Would you go for a P40+ before an Aptus II 8 ? To me the Aptus seems more 'current' than the P40+?
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I have looked into the Alpa STC as well and to be honest this would be a nobrainer for me (love it) if it wasn't for one single thing....no tilt/swing with wides. That was a dealbreaker for me.
Damn, it is difficult to make all the right decisions.....
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Dan,
You sound like you are in a very similar situation to where I was a while back.
I have a Leaf Aptus 65 & P40+ that I use on my Alpa STC & DF cameras. I confess that for tech camera work where high iso performance and flexibility is much less of a requirement I far prefer the Aptus. In fact I've been tempted several times in the last 9 months to consolidate to an Aptus II 8 or 10 because of this. I just find the whole UI better tuned to tech camera work IMHO. The Aptus II series with the new UI and brighter LCDs are even better, plus the one challenge that I have with screen reflections in the field can be addressed on the Aptus using the LEE display hood. Also you don't need to mess with wake up cables and all that junk with the Leaf which again I find works better in the field.
For the DF though, the P40+ is a much better integrated back and I do appreciate the ability to shoot with higher ISO and if necessary sensor+. It is a very well sorted combination, as I'm sure the other Phase backs are. As Guy mentioned, the only difference between the P65+ & P40+ is sensor real estate.
Personally I've decided that I'm happy to stick with the crop sensors, particularly given all the pain and heartache that folks suffer with lens coverage, corner performance, color casts and banding with extreme glass. I figured that I can justify the bigger glass investment in wider lenses instead of the relatively large jump in sensor costs going to "full frame".
Regarding the OP's question about tethering in the field - I looked at this and in fact did this a while with my Nikon gear using a Sony U series micro laptop. Regardless of the connectivity issues with a MFDB requiring FireWire (IQ series excepted), the problem I ran into was screen reflection under bright conditions. I tried various screen shades but it rapidly becomes impractical IMHO. I'm sure that some folks work fine with it but it REALLY slows down your shooting workflow. I guess anyone shooting something like a BetterLight scanning back probably wonders what all the fuss is about but I know that I quickly tired of the practicality of it. I do use it at home though but that's a much more controlled environment.