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Adding MF kit. P25+, P30+ or Aptus II 5?

I went from an Aptus 22 to a P30+ about two years ago and never really noticed the difference between full frame and 1.3 crop. I shoot mostly portraits, so the 35mm lens is plenty wide for my shoots. I never really noticed a DOF difference. I'm sure for some people/types of shooting there is one. But I didn't worry about it. I just set up my shot as I normally would and didn't even think about it. It's much different than the 35mm DSLR crop sensors. Also, I really didn't shoot above ISO 100 with the Aptus. 200 was ok, but It's just not a clean file above that. The P30+ has been great outdoors. Especially for those late afternoon portraits where the sun starts to fade. Or shooting in shade or backlit wide open. It's really the most versatile back out there, as long as you aren't shooting with a tec cam. You also may want to consider a Hasselblad H4x with a 100 f/2 lens. It's really a great combo.

In terms of your sync speed... You really need to test the camera/back out with your elinchrom kit. I found it really hard to sync above 1/640 with the DF. I tested it at lowest power with w bi-tube head. It never gave me a full flash exposure. So make sure to test it the way you will normally use it.

Have fun!
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
In terms of your sync speed... You really need to test the camera/back out with your elinchrom kit. I found it really hard to sync above 1/640 with the DF. I tested it at lowest power with w bi-tube head. It never gave me a full flash exposure. So make sure to test it the way you will normally use it.
Was this with a sync cable or wireless flash sync? I'd fully expect the bitube to sync fully at 1/1600th.
 
I went from an Aptus 22 to a P30+ about two years ago and never really noticed the difference between full frame and 1.3 crop. I shoot mostly portraits, so the 35mm lens is plenty wide for my shoots. I never really noticed a DOF difference. I'm sure for some people/types of shooting there is one. But I didn't worry about it. I just set up my shot as I normally would and didn't even think about it. It's much different than the 35mm DSLR crop sensors. Also, I really didn't shoot above ISO 100 with the Aptus. 200 was ok, but It's just not a clean file above that. The P30+ has been great outdoors. Especially for those late afternoon portraits where the sun starts to fade. Or shooting in shade or backlit wide open. It's really the most versatile back out there, as long as you aren't shooting with a tec cam. You also may want to consider a Hasselblad H4x with a 100 f/2 lens. It's really a great combo.

In terms of your sync speed... You really need to test the camera/back out with your elinchrom kit. I found it really hard to sync above 1/640 with the DF. I tested it at lowest power with w bi-tube head. It never gave me a full flash exposure. So make sure to test it the way you will normally use it.

Have fun!
Thanks Josh. I guess this is what I wanted to hear.

Thank you to all for your comments. I didn't realize there was so much I didn't know about DoF!

So, I completely eliminated Aptus II5 from my list because of very low ISO, and started thinking of Aptus II6 instead, or maybe even Aptus II7, but that's a very long shot. I am not going to use it on tech cameras.
The only reasons why I consider Aptus is its file quality and ability to sync at up to 1/1600th. I don't mind touch screen. The way battery attaches bothers me a bit and I hear that thunderbolt doesn't provide enough power to the back when shooting tethered to newer MacBooks and iMacs. This may be an issue in case I have to upgrade my computers during next few years. But image quality - I like. But, it could be because I didn't get a chance to look at P30+ files yet. Maybe I'll change my mind again.
 
crap, just wrote a long post and it erased it...ugh!!!!
ok, here we go again... I tested all of these for a long weekend before my purchase. Aptus II 40, H4D-40, P65, IQ160 and my Aptus 22 that I had at the time. I thought the Aptus I screen was barely usable to review images, only used it for histogram. The Aptus II screen was somewhat better, but not what I consider good enough for the amount the back costs. Now I'm talking about using it outside, trying to see the ratio of ambient to daylight in the sun. I just wasn't happy with it. The files are great and when shooting indoors I'm tethered 99% of the time. The IQ screen is amazing. The hassy screen was good and the P30+ screen was good enough. I can zoom in and check the focus, see the ambient/flash exposure just fine. I was really happy with all the files from every camera/back at base ISO. I had a minor color cast with the H4d-40, so I kind of ruled that out. But I ended up going with Hassy as my camera system. I'm hands down happier with the H4x, than the phase cameras. I ended up buying the P30+ without shooting it. I got a ton of great feedback and advice from Steve at CI and Rich at Fotocare. Once I went through all my options, I saw one listed here in the B&S for a price that was too good to pass up. It looked mint, had 100K exposures, which doesn't really affect anything on these backs, as long as they are treated well. (The IR filter had been replaced fairly recently by the seller) I was taking a little risk, but used my credit card to buy it, which has some protection. It was in perfect condition, no issues. If the price was anywhere close to what one of the dealers had it for, I would have bought it from them. The idea was really to use it for a year or two, then upgrade to an IQ or Credo back. But I'm so happy with it, I don't think I'll upgrade right now. If Phase or Leaf had come out with a new back with micro lenses, I probably would have upgraded. I think they really missed a great opportunity to have an IQ130 with the P30+ sensor at an entry level price point. Or the ability for us to upgrade with our sensor in an IQ body. I really need a back that can shoot full res at 400/800.
 
So, I bought P30+ with DF and 80mm LS lens kit.
First of all, thank you all for your input. It was great help!

B3K Digital in Toronto sent me their demo kit with 20k actuations on it to test out with no charge and after couple of test shoots and working with the files I decided to keep it.

I only used it in studio conditions, tethered. Files are just spectacular. So much detail and tones. I was worried that retouching may take longer, but it really doesn't, and working with files is pure pleasure (I'm coming from Nikon D700).

I need to practice more and figure out how to focus and recompose. Also, nailing focus with available light only seems difficult too. Any tips on how to focus more successfully or just point me towards right threads?

Even resized for web MF files have this totally different quality to them. Amazing. I wanted to post one image from one of the test shoots, but it didn't really work. When I post it as an attachment and preview the post, it enlarges the image by a lot. How do I do it?
 
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