It would be nice to see a Max with an extended range of movements, but I guess there comes a point when it would impact sales of the XY, so maybe they don't want to do it. Alpa have just updated the XY (Mk IV) so it's obviously going nowhere fast.
As an alternative, perhaps extend the shift on the STC to +/-30mm and call it the STC-P (P=Panoramic)? That said, with longer lenses there's mechanical vignetting due to the rather narrow lens mount Alpa uses, so that just leaves WAs - and WA lenses with large ICs tend to be symmetrical designs - which don't work great with the latest CCD/CMOS sensors … so again, Alpa may feel it's not worth the effort.
OT: 100MP CCD? I can't see it (anymore) in a prosumer grade DB. 100MP CMOS? Who knows. Looking at the MF sections on GetDPI and LuLa it's kinda sad that neither is as lively as they were just a couple of years ago, it seems like the whole segment needs invigorating. Turned out the announcement of CMOS just wasn't enough. All the excitement seems to be with compact system cameras, and with a camera like the A7r it's not hard to see why, especially when matched with the killer glass becoming available. The rumor is Canon has a 75MP (3 x 25MP) foveonesque-style sensor out there being tested - the IQ off that thing could even give 80MP bayer array sensors a run for their money.
I've looked at adding the XY, but as I already own 4 Alpa bodies, I doubt I'll do it, and its such an ungainly mechanism compared to the Max. I'd just as soon look at the Cambo that offers 25mm lateral shift on its Max competitor, and I feel Alpa should address that as it's maybe loosing them sales, when compared on paper.
To me, 100mp is not 'Prosumer' - forgive me if we have different understandings of that term - but it refers, I thought, to the market between
Professional and amateur Con
sumer. 100Mp backs, or for that matter 80mp and 60Mp, are Pro territory, not Prosumer. (though of course some wealthy hobbyists/'Prosumers' do buy).
I have heard rumors of Canon this and Canon that sensors for over 8 years now, so will only believe it when it comes. Do I hope that Phase, or Canon, release a Foveon style back? Yes I do, it would be awesome, and if I'd been in charge of MF back development, I'd have been right onto Sigma 3 years ago to licence that for MF. I know Hassy were very aware of the Foveon advantages when I visited their factory a few years back.
As for mirrorless, yes that is exciting, but its only a small step to MF mirrorless now. We have the camera bodies (Alpa FPS) we have the CMOS MF backs, we simply need Sony to engineer the chip for EVF readout, and presto. Sony $500 EVF on top of an FPS, plugged into Sony MF sensor-ed back, and wa-la: MF mirrorless. Live view focusing and all. Now that would be sooo great!
