H3D vs Phase One

[Alex Mac]

I am currently shooting with a Hasselblad 553ELX with a Phase One P30 (non-plus). I am very happy with the files... when I hit focus.
I am considering moving over to an AF camera... the H series.

I have a lead on a H3D-31 (not II) for a good price. Would I be stepping up in image quality or is it pretty much the same? I think the H3D
came out in 2007 and the P30 in 2005.

I have heard that the H3D are noisy.. is that image wise ... or is it the fan thing?

Or... am I better off spending an extra $3000 for the H3DII-31 ?

[NickT]

The H3D31 will give you the equivalent performance of a P30+ so better than your non-plus P30. I'm not sure where the "noisy" comment would have come from, neither the files nor the fans are especially noisy.. I find I really rely on the H system AF (having been a long term V shooter).
To summarise the benefits to you would be:

AF
A on stop increase in ISO
lens corrections (not trivial especially the distortion corrections for the wide angles)
Hanging out with all the nice people here..

HTH
Nick-T

[Alex Mac]

The noisy thing is something I read in "The Hasselblad Manual" by Ernst Wildi. Under the H3DII description, it says:

"The new H3DII camera models have an integrated cooling sink to dissipate CCD heat reducing image noise"

"Image noise has been reduced with a better fan free cooling system for the sensor"

From what you have told me, it sounds like a step in the right direction though! I will go for it.

Thanks
Alex

[NickT]

Ahh yes makes sense. The H3D2 also has a much better screen, (the H3d1s screen is pretty useless).

Nick-T

[Alex Mac]

What would be a fair price for a H3DII-31? I seen one in the classified section for $8150... sadly it is sold.

There is one on ebay for $10977... but this seems a bit expensive for used given that the new H4D-31 is
$14K

The ad says they take offers. Is $8500 a good amount to offer?

[Dustbak]

I don't want to comment on what would be a reasonable price, even though I believe over 9K is too much.

I do want to mention the following. If you are a slower working photographer, in the sense you aim, focus, recompose and shoot, you might want to save to get yourself the H4 with TF. I have been working with my H4 the last week and I find it awesome! It is amazing, you can actually put the 'point of sharpness' pretty much anywhere in the frame.

Sorry, I did not want to make things harder for you but contact a dealer and give the H4D31 a try. Most dealers can also help you get a H3D31 second-hand and for a decent price (the good and helpful ones can).

[Alex Mac]

Well if I had the money .. of course I would like the H4D.

It's just $6K more than I can afford. Sadly...

[desertdiver]

Hi Alex,

just to add a bit more of confusion:

Going back in history I have to say that I switched to the H system from a Hasselblad 205 when I bought a P20 (special offer at this time when the +Series had been launched. I could have bought the P20 for the 205 but the 205 needed some electrical modification, which was only possible in Sweden at this time. Due to customs problems here in the Middle East especially on the way back I skipped this idea.

Two years later I upgraded the P20 to a P30+ and I never liked the files compared to the P20 which is of course just me. While the P30+ has the tremendous feature of longtime exposures (up to 1 hour depending on ambient temperature) I have to admit that I used this feature very seldom. And then there is the built quality of those P-backs, which is amazing. Since I am almost always shooting in the desert I never had any issue with these backs. But I had a focusing problem which I guess could have been solved with a proper calibration. Another thing I disliked is the two battery thing, which is pretty okay if one plans to use the back on a technical camera as well. Another thing which bothered me was the tiny display. On the other side Hasselblad display aren't that much better either. (sorry)

In the end I decided to let go that system and to step up to an H4D system, which has a top focusing system now and in conjunction with DAC the pics are pretty good right 'out of the box' when imported via Phocus. All in all the complete package (hardware plus software) serves me much better. The only thing I really miss is the workflow of C1 which I am used to since this software had been launched.

I am using the H4D since 6 months now and like the system before, exclusively in the desert at ambient temperatures of up to 45 degrees centigrade and had no issue till now (knocking on wood).

Regarding your interest for the H3DII, I think body and back calibration for proper focusing have already been implemented. So this shouldn't be an issue. And if you don't use ISO settings at the highest end this shouldn't be a problem either.

Good luck with your purchase and best regards from the Red Sea,
Udo

[Alex Mac]

Welp! I just joined the Hasselblad digital club! 

I just picked myself up a H3Dii-31 ... Merry Christmas to me!

Thank you all for being so helpful!!

Merry Christmas to you all !!

[Dustbak]

Congratulations and a merry christmas to you too!