Considering an Alpa w/P45+, please help

[JohnBrew]

Mat, like your thinking there. Very familiar with CCD - Leica M8, M8.2, M9-P, Nikon D200, etc. which may mean nothing in relation to a MFDB.
Frankly, I always liked the colors from CCD and you are correct - they take a different point of view in PP. I know right off the people renting me the DB are going to rag on me for not using Capture 1, but I never could understand that software worth a darn and for me it is a matter of terminology. After 12 years of PS I suppose I'm just an old fart who is resistant to change - I really never got on with LR until LR5.
The unit arrives tomorrow so time will tell...

 

[mjr]

Well have fun with it all John, nothing better than new toys to play with!

Let yourself be tempted by C1 if you can, on Nikon files it is a revelation after LR, the P45 will also be a lot better. I would be using it in a heartbeat if the Leica was properly supported, I find portrait stuff is better in C1 even without the lens profiles, I just can't match it in LR, but then you probably have lots more experience and there's a lot to be said for a tried and tested workflow.

Anyway, enjoy and report back.

Mat

 

[Paul2660]

To see the best possible details, and to my eyes colors from the P45+, I would look at C1 also. You can download it for 30 days for a trial or re-install it with just the DB (digital back) version which is free.

C1 V8 has some excellent enhancements that has had me going back over a lot of my older P45+ files.

Also, if you are going to use the tech camera, you will need to be shooting a LCC and C1 has this process down to perfection. I briefly tried the LR tools for this, but did not find them very good for the LCC process. It very well may have changed as I have not looked at it since LR V 4.x.

I use LR and C1 about 50-50, but always use C1 on my Phase files. I may tweak a tif in LR from phase, but I just find C1 makes a better conversion.

Paul

 

[dougpeterson]

I know right off the people renting me the DB are going to rag on me for not using Capture 1, but I never could understand that software worth a darn and for me it is a matter of terminology. After 12 years of PS I suppose I'm just an old fart who is resistant to change - I really never got on with LR until LR5.

Have you ever taken a class on C1, or just tried to struggle into on your own?

We have Capture One Training that I promise would greatly increase your understanding of not just specific features/functions but the underlying themes/concepts on which the program is founded.

 

[Chris Valites]

Mat, like your thinking there. Very familiar with CCD - Leica M8, M8.2, M9-P, Nikon D200, etc. which may mean nothing in relation to a MFDB.
Frankly, I always liked the colors from CCD and you are correct - they take a different point of view in PP. I know right off the people renting me the DB are going to rag on me for not using Capture 1, but I never could understand that software worth a darn and for me it is a matter of terminology. After 12 years of PS I suppose I'm just an old fart who is resistant to change - I really never got on with LR until LR5.
The unit arrives tomorrow so time will tell...

The big thing with Capture One that I like to tell people is that while Adobe's engineers (and, therefore products) are American in nature, Phase One's engineers are Danish. The mentalities and design sense are very different in scope and way of thinking. Once you crack that C1 is way more procedurally driven, rather than by priority (tabs and tools are ordered in logical procession instead of by most commonly used in C1) it starts to make more sense.

We do offer hardware and software support and training, which you can view here: https://www.digitalback.com/product-category/support-training/

I've sat in with Josh Booth, our software training specialist, both while he's given our Serious Technical Training, and while he's gone one-on-one with a customer via webcam. He's knowledgable as it comes, and even for me, having used Capture One Pro since 2006 or so, I've picked up a lot from him.

 

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

I am shooting a P45+ on a Hasselblad and I have posted a lot of samples here:
http://echophoto.dnsalias.net/ekr/Articles/Shoots/BernardSamples/

That link may work or it may not. I have some problems with my ISP and myself right now.

My experience with the P45+ is in short:

• I would think I have a pretty decent sample, because my friend (on the net) Paul Caldwell says so.
  
• There is a definitive resolution advantage with the P45+ over my 24 MP Sony Alpha 99, but that is honestly the only difference I see.
  
• I wouldn't say I can tell P45+ and Sony Alpha 99 apart on screen or up to A2 prints. Going past A2 (16" x 23") I feel the P45+ wins.
  
• I would say the P45+ is a capable back. But, I am not sure I would say it is preferable to a modern 36 MP CMOS sensor.

Best regards
Erik

 

[GrahamWelland]

The big thing with Capture One that I like to tell people is that while Adobe's engineers (and, therefore products) are American in nature, Phase One's engineers are Danish. The mentalities and design sense are very different in scope and way of thinking. Once you crack that C1 is way more procedurally driven, rather than by priority (tabs and tools are ordered in logical procession instead of by most commonly used in C1) it starts to make more sense.

Further to Chris's point about the workflow, one nice thing about C1 is that if you don't like the organization of the tools within the product then you can customize where and how most of the various tools are displayed. If there are tabs or other stuff that you don't ever use then you can remove them.

Task / Preference orientated Workspaces are a wonderful thing ...

You can't beat the assistance that a C1 class can provide, be via a GetDPI workshop, CI/DT training or others. I personally got a lot from the training video series that LuLa put together with David Grover although it's getting a little old now. I still use their workspaces though.

 

[marktomaras]

There is something special about a tech camera that cannot be measured in resolution alone.

Before digital, I was shooting with Mamiya 6x7 as well as a 4x5 field camera. The Mamiya yielded amazing negatives, loaded with detail, and printable quite large. Sure, the 4x5 had more, but the Mamiya was so good.

I think this is similar to your situation. The benefit of the tech camera is not only resolution. Of course, the large format lenses are amazing. That is one of the reasons I have a tech camera. But the other benefits are excellent as well. Lens movement is a huge plus. So much so, that even if you were not planning on using it al the time, once you have it, you will use it more than you expected!

One of my favorite things to do is multi-frame stitches within the incredible 150mm image circe produced by the Schneider 120mm lens. Talk about resolution and detail!

But more than that is the experience of working with a tech camera. It slows you down in a similar way that working with the 4x5 camera does. I find this to be helpful. The slower pace makes me more careful, more attentive, and I hope, a better photographer.

Another benefit is the modularity of the system. You can upgrade your back, you can add a t/s adapter to a lens, and you can use your back on an MF SLR. It is great to be able to score a used MF SLR that may be a generation behind for a relatively low price to augment the tech cam.

All this to say, I am a fan, and I recommend it. But it depends on what you are after. If you ONLY want to increase resolution from the Nikon 810 & Otus, you will have to spend a lot of cash to do so. That is a classic diminishing return scenario. But if you are attracted to all of the benefits of the tech cam, then I say go for it!

 

[JohnBrew]

Thanks everyone. I've posted some images and you can see what you think. No, I see no advantage over my D810 & Zeiss 55. I can see what MFDB should do but the P45+ isn't the back for me. Critical focus was difficult to attain even with a Disto. The LCD seems worse than the one on my M8.2, although they have the similar specs. I can see if I want to go MFDB I will have to save many more shekels as I feel LV is a must. But I did have fun .

 

[cly]

If you want to have live view for easy and fast focusing, I'd say there is no alternative to the current CMOS backs (IQ or Hasselblad). Live view on the IQ140 or 260 doesn't compare to the CMOS backs. Another advantage of the latter: you can use LV in a bright environment without using a ND filter.

Chris