XT Camera System
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Re: XT Camera SystemReply #3 on: September 12, 2019 at 1:01 pm
I was unloading the dishwasher today, musing on this a bit.
I find it to be a fascinating business decision. There are a couple (at least) tech camera makers that support P1 backs, Alpa and Cambo, if I have this right. There’s some speculation that this is actually a Cambo design, possibly a partnership? I certainly have no evidence, but it does look a bit like the Cambo gear.
Why is P1 making this thing? The price of any IQ4 based camera appears to be, basically, the price of the back plus a few bucks. I deduce that the tech camera biz, while probably much less revenue per system than P1 makes, produces much greater margins. P1 is willing, after all, to go to some effort to capture some of that business, presumably not because it’s a terrible business. This makes sense. An IQ4 back is a vastly expensive electronic thing built out of expensive components from a long supply chain, probably largely manufactured by some third parties, and so on. The Cambo and Alpa contributions are mostly just precision machined bits and pieces and some cables, and I assume that these are done in-house — that being kind of the point, right? I have no hard numbers, but it would not surprise me to learn that Alpa and Cambo enjoy nice fat margins, whereas P1 is kind of scraping by, margin-wise.
So, allow me to speculate: P1 sees Alpa and Cambo making a nice chunk of change and decides to go after that. Fair enough.
What makes this interesting, though, is that P1 is signalling a willingness to cannibalize their channel. While Alpa and Cambo do not, as far as I can see, actually resell P1 backs, they certainly supported them. They drive sales. While they may not be, in technical terms, part of the sales channel, they are pretty close to it. P1 is making a distinct and definite play to take out at least a portion of their business. Not all of it, by any means, but definitely the bottom part of it. Does this move leave Alpa and Cambo viable at all? Does it drive them further into the arms of Hasselblad?
It is virtually rule number one of businesses like P1’s: Don’t screw with the sales channel. P1 isn’t a bunch of idiots, they certainly know this, which begs the question, really, of “what on earth is going on here?”
If I were an exec at Alpa, I would definitely be looking to strengthen my relationship with Hasselblad. I would, in fact, be reaching out to my contacts there and most likely using some fairly strong invective.
I were an exec at Digital Transitions, I might be a little on-edge right now. What is P1’s next move?
Re: XT Camera SystemReply #6 on: September 15, 2019 at 12:35 pmI wish I could have responded earlier, but this is a very thought-provoking camera, not only in what it does, but for who it is intended. The camera is exciting and provides a robust, modern solution to the lack of Copal shutters on new lenses through the lens electronic shutter (LES). In one sense, it is a camera before its time; in several years we won’t need shutters because the electronic shutter will be fast enough to dump data all at once.
The last five years has been an interesting period for technical cameras. I don’t remember when the IQ3-100 was released, but let’s call it 2015-ish. Prior to that, helical / pancake technical cameras were preferred because focusing accurately was a real problem. Helicals provided a solution, albeit not a very elegant one with laser distance meters and fine focus rings. Enter CMOS, and live view provided a much-improved workflow. Bellows/rail-based systems resurged because you could now focus, get a wide range of movements and lose the cost / inflexibility of proprietary helical mounts.
On its heels came sensor-based electronic shutter (SES), which again greatly improves workflow; that is, at least when there is no large-scale movement in the frame and no flash is required. As a landscape, product and architecture photographer, I find the SES to be a fully capable workflow if one is willing to make do with the new crop of LED lights vs strobes.
Now with the XT on-stage, the waters get muddy. The real advantage to the XT appears to be in two areas: First, the convenience associated with dark frames, LCCs and metadata. Second, the benefits of a LES – the ability to flash sync and the elimination of rolling shutter effects, at least < 1 sec. BTW Drew, I do think the mechanical ability should be extended from 1 second to at least 10-30 seconds.
I think the convenience factor will just depend on the individual. For those new to technical cameras, it will be enough to push some of them into the pool. For those like myself who have been dealing with the “joys” of technical cameras since the CCD days, most of the convenience issues have already been mitigated with CMOS and further improvements associated with the IQ4-150.
For those who want / need to shoot a technical camera with strobes, they either need to have (or find used) lenses with copal shutters or go with the XT. That’s a real advantage, although I am not sure how many there are in that situation. No one is going to freeze a flying Michael Jordan with overpowering strobes outside in bright sun with a technical camera. You can buy a whole bunch of new LED-based lights for the XT entry cost.
All this is a very long-winded way of getting to the question of who, which I think is answered in three groups: First, a group of people who have not jumped to 54×40 MF because of the XF kit size, and who saw the technical camera as too manual, quirky and difficult to manage. Second, existing XF owners who do not have a technical camera. This may even push a few to upgrade from previous generation backs. Third, existing technical camera users who want the added simplicity. The first two groups are, IMO, the real target.
That third group is the most questionable in my mind because of what we have to give up getting the XT, at least today:
- Tilt. This is a big one. Along with other movements associated with bellows/rail systems.
- Switching cost. Significant for all but existing Cambo WRS (not Actus) owners.
- Lens availability: Again, not a problem for WRS owners but a big one for all others.
I am really curious to find out what the flange distance is from Cambo to Alpa or Cambo to Arca. I am assuming that existing WRS owners can just mount their existing lenses onto the XT directly. If the Cambo flange distance is less than Alpa/Arca, the door is open for adapters that would at least allow other brand owners to mount their legacy lenses without modification. That would be wonderful.
Dave
How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! - John Muir
https://www.davechewphotography.com
Find legacy Schneider-Kreuznach Apo-Digitar lens data here: https://www.davechewphotography.com/skdata/
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