital, and unless the "Full frame uber alles" crowd surprise us all and Canon and or Nikon gets into the MF business (in which case, they'll likely hasten the demise of the incumbents) I just don't see a way that more expensive sensors with higher reject rates make sense- the D800 is IMO the nail in the coffin-- it's actually almost too much resolution.
To do advertising, you're probably looking at about $50-60k US for a high-end HD4 plus 2-3 lenses and software- you can save about $20k by going with a 30MP body, and if you get Hassy's newsletter thing, occasionally an old refurb will go for much less than that- for that sort of money, you can get a Better Light back and Schneider digital lenses for product photography and have movements-- and deliver 600MB-1G 48-bit files to those who are "impressed" with resolution and color depth. "I'll courier over a hard drive with a copy of the shoot." Of course the art department who has to work with the files will loathe you
Granted, you can go a lot cheaper going outside of the Hassy line- but they tend to win for color depth and DR against the Mamiyas of the world.
I certainly wouldn't buy MF without a short-term ROI. As a long-term investment it's too risky. Spend the money on huge light panels for the studio and if most of what you shoot is compatible with LF, I'd look there for the wiz bang against the competition- "Oh, our high-end clients can handle the 384MP files, I can shoot it low-res with one of the little cameras if you're in a hurry though- much quicker to process the files." Plus, it's just fun to say "Scheimpflug!"
Bottom line- if you're holding out for when it makes financial sense, it doesn't. If the ROI isn't there quickly enough to make it obvious, then it's probably a bad move and your clients likely aren't that obsessed with equipment.
Paul
