Not sure I agree with that part of your opinion.
I think MFD makers have added considerable functionality to the later models of these big guns. Personally, I did, and still do, a fair amount of available light work with MFD cameras. They may be prime in the studio, but for a good deal of other applications they perform quite well and deliver versatility beyond just with strobes. It may be that studio work, including tethered, in tandem with lighting is the "must have", but the cameras certainly can be used for other work which extends the value proposition.
For example, the "cowboy" shot I posted previously was shot with a Hasselblad H3D-II/31 and a HC 150/3.2 with a 1.7 extender. I used the same camera with a 120/4 macro to shoot close-up details of the product (the slicker he's wearing). We even did some action shots, (including the attached Image below). These images appeared in a Trade Show booth ... a couple of them 8' wide.
- Marc
Marc, the images are beautiful no doubt but they are well planned and staged, not the way things work in real life.
And yet you are correct, MFD can be used in a variety of situations, I myself have posted wildlife images here that I took in Africa with my Pentax 645Z. It would have been impossible for me to shoot the same with the older IQ180 system I had earlier, but with the Pentax it was possible. Most people would not think of an MFD in the same breath as wildlife. However under certain circumstances you can shoot anything you like with MFD, but there are compromises involved and this is not a thread about the limitations or advantages of the format. Clearly the current crop of MFD systems do allow a lot more versatility.
I still think it is very much a niche product and as long as the costs remain high it will remain so. What I would like is for Pentax to develop a better series of lenses and perhaps incorporate a FF MFD sensor into its next camera. If they can price it close to the Z, it would be a big seller.
Meanwhile, reposting a shot I like quite a bit.Taken with no more than an instant's notice, long after the sun had gone down. I was the only one in the vehicle who had a camera handy for this one. Taken with my Pentax 645Z and the 150 2.8 legacy lens.