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Mamiya Slashes Prices on DM System

etrigan63

Active member
Didn't see this posted here so here goes:

Mamiya has lowered the cost of getting into medium format digital by offering is DM line of cameras at "DSLR prices". The DM22 kit, which includes a Mamiya branded 645DF, 80mm 2.8D (I am uncertain if this would be the LS version. The Mamiya website has a broken link to the page that is supposed to detail this price change) lens and a Leaf Aptus-II 5 (22 mpx) digital back, now lists for $9,995 USD (€6,995 in Europe).

You can read the whole press release here.

While this kind of devalues MFD gear, it also makes it less painful to get started in higher end photography. I will really have to save up my pennies (no one has any credit these days) to get myself one of these.

UPDATE: poking around several online Mamiya dealers, it appears that the lens is the non-LS version.
 
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Anders_HK

Member
While this kind of devalues MFD gear, it also makes it less painful to get started in higher end photography.
Why would this devaluate MFD gear??? Could it be instead a sign of a budget line of highly competent digital backs that will compete against C&N top of lines? Perhaps this will make prices of MF lenses on used market devaluate less...

We shall see.

Regards
Anders
 

Oren Grad

Active member
Since late last year MAC has already offered a DM22 bundle with the AFDIII body at $9995, corresponding to the Phase One/Leaf bundle with the P1 645AF and Aptus-II 5. If there's someting new for the US, it would be including the DF body in place of the AFDIII. That certainly would represent a break relative to how the DF body has been priced separately.

I don't see that yet on the MAC site, but they do tend to be slow in getting things up.
 

etrigan63

Active member
I agree that this price does make it competitive with the Canon 1Ds Mk IV and the Nikon D3x whose prices are hovering around the $8K USD mark (MSRP Body only). As far as my devaluation comment, I was referring to the value of MFD gear on the secondary market. Trying to sell an older AFD I-II-III kit with an equivalent used back will now have to plummet well below the $10K mark in order to sell. This is good for those of us wanting to start up with MFD.
 

etrigan63

Active member
UPDATE from Mamiya PR:

I have been informed that this deal is identical to the one being offered by Leaf/Phase One. A lens IS NOT included in this deal, but the body IS the 645DF. Mamiya has made this price permanent.
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Well it makes sense they are including the DF -- they have probably run out of AFD-III's...it does not make any sense for Mamiya to keep producing two very similar but different spec'd bodies. Honestly though, I do not see this as a very big deal -- as Oren said they have been doing this for a year. And you get a 22mp back. Certainly, they are no slouches, but at the same price point you can get a 40 megapixel camera from Pentax with a newer sensor. A camera like a D3x or 1DS III will also have 20+ megapixels and while it may not have the color depth or ultimate image quality of the 22mp aptus, it will have a lot more flexibility and real world usability (high ISO's, speed, live view, lens and accessory selection etc).
Personally, even though the Pentax is not really a system yet, I would say it is much more attractive at this price point than a 22mp back...for that matter, so is something like a CFV-39...
 

etrigan63

Active member
Agreed, Stuart. The "big deal" about this is not so much the tech, but the pricing as "standard" instead of a "limited time offer". Market pressures are forcing established names to lower their prices in order to stay competitive.
 

Oren Grad

Active member
Don't forget that the H3DII-31 is also $9995 now. In theory it's a limited-time offer, but the offer extends to 12/31. It's hard to imagine the price will go back up in 2011 - surely they either will have cleared the remaining stock by then or will extend the offer.
 

etrigan63

Active member
True enough Oren, but I think Hassy may rethink that offer as they are offering a non-current model of camera body. Maybe they are trying to move old stock, but it looks to me that they will have to step up to the H4D to remain competitive at this price point.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
My H3D39 was for $11.000.- back in November 2009, which was a limited time offer, but prices are for sure going down.
 

symbolphoto

New member
I'm one of the people to take advantage of that Hasselblad 31 deal. Sure, you can pick it up cheaper on forums, but being my first MF back, i wanted warranty as well. I think it's a great deal along with Phocus. Though i'd be lying if i didn't say the DM series initially intriuged me. I'm one of the few people that think the closed system, for the working pro, is a good thing. (Assuming it all works of course).
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
I'm one of the people to take advantage of that Hasselblad 31 deal. Sure, you can pick it up cheaper on forums, but being my first MF back, i wanted warranty as well. I think it's a great deal along with Phocus. Though i'd be lying if i didn't say the DM series initially intriuged me. I'm one of the few people that think the closed system, for the working pro, is a good thing. (Assuming it all works of course).
The 31 deal is really great! Being in the H system for a while now, I only can say I am totally happy with that CLOSED system. I never ever saw any other system which is integrated as well and delivers out of the box with MINIMUM adjustments necessary in post processing from the scratch - Phocus is a very integral piece of that!

Especially I want to mention the HTS, which can do Tilt and Shift, but I am using it mainly for landscape and panos with Shift. Man, this is a relief if you are used to the cumbersome work with Tech cameras - no vignetting, no darker parts in extreme shifts, colors just right, and PS loves the TIFFs coming out of Phocus. I can do a stunning pano with that tool in minutes compared to working hours to reach the same IQ level with other MFDBs and Tech cameras. Just another example of perfect integration of a closed system.
 

symbolphoto

New member
Tomsu, i'm glad to hear it. While i'm in a different genre, (Weddings and Portraiture) we'll be using it for the image quality and flash sync speeds outdoors. I'm very excited and just waiting for it to come in from B&H. I also picked up a used HC35 to go along with it and plan to add a 100 2.2.

Being a working professional and not a hobbyist, the idea of the closed system actually sealed the deal for us. Everything coming from one vendor, after the kinks are worked out which in Phocus 2.5 it seems like they are, is very appealing to us. We just need it to work. No battery mess, or software glitches where one vendor blames another for lost functionality.
 

etrigan63

Active member
I am trying to make a final decision which way to go MFD-wise. The various systems each have their appeal to me:

Hasselblad: fully integrated and built like a tank
Mamiya/Phase One/Leaf: open and flexible (fp + leaf shutters in the same camera)

Leica's S2 does handle very nicely and I imagine the Pentax 645D being a good choice too, but I want to be able to upgrade the MFD without having to swap out the entire body like I do with my 35mm gear.
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
I am trying to make a final decision which way to go MFD-wise. The various systems each have their appeal to me:

Hasselblad: fully integrated and built like a tank
Mamiya/Phase One/Leaf: open and flexible (fp + leaf shutters in the same camera)

Leica's S2 does handle very nicely and I imagine the Pentax 645D being a good choice too, but I want to be able to upgrade the MFD without having to swap out the entire body like I do with my 35mm gear.
Carlos,

forget the idea to upgrade without swapping the whole body, with Hasselblad each back comes with a dedicated body which you should use with it and the S2 is integrated anyway. But also in the Phase Mamyia world the body is just a fraction of the price of a decent back.

For the rest you should just look into how well a system operates for you. This is the most important factor. For me the H system was the winner, mainly because of the very advanced cameras and lenses and backs, but also because of the integrated SW solution (Phocus).

If Leica would have offered such an integrated SW solution on a similar level a year ago, I would have chosen the S2. As this was not the case then and still is not today (and will not be in my opinion for the next years) the S System was knocked out - a no brainer - as I do not want to mess around with 3rd party SW and plug ins for my precious time I could keep shooting.
 
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