39 Megapixel camera

[Corey]

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/11/hasselblad-h2d-39-megapixel-medium-format-digicam/

:eek:

[Intrigued]

the RAW files this shoots are a whopping 78MB each

PhotoShop, headsup!

:D

[Corey]

I think I read somewhere that it has a 40 GB hard drive, so 78M won't be too bad. Heck, some of our print brochure photoshop files I work on are like 233 MB. Once you get up there in resolution it doesn't take much. 78 MB is really not too bad considering the insane level of resolution you'd have. :yes

If I were a pro photographer I would definitely invest in something of this caliber. Seems to me it has a good 2-3 years shelf life minimum with a decent resale value at the end of that period. One could probably make back that $100-200 hundred dollars per week investment quite easily by being the only guy in your town shooting at 39 megapixels. Artists would flock to you, this thing should perform absolutely maginificiently on full sized paintings, murals, etc. And that's just the tip of the iceberg these days. I'd say it's a decent long term value for any busy photographer if the quality lives up to the hype. :yes

[Intrigued]

I think I read somewhere that it has a 40 GB hard drive, so 78M won't be too bad. Heck, some of our print brochure photoshop files I work on are like 233 MB. Once you get up there in resolution it doesn't take much. 78 MB is really not too bad considering the insane level of resolution you'd have. :yes

If I were a pro photographer I would definitely invest in something of this caliber. Seems to me it has a good 2-3 years shelf life minimum with a decent resale value at the end of that period. One could probably make back that $100-200 hundred dollars per week investment quite easily by being the only guy in your town shooting at 39 megapixels. Artists would flock to you, this thing should perform absolutely maginificiently on full sized paintings, murals, etc. And that's just the tip of the iceberg these days. I'd say it's a decent long term value for any busy photographer if the quality lives up to the hype. :yes

Interesting approach to the purchase of such. Hmmm....

[Bruce]

ooh hurt me! :wow

[eric_darling]

Medium format in digital equivalent is cool - I bet a lot of pros are drooling. But, I'm not sure most photographers are ready to fork over the price of a luxury automobile to own this camera. I'm sure it performs admirably (given its namesake), but I'm also relatively sure that most jobs, even print-oriented jobs (magazines, brochures, annual reports, etc...), don't require that much resolution. Digital SLRs have gotten so good, that most needs are probably well met at far less $$$, by a factor of more than 4-1.

To be even more blunt, I don't think most potential customers would even understand the differences between a high-end DSLR and this camera, artists included. For most photographers, I seriously doubt that it would bring in 4 times as much profit as a Canon EOS-1DS Mark II. There would be exceptions, of course, but not enough to outweigh the cost of ownership for most.

That being said... I want one! ;)

[Corey]

True enough. :yes

I seriously doubt that it would bring in 4 times as much profit as a Canon EOS-1DS Mark II.
I could pull it off in the right market. It's all in the presentation. People don't know from ads. One thing I know is how to couch language so that people buy stuff. I don't get a chance to use those skills here at IR and I'm not motivated to use them in my personal life, but believe me it's not difficult. The psychology of premium tier marketing is very simple, predictable, and reliable and the process of triggering the buy response in a premium tier consumer is a simple formula which anyone can apply.

In the case of that camera you market to premium clientele by convincing them that you offer something which is not available elsewhere. They don't care what that thing is, as long as it's exclusive. A single well placed "tsk, tsk..." during the initial consultation can easily trigger a buy response in a premium client regardless of the product/service. They don't buy for value.

That being said, it couldn't be done with value tier customers. Impossible. They simply don't have the money. So no matter how well you sell them, it just ain't going to happen. If I were a photographer I would never price myself into that sector. I would make sure my skills were first rate and then price myself well out of the value market. In Calgary there's a huge demand for portfolio shoots and a photographer with a reputation would have no problem getting $1,500 per day with the right gear.

With this oil crunch experts predict that by 2010 the Alberta tarsands will be one of the most important sources of oil on earth, and every single one of those oil companies have their head office right here in Calgary. The premium market sectors here are absolutely bursting at the seams with no end in sight, right across the board. I know one web developer here who can barely grasp HTML (seriously) and is bringing in $150 per hour with lots of clients because he is an expert at talking to rich people. They just like him, they couldn't care less about his knowledge. He makes them feel comfortable and that's the value to them. If someone "normal" offered his clients twice the service for half the price they would not only reject it, they'd be downright suspisicious. :)

BTW guess the dayrate on hiring a single cameraman with an XL-1 from a "premium corporate" video production company here? $2K. Yep, got that price just last week while I was looking into the feasibility of doing a couple DVDs for Speedy Training. Meanwhile I can get a value guy with a 3 chip Panasonic in for $450. The reason the guy for $450 is scrambling for work and the other guys are overbooked is because of that "perceived value" they create. BTW here's a peek at the $450 guy, if I do any stuff for Speedy he will be the guy I use for now:
http://www.ty-reynolds.ab.ca/whoistyreynolds.htm

Meanwhile, here's the $2K guys:
http://www.llvideo.com/

Now to be clear, I phoned and spoke with both. The $2K guys don't appear to know anything. Like less than a hobbyist. They are all tense/snobby and no matter what question you ask anyone on that crew, they "Don't know, I'll have to have someone call you. Just not sure. Sorry" Meanwhile Ty had a quick, well informed answer for every question I asked him and even enlightened me about a couple angles I hadn't considered. I realize I'm not telling you anything new here. All I'm saying is that, if there is anywhere in Canada that you could get away with quadrupling normal fees for a premium service, it's Calgary. 100%. :)