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Keep or Sell H3dII-22

Hello,
I am the fortunate individual who just purchased Marc's (fotografz) H4D-40 here at GetDPI. My question is whether to keep the H3DII-22 as a backup or sell. FYI, I primarily shoot commercial, events and performances here in Hawaii. However, I want to expand into weddings, fashion and a bit more Hawaii landscapes - hence the purchase. Normally I would sell the 22, but there are no Hassy rentals in Hawaii, so if anything goes wrong I am stuck. My primary 35mm setup is a Nikon D3s. Any thoughts on the matter are appreciated.
 
S

Shelby Lewis

Guest
Send it to me... I need a back up!

Seriously, I'd probably sell it as the nikon would do in a pinch.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
That is a tough question Joe. Not as cut and dry as it seems.

If you kept the H3-II/22, would you also have to keep the Nikon D3X? If so, then it becomes more of a financial question that only you can answer.

The creative question you can answer yourself since you already have used the D3X and the 22 meg MFD ... for what you shoot, the real question is: can the D3X replace the H3D-II/22?

As a former D3X user, I can offer the opinion that in no way can the D3x deliver anything close to the H4D/40. However, that is based on what I shoot commercially. For weddings and events I never had a MFD back-up for the H4D/40, or any MFD before it. The back-up was always a high-end 35mm DSLR du jour ... be it a 1DsMKIII, D3X, or my current Sony A900. The use of MFD at weddings and events was always a creative desire and IQ bonus, but one I could live without for that application.

For other commercial applications, the 35mm DSLR is no longer even considered as an alternative. I tried to use a 35mm DSLR as back-up a number of times in past, and got burned every time because it under-delivered on work where over-delivery is expected ... even against a 22 or 31 meg back.

For you, the more obvious consideration is the type of light you shoot in. The H4D/40 does much higher ISO than the H3D-II/22, so in that case the D3X is a more suitable back-up.

For commercial/studio applications, I've pretty much always had two relatively comparable MFD cameras for a similar reason as yours, there are no local rental places to source a kit of this caliber in an hour or so like in NYC or LA.

The last part of the equation is whether you would actually have a use for the H3D-II/22 over just being a back-up? One advantage I can think of is using it for a slightly wider field of view ... the H4D/40 is a 1.3X crop factor, and the 22 back is a 1.1X ... so a 28mm is a bit wider on the 22 back. Or when shooting, would you conceivably use both cameras with different lenses? I could see that for fast paced fashion or environmental portrait work.

-Marc
 
Excellent analysis Marc.

My situation is I have two kinds of beasts: the D3s which I can back up at a local rental shop and the Hasselblads which I cannot. For clarification, I have a Nikon D3s not a D3x. The D3s is the low light, high iso champ but at 12mp it just will not compete with the Hasselblads. For low light backup, I can always rent a D3s or D700 locally. As I begin using and relying on the H4d-40 more and more, I will not have a decent backup unless I keep the 22. If I sell the 22 I suppose I could rent a D3x as a backup. I had not thought of this as an option.

When the going gets tough, the tough go to sleep. I'll sleep on this decision.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Excellent analysis Marc.

My situation is I have two kinds of beasts: the D3s which I can back up at a local rental shop and the Hasselblads which I cannot. For clarification, I have a Nikon D3s not a D3x. The D3s is the low light, high iso champ but at 12mp it just will not compete with the Hasselblads. For low light backup, I can always rent a D3s or D700 locally. As I begin using and relying on the H4d-40 more and more, I will not have a decent backup unless I keep the 22. If I sell the 22 I suppose I could rent a D3x as a backup. I had not thought of this as an option.

When the going gets tough, the tough go to sleep. I'll sleep on this decision.
Sorry, I mis-read the Nikon model.

I'd keep the H34D-II/22 for awhile ... I think that kit has just about hit the deprecation threshold, and I doubt a few months will make a difference on how much you'll be able to sell it for.

-Marc
 

kuau

Workshop Member
IMHO the H3D 22 blows the doors of a d3x for over all iq full frame MFb big pixels great quality. D3x Which I shot with all summer, without the finest glass, ie Zeiss MF
Can not match iq to me to the hassselblad
I also shot the original h3d 39 which was also a great camera, but ultimately I needed / wanted a MF camera that is well made weather sealed, etc so I am trying the Pentax 645d great body, now if Pentax would release some good new lenses for it I think for the money it's a great camera.

Steven
 
R

Ronan

Guest
IMHO the H3D 22 blows the doors of a d3x for over all iq full frame MFb big pixels great quality. D3x Which I shot with all summer, without the finest glass, ie Zeiss MF
Can not match iq to me to the hassselblad
I also shot the original h3d 39 which was also a great camera, but ultimately I needed / wanted a MF camera that is well made weather sealed, etc so I am trying the Pentax 645d great body, now if Pentax would release some good new lenses for it I think for the money it's a great camera.

Steven
We are allowed to disagree :poke:

Then again i'm not a big hasselblad fan.
 
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