H6X or XF

[f8orbust]

Got this far down the postings ...

There are so many adapters out there that you could probably attach a milk bottle to the front of either of these cameras if you really wanted to. My point wasn't about what goes on the front, it was about what you could attach to the rear. Since there was such a hullabaloo when H/B locked everyone else out, the deafening silence when P1 did the reverse is somewhat ... odd.

BTW, anyone know what happened to Leaf ?

 

[Jamgolf]

Wonder why?

H6X: It was just announced so obviously no used ones are available.
H5X: Not many are sold, hence not many are available on the pre-owned market.

 

[fiver]

I tried both before buying (which I would always advise when spending these sums of brass) and eventually settled on the HB.

The XF is a nice camera and gets the job done but in my opinion and it's only my humble opinion the XF grip did not feel right ergonomically in the hand whereas the hasselblad handled beautifully.

Of course none of this matters if you are going to be using the xf on a tripod in a studio 99% of the time.

 

[dougpeterson]

I tried both before buying (which I would always advise when spending these sums of brass) and eventually settled on the HB.

The XF is a nice camera and gets the job done but in my opinion and it's only my humble opinion the XF grip did not feel right ergonomically in the hand whereas the hasselblad handled beautifully.

^^^ Exactly. For this gentleman the XF didn't fit his hand very well. For someone else the H6X might not fit their hand very well. Or neither may fit very well. Or both. This is not something one can determine from a forum and a great illustration of why hands on evaluation is essential.

Evaluating pros and cons online makes a ton of sense before you spend time/money on testing. But once you've established, as I think is very clear here, that there is a reasonable argument for either of these two bodies based on the spec sheets, the next step is to actually shoot with both.

 

[Jamgolf]

I tried both before buying (which I would always advise when spending these sums of brass) and eventually settled on the HB.

The XF is a nice camera and gets the job done but in my opinion and it's only my humble opinion the XF grip did not feel right ergonomically in the hand whereas the hasselblad handled beautifully.

Of course none of this matters if you are going to be using the xf on a tripod in a studio 99% of the time.

Trying both side by side would be ideal.
That's what I was planning to do i.e. renting both H5X+100/2.2 & XF+150/2.8 for a day and run side by side tests.
My DB is in H mount so H5X is not a problem, but it wont work on an XF body. So, that means I need to rent another IQ3100 in Phase mount.
It gets much harder & expensive, because I am not a pro and renting that much equipment requires insurance (which I don't have).
I'll figure out a way, eventually.

 

[BANKER1]

H6X: It was just announced so obviously no used ones are available.
H5X: Not many are sold, hence not many are available on the pre-owned market.

Really. I'd be interested to see your source for this information.

 

[dougpeterson]

Trying both side by side would be ideal.
That's what I was planning to do i.e. renting both H5X+100/2.2 & XF+150/2.8 for a day and run side by side tests.
My DB is in H mount so H5X is not a problem, but it wont work on an XF body. So, that means I need to rent another IQ3100 in Phase mount.
It gets much harder & expensive, because I am not a pro and renting that much equipment requires insurance (which I don't have).
I'll figure out a way, eventually.

Well, we tried our best by coming to your city . But I know the schedule didn't work out for you to come. You could take the day off work and join us in Houston tomorrow.

 

[Jamgolf]

Really. I'd be interested to see your source for this information.

I have no source. I provided a possible explanation to your rhetorical question "Wonder why?" ... I get the impression you are not pleased ... I'm sorry
I just mean that native camara<->DB sales are proably majority of the MF sales, the hybrid setup is probably not the norm.
Hence my extrapolation that not that many H?X bodies are sold.

 

[Jamgolf]

H6X has a 1 year warranty.
Does XF have a 1 year or 5 year warranty?

Update:
I think the 5 year warranty only comes into picture when XF is bought as a package with the DB and lenses. Otherwise 1 year warranty applies.
So no advantage either way. I don't understand Phase One's policy in this case. A bit disappointing actually.

 

[Christopher]

H6X has a 1 year warranty.
Does XF have a 1 year or 5 year warranty?

Update:
I think the 5 year warranty only comes into picture when XF is bought as a package with the DB and lenses. Otehrwise 1 year warranty applies.
So no advantage either way. I don't understand Phase One's policy in this case. A bit disappointing actually.

Yes dump policy.... same with lenses. You can spent 12k on two lenses and get 1 year. That's just pathetic... the same bs are 5 years. Give us something decent like 3 years and it would be fine.

 

[RobbieAB]

H6X has a 1 year warranty.
Does XF have a 1 year or 5 year warranty?

Update:
I think the 5 year warranty only comes into picture when XF is bought as a package with the DB and lenses. Otehrwise 1 year warranty applies.
So no advantage either way. I don't understand Phase One's policy in this case. A bit disappointing actually.

This also depends where you buy and what kind of buyer you are. In the EU, as a consumer, there are minimum warranty lengths laid down. The regulatory warranties are not the same as the "5 year premium support" warranties, admittedly, and AIUI don't apply to a "business" purchaser. Also, as a consumer, such a purchase would be covered by consumer rights laws, in addition to EU regulations. I have no idea how they would apply here.

Obviously, if you are a business buying such a camera, you will have a lot less protection.

 

[algrove]

BTW, anyone know what happened to Leaf ?

They fell out of the tree in the Fall and never grew back in the Spring?

 

[algrove]

There are so many adapters out there that you could probably attach a milk bottle to the front of either of these cameras if you really wanted to. My point wasn't about what goes on the front, it was about what you could attach to the rear. Since there was such a hullabaloo when H/B locked everyone else out, the deafening silence when P1 did the reverse is somewhat ... odd./QUOTE]

Just to add to the comment I was making about those Mamiya lenses I was mentioning go on the XF, they go on without adapters, but still AF and the lens data is in EXIF data.

 

[algrove]

Yes dump policy.... same with lenses. You can spent 12k on two lenses and get 1 year. That's just pathetic... the same bs are 5 years. Give us something decent like 3 years and it would be fine.

Not sure this applies worldwide with Phase, but a year ago Phase was discounting the body by US$2k and then charging the US$2k for extending the warranty on any al all items purchased at the same time along with the XF and DB.

In effect, the 5 year warranty was no charge with this arrangement. What is wrong with that? Also it's transferrable.

 

[Christopher]

What's wrong with that ? Getting a lens besides buying a back ? Why do I need to buy a back if I only want a lens. If I would like to upgrade some lenses and spent 20k on 3 lenses I get 1 year? Sorry that's sad. If phase is confident to offer 5 years with a db they could at least offer 3 years on a lens that costs well over 5k....

 

[Jamgolf]

H6X vs XF debate will go on ... but as original poster of this thread, I wanted to state that I’ve bought a pre-owned XF after some deliberation.

It was a surprisingly hard choice to make but the factors I considered are:

1) Phase One currently has a much better lens portfolio and I am particularly interested in the 150/2.8 LS lens, mainly for portraiture, but landscape as well. I got some first hand owner commentary about it and there is some very very high praise for it.
2) XF has built in Profoto interface and I am interested in Profoto B2 kit (one less thing to buy and carry).
3) XF has focus stacking ability. I am intrigued by this and want to give it a shot.
4) XF has timelapse capability and I want to try it as well.
5) In this day and age, cameras can be transformed via firmware updates. Fuji has done it and even Phase One’s update for IQ3-100 backs brought us electronic shutter, one of its best features. So, upgradeability is something that has influenced my decision. XF body is a new platform and I think is much more receptive to transformations via firmware updates. I can not overlook that.
6) I did not want to spend $8K on ANY camera body, so I’ve bought a pre-owned XF for much less. So, with the money I did not spend, I’m in a better position to get a 150/2.8.
7) I would not need to carry a different set of batteries, chargers etc.

All of the above is obviously my personal reasoning and thought process and applies to me.
Someone else might come to the opposite conclusion based on their own rationale.

My gratitude to all who shared their thoughts, opinions and experiences.

Cheers!

 

[algrove]

Jamgolf
Just curious if your XF decision was based on your wanting an AF system plus your technical camera system?

 

[Jamgolf]

Jamgolf
Just curious if your XF decision was based on your wanting an AF system plus your technical camera system?

My intended usage of XF is going to be primarily portraiture. For that use case I prefer an SLR body, autofocus and a lens that has characteristics suited to portraiture.
Honestly, for landscape usage auto focus is not important to me at all. Auto focus would perhaps come into pitcure only if/when I try XF's focus stacking feature.

 

[vjbelle]

BTW, anyone know what happened to Leaf ?

I do remember a post from one of the dealers regarding this and it seems that the Leaf brand has been discontinued. Actually I can't see a need for it as Phase can easily incorporate that price point into the Phase line.

Victor

 

[aztwang]

My intended usage of XF is going to be primarily portraiture. For that use case I prefer an SLR body, autofocus and a lens that has characteristics suited to portraiture.
Honestly, for landscape usage auto focus is not important to me at all. Auto focus would perhaps come into pitcure only if/when I try XF's focus stacking feature.

Where that XF shines in portraiture is when the outside ambient light is harsh and with a twist of the shutter dial and bump my light up a bit I now have a wonderfully exposed image, rich sky blues and greens from foliage and a perfectly exposed face. This image I shot @ iso200, not sure why, anyway 1/320 and honestly probably should have pushed it to 400. Regardless, image turned out alright. 90% of my senior shoots are outside and 100% of those are shot using flash sync over 1/125th at some point during the session. I also love the fact I can go to 1/4000 shutter speed using the XF's FPS. It allows again the possibility of shooting hi-speed sync/ Hyper sync and freeze motion with a fast shutter speed while adding some flash to finish off your sports portrait.