| Medium format mayhem the street view | |  | by Lance Schad - Area sales manager Phase One Before joining Phase One last year, I spent 17 years equipping some of the best photographers in the world. That included Hasselblad, Contax, Mamiya, Sinar, Cambo, Linhof, Alpa, Leaf, Imacon, lighting, and a lot more. Since joining Phase One, I've seen a terrific growth in sales of Phase One backs. Awareness of medium format as a great way to move beyond the mass of DSLR shooters is growing. This means that the medium format experience needs to be fantastic.
I could gloat about my Phase One success, about conversions from Leaf and Imacon to Phase One but instead I am concerned about what is happening with medium format, especially with Hasselblad. Click here to read my article including frank comments from two photographers who made the change recently. | |  | New US Dealer tour A new event tour with our feature speaker Walter Borchenko of Knowledge Integrated Inc. will be in a city near you. The focus of these events is “Saving the art and craft of photography!” This new program builds upon our tour in 2006 with new ideas, new advanced techniques, application tips, tricks as well as results with the latest tools. If you missed last year’s program, here’s an opportunity find out what all the buzz is about. In most cities, our dealers are teaming up with a photographer for a terrific double bill. Dealers are also offering a limited seating, fee based training event the next day featuring the new “Advanced techniques” training courses written by Walter Borchenko. An international team of photographers have supplied over 50 RAW files for exercises. Included are new styles and methods to make your own, ColorEditor profiles, modified effect profiles and lots more. Use our Events LInk or contact your dealer for details.
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Bundle offers from Arca-Swiss, iView and Nik software With awareness growing in the industry, our partner development group has come up with some great new offers for everyone from DSLR to back user. To get more information about the software offers click on the blocks to the left to link to the offers area.r Click on the Arca-Swiss block to download a fun pdf describing the Arca-Swiss bundle including the new electronic shutters. For more details about the Arca-Swiss bundle, contact your local dealer. | |
 | |  | The culture of openness
This month I believe we will generate many emails. I have to agree with Lance and with the customers in his article. We have many new clients moving to medium format. The experience for these people needs to be the highest that we can provide as an industry. This means photographers and manufacturers working together to build a stronger medium format community.
In this regard, Hasselblad seems to be going off in a direction that is contrary to co-operation and building a better community. Medium format photography has always been about choice and openness. The Hasselblad company we knew and loved was about people who understood photography and photographers. Those people are gone today, replaced with a team from the electronics and software industry of the 90s. That was an era when many manufacturers callously experimented with their products; consequently using their clients as test subjects. That is not how photography works!
The short cycles and many changes of the electronics industry do not fit the capital cycles of photography. Digital chip manufacturers are updating products, chip sizes and manufacturing techniques. Rarely does a chip have a production life cycle beyond 36 months. When a locked medium format system is designed for a particular chip size, does that mean the photographer must buy a new system for the next chip size. That is not the experience of medium format. Removable back systems are not DSLRs.
Phase One has worked very hard to offer upgrades to photographers for new designs and chip sizes at the lowest price possible to keep everyone as happy and financially healthy as possible. Our efforts have been repaid with an exceptional high level of loyalty. Thanks to all for your loyalty. We have seen many photographers switching medium format platforms. To help with these difficult decisions, we offer a no charge platform switch for the first year of ownership. If you have comments please email me at jst@phaseone.com. |
|  | | | | Dealer news and events
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PHASEplus staff
We have a new email address for our editor and producer, Walter Borchenko of Knowledge Integrated wbo@phaseone.com. Our distribution, subscription and logistics manager is Wayne Sandmeyer. For subscription or delivery issues please contact Wayne at wcs@phaseone.com.
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